To Pray Or Not to Pray?

We are just into the sixth chapter of the book of Daniel. We have seen Daniel living for God as a teenager. Now we get to see Daniel living for God as a man in his 80s. I love how the church has such a diversity of age as well. It does not matter what age a person is for them to live their lives for Jesus Christ. Neither does it matter what age a person is when temptation comes into our lives. I also believe that it is incredibly important to train our young people to follow closely after Christ. If this happens when they are younger, then they will most likely continue to be faithful as they get older.

Do you recall when you first chose to follow Jesus? Can you remember when you did your very best to begin your day with prayer and time in the Bible. For some of us, that habit became weaker over time. Fortunately, God brings revival into our lives and gives us a fresh start. As we look at chapter 6, I am particularly impressed with verse 10. It is there that we see Daniel continues to pray three times a day in a special place dedicated to prayer.

Do you suppose if all of us would go to God in prayer and choose to seek Him first and foremost, that we might see the power of God at work in and around us more clearly and frequently? I believe that we would.

It has been stated prayer is for the Christian's spiritual life as important as breathing is to a person's physical life. I also believe that the Bible teaches both sides of one coin, in relation to the frequency of prayer. One side is that we need to pray continually. The other side is that we need to have a special time and place dedicated to seeking God's face.

Church, do you want to see God do amazing things in your life and in the lives of those around you? Do you believe it is even possible when the world around you seems bent on silencing the followers of Christ? I want to experience whatever God has in store for me in order to glorify Him. I believe that there is nothing that can happen to me outside of God’s will. Yet, the daily struggle is to not succumb to the temptation to play it safe. I never want to ask the question of whether or not I should pray. I know that I need to pray. I know that I want to pray. I want my prayers to have purpose and intentionality.

Brothers and Sisters, Our lives will make a difference for Christ in proportion to the amount of time and effort we spend in getting to know Him.

The Predicament - 6:1-9

In these verses, we are going to see some very troubling things about to happen. As some background information, we understand that there were 124 individuals leading the Medo-Persian Empire; King Darius, the three commissioners (presidents), and 120 satraps (princes). Daniel was the first of the three commissioners. Daniel 6.3 tells us, “Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom.” We see that Daniel continued to stand out and impress the rulers of the land, in particular, King Darius. It is at this point, that Darius is about to promote Daniel to be second in command of the entire kingdom. Who says that a person has to compromise and hide their walk with God in order to lead? Daniel certainly did not compromise.

Thinking about the reality that Daniel was not a Gentile and was not open to worshiping all the false gods, it is easy to understand why all of the other leaders would not have been pleased with Daniel’s promotion. After all, he was a captured foreigner. Throughout history, we have seen how Satan has used individuals and kingdoms to attack and attempt to destroy God's chosen people, the Jews. We also know from history that Satan will do all that he can to attack anyone who chooses to live for God. One preacher stated that the wicked will always hate and attack the righteous.

We know that Daniel was always upright and honest. We also know that Daniel led in a way which was always a blessing to the nation. He never looked out for himself, but rather the good of the nation he served. Remember Colossians 3.23? Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men. Historians state that one of the reasons Darius totally reorganized the government was because so many of the other leaders were actually stealing from the king. They even went so far as to set up fake books and ledgers to cover up their treachery. We see their conniving spirit and their dishonesty and treachery even in verse 7, as they told Darius that everyone has agreed to their bazaar plan. All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den. What a blatant lie! It was obvious that Daniel had not been part of the consultation. My guess is that this was really a small group, for the kingdom was huge. Sadly, King Darius was prone to liking flattery and his head was turned by their flattery and he did not check with his number one man.

So let's see what happens.

The Praying - 6:10-13

What was Daniel supposed to do? What would you and I do? It is one thing to make a decision when there is no pressure. It is another issue when a person is in the middle of a life or death situation. It is during those times when we would wonder if there would be a temptation to compromise. What would we do?

Daniel already had a lifetime of making the hard choices. He had a lifetime of intentionally choosing to follow God. For Daniel, this was not even an issue. He would do as he had always done. He would continue to serve God. He would continue to pray to God alone. Not once are we given any indication that he may have wavered. Not once do we ever read that he compromised just because everyone else chose to compromise. Not once did he consider the fact that he might die because of his faith. I love how Warren Wiersbe describes this: "Daniel chose rather to be eaten by lions than to miss one prayer meeting.”

As we read verse 11, it is obvious to all of us that this was a set-up. “Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God.” The other leaders had come to see Daniel doing what they knew he would always do. They had staked out his residence. As Daniel went to his room where the windows were always open, it was obvious to those con artists that Daniel was praying to his Heavenly Father.

Would you and I have pulled the curtains so as not to be seen? Would it be obvious to everyone who knew us that we would be in prayer regularly.? Not only was Daniel praying continually, but he was praying at a specific time with no interruptions. He was on his 80 plus year old knees, seeking the face of God and giving thanks. Nothing was out of the ordinary for Daniel. This was just what he always did. It was not a crisis prayer time. It was part of his lifestyle.

