Daniel 2:19

"Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his. And he changeth the times and the seasons; he removeth kings and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding; he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and now hast made known unto me what we desired of thee; for thou hast made known unto us the kings's matter. Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said unto him Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation."

THE DREAM AND THE INTERPRETATION REVEALED

Daniel exhibited here all of the skill and diplomacy of an accomplished statesman. Note that, even in his prayer, he included his companions. Note the "we" in Daniel 2:23. Furthermore, since Daniel had already received a delay from the king and an appointed day when he might reveal the secret, Daniel, in all probability at that point, might have gone directly to the king; but he sought out the captain of the king's guard Arioch, thus going through channels. A collateral benefit of this was that it also could have delayed the execution of some of the wise men, that is, if Arioch was already proceeding with the executions. Furthermore, it gave Arioch the opportunity to play a conspicuous part in the process of the dream's revelation, an opportunity which Arioch apparently exploited fully. (See Daniel 2:25).

Many scholars have pointed out how Daniel's prayer displayed an intimate acquaintance with Old Testament literature, including the Psalms. Like Jonah's prayer from the belly of the fish, Daniel referred to God as "the God of heaven." Many of the phrases used in Daniel's language here are found in the Psalms.