March 12, 2023
This week we read the book of Daniel. The book is rich with history, miracles, dream interpretation, and prophecy. The topic we will talk about this week is Daniel’s prayer life from chapter 6.
Daniel was appointed head of the administrators to help rule the kingdom. The other administrators that he was leading were jealous and wanted to find something wrong that Daniel had done so he would be in trouble and lose his job. Verse 4-5 says, “they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”
The men had a plan to get Daniel in trouble. They went to the king and had him put into place a decree that no person could worship any god except for the king for 30 days. Daniel knew about this decree, but he was not going worship the king. He would only worship God. It says in verses 10 it says, “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the window opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lion’s den?”
The men told the king about Daniel and his prayer. Because the king liked Daniel, he was distressed, but the decree stood. The king gave the order to have Daniel thrown in to the lion’s den. He said to Daniel in verse 16, “May your God, whom you serve continually rescue you!”
The next morning the king went out and found Daniel untouched by the lions.
Verses 19-28 say, “At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions? Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones. Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth: May you prosper greatly! I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
“For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus[b] the Persian.”
What can we learn from Daniel’s prayer?
- God was number 1 and central in his life. He had respect for the king, but he revered God and would only pray to Him. And, he did not care if his prayers caused him trouble. Verse 10 says, “He went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem.”
- During this time in Babylon there was no temple because it was a pagan land. It was custom for the Jews to open their window that faced Jerusalem and pray, because this was the place that God dwelt.
This is exactly what Daniel was doing when he prayed. He did not try to hide his faith in God. He was not ashamed of his relationship with the Lord. He could have shut the curtain to pray or just not prayed at all. He could have knelt and prayed to the king. He did none of these even though he knew the consequences.
- He prayed regularly. Verse 10 says, “Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before”
- He prayed 3 times per day and had been praying in the past. This was not something he did one time because he was in trouble or needed something. He regularly prayed to God.
- He gave thanks to God. “…giving thanks”
- He asked God for help. Verse 11 says, “then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.”
Are you like Daniel?
Do you make prayer a priority even when other people or things are pulling you in a different direction?
Are you praying regularly?
What do your prayers consist of? Are they just requests, or are you giving thanks in all situations?
Are you asking God for help, or are you trying to do things on your own?
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 John 5:14–15 says, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”
Next week we will read Hosea 1-14. Have a blessed week.
Diving into the Bible 