I wish for each one of us that this would be a normal, regular habit in our lives. Why wait until there is a crisis? Why wait until there is a special need? Why not make a specific prayer time in a specific place a part of our daily regimen? Brothers and sisters, why not start this today? Young person, instead of being occupied by video games, YouTube and all kinds of other distractions, make prayer a part of your daily life? Parent, I understand with jobs, repairs, upkeep, raising children, etc., that life can be crazy. Why not make a special prayer time part of your daily routine? Older person, it is not too late to make a special prayer time part of your daily routine.

Sadly, these individuals went tattling to the king. Rather then learn something from all those decades of seeing God at work in and through Daniel’s life, they would rather destroy him, while making a point to all who would follow after the one true God that their faith would be treated the same way.

Let's go on and see how the king responds.

The Provision - 6:14-23

As we look at verse 14, we almost see the King hitting himself on the forehead with the palm of his hand as he realized that he had been duped. “Then, as soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel; and even until sunset he kept exerting himself to rescue him.” And as much as he may have wanted, he could not change the law which he had made. This is referred to as the Law of the Medes and the Persians. Simply stated, once a law was made, it could not be changed, not even by the king.

As a result, Daniel was thrown into the lions den, as per the orders of the king. There was normally a gate or entry on the side of the cave. There was also a large hole in the top of the cave, for air circulation. It would have been this top opening where Daniel was tossed. Darius was simply doing what the law required. For Daniel to be saved from the situation would require God to intervene. In fact, the King recognizes this in the last part of verse 16: "Your God whom you constantly serve will himself deliver you.”

This is a great reminder that you and I must understand our hope is not in the government or in any one person. Our hope Is in the living God. Daniel had learned that truth decades earlier. It may seem easier and better to not have to be thrown into the deathtrap. Yet God receives greater glory when he delivers us out of horrible circumstances.

Do you see the irony in verses 18 and following? Daniel, though he was in the midst of hungry lions, was at peace. Daniel's faith and trust was in the Lord God. Yet, the king was in turmoil. He chose not to eat nor have entertainment. He was without sleep the whole night.

Early the next morning, he rushes over to the lions den at the crack of dawn to check out the situation. We understand from the text that he was hoping upon hope that Daniel was alive.

It was at this point, he asks that wonderful question in verse 20, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?” To which, Daniel honors the King, in verses 21-22, with a greeting, followed by an explanation that God had indeed taken care of him. Daniel continues by informing the King that he never did commit a crime.

In the midst of this, we need to remind ourselves that Daniel was living in a very difficult time. The nation was a pagan country that did all it could to silence those who would choose to follow the one true God. In spite of that, Daniel’s faith remained strong. I believe the reason is that he continually sought after the Lord. Three times per day he pursued God with intentionality. He did not consider that being older, he could just slide by and compromise, thinking God would be alright with that.

I understand that sometimes in our world, it may seem safer or wiser just to be quiet and go along with everyone else. We may even convince ourselves that we can be a better witness alive then dead. There is so much out there tempting us to compromise. However, even with compromise, there is no guarantee of safety. In addition, Christ is not seen or glorified when we compromise. Just as Daniel understood, we must realize that worship belongs to Christ alone. We should even be willing to die because we have chosen to obey the Word of God instead of existing on this planet in a state of disobedience. If God chooses, He can deliver us from danger. Also, if God chooses, He can deliver us from this world into the presence of Christ.

The Punishment & Praise - 6:24-28

As we read the last few verses, we may find ourselves a little bit confused and frustrated that the wives and children are also to be thrown into the lions’ den. After all, it was the men who had done the evil by trying to have Daniel destroyed. We assume that the wives and children were innocent. However, this was the law of the land. Almost always, the guilty do not suffer alone; those closest to us often experience consequences.

Sadly, in our own nation and in our current world, many innocent people suffer because of the sins of others. Yet, we know that God takes care of his own. Throughout Scripture, we are reminded that those who belong to God, though they may suffer on this earth, they will be rescued in glory.

Then we see a glorious praise given to the One True God by King Darius. Daniel 6.26-27 ““I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; For He is the living God and enduring forever, And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, And His dominion will be forever. “He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.””

We see in verse 28 that Daniel continued in his service as to the Lord.

The Ponderings

Daniel had built up many years of righteous living. If anybody should have been given a pass, it would have been Daniel. But that was not a consideration for Daniel. What seemed to be foremost on his mind was that God would get the glory.

This is what ought to be on our minds. Our relationship with Christ should be such that our number one concern would be that Jesus would be glorified. Whenever a Christian is able to overcome temptation in the power of the Holy Spirit, God is always glorified. It does not matter whether many see us or only God sees us.

And how is this all possible? It is only possible, when one belongs to Jesus Christ, trusting Him as our Lord and Savior. Then, a Christian is able to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, by spending time alone with God. This is done by praying and by reading and by studying the Bible. It is not just to gather information or to go through the motions or to check it off your list. It is to more fully understand what God desires of us and for us to become more like Jesus.

When we do this on a regular basis, it does not matter what may come our way. We will know that compromise is never the answer; living in obedience to Jesus Christ is always the answer.

You see, my friends, Our lives will make a difference for Christ