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    Aug 04, 2019

    Daniel, Steadfast in Prayer

    Daniel, Steadfast in Prayer

    Passage: Daniel 6:1-28

    Speaker: Rev. Barbara Parnell

    Category: Faith

    Prayer is the Christians’ vital breath, the Christians’ native air, their watchword at the gates of death; they enter heaven with prayer. (UMH# 492, vs. 5, Prayer is the Soul’s Sincere Desire)
    Daniel 6:1-9
    1It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; 2 and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.” 6 Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7 All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.”

     The ancient Middle East was the story of one empire rising, then falling and being replaced by another one. In 605BC the Babylonians conquered Israel, taking many of its promising young men into captivity in Babylon. One of those men was Daniel. Daniel led quite a life and you can read more of his stories in the book of Daniel. But by the time of the lions’ den, Daniel was probably in his late 80’s.

    Through a life of hard work and obedience to God he had risen through the political ranks as an administrator of this pagan kingdom. In fact, he was so honest and hard working that the other government officials couldn’t find anything against him to try to get him removed from office. They were jealous of him and his success and favor with the king. They plot and scheme against Daniel, but finding no other way to get rid of him, they attempt to use his faith in God against him. As you heard they tricked King Darius into passing a 30 day decree that said that anyone who prayed to another god or man other than the king would be thrown into the den of lions. You’d think that these kings would learn. After Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego endure the fiery furnace, there was a change in power to King Darius, but he hasn’t learned from his predecessors not to mess with the power of the God of Israel. He signed the document.

    Daniel 6:10
    10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.”
     
    Daniel 6:16-18
    16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 17 And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

    Daniel found out about the decree, but it was his habit to pray. So, just like he had done his whole life, he went home, faced toward Jerusalem and prayed to God. He prayed on his regular schedule in a visible place. He doesn’t change his faith to fit those around him. The jealous administrators caught him praying and told the king. King Darius loved Daniel but couldn’t save him. The Medes and the Persians had a foolish custom that once a law or decree was passed it couldn’t be repealed. They threw Daniel into the den of lions. It’s interesting to note that the story here is from King Darius’ point of view. Even though Daniel wrote the account, we are given the view from inside the king’s bedroom rather than inside the lion’s den. The two men’s perspectives that night are very different. One man was at peace while the other was in conflict. We are told that the King “cried out in a tone of anguish” from the safety of his palace (Daniel 6:20b). The king had everything at his disposal for comfort and rest where Daniel didn’t have any of those things but had the presence of God. Daniel was at peace and in prayer to God, but the king had a very restless night.

    Daniel 6:19-23
    19 Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den.

    So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

    The king was so anxious that right at dawn he ran to the lions’ den to see if Daniel’s God had saved him. He found that God had protected Daniel. Daniel’s response “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” (Daniel 6:21-22) The king was overjoyed and issued a new decree, ordering the people to be in reverence to the God of Israel, Daniel’s God. And Daniel prospered under the reign of Darius.

    Daniel is one of the most loved, well-known stories in the Bible. Children usually love this story. Daniel teaches us how to live in a world where morality is often stretched beyond its limits and is hard to reconcile when you believe in the one true God. Daniel was a man of marvelous faith and courage. He lived that way when he was young and still when he was old. Prayer was central to his life. He prayed on his knees three times a day giving thanks to God. This was his habit since early days. His habit of prayer was so constant and consistent that his enemies were able to predict when he would be praying to “catch him in the act.” Daniel was so faithful that they could predict his schedule. Even at his age Daniel was busy and had public duties for the King that made demands on his time. Yet he kept his time with God. Nothing kept him from having that time of prayer. He was never too busy to stop morning, noon, and night for prayer. Martin Luther is thought to have said, “I have so much to do today that I cannot possibly get through it with less than three hours of prayer.” How true is that? Perhaps if we spent more time on our knees in prayer we would not only improve our relationship with God, but get more done.

    Daniel had a special place set aside in his home. In fact some scholars believe he had a prayer chamber built on top of his house with windows open toward Jerusalem. It was an act of great faith on the part of exiled Jews to pray 3 times a day toward the land from which they had been taken captive. Daniel got on his knees and prayed toward Jerusalem. This was a sign of reverence and humility. He could have become arrogant in his position and felt that he could do anything, but he recognized his servanthood to God. He recognized God’s hand on his life. Daniel was secure in his trust in God and he lived his life with courage in his convictions. When the decree was issued he could have looked for a secret place to pray for 30 days. He could have shut the windows and prayed. But he didn’t adjust his prayer life at all. He continued to pray as God had called him to do and left the rest up to God. He had faith in God and knew God was there.

    On this communion Sunday we come in prayer to confess and ask God’s forgiveness. We’re reminded of Christ’s sacrifice for us. For me, communion also brings a reminder to strengthen my relationship with God through prayer. Daniel’s faith was steadfast, his actions consistent and his prayer life faithful. Can we say the same about ourselves? Daniel was determined to pray and serve God as he had in the past. Are we that determined? We haven’t been given a decree to stop praying, but what else gets in our way? When I think about Daniel and his decision to continue to kneel in prayer 3 times each day in the same place he had always prayed, it challenges me to renew my commitment to prayer. It challenges me to be more specific and passionate in prayer. We only need to look around us to realize how necessary and important prayer is in our daily life. May we use Daniel and his example as an inspiration in our lives and seek God in prayer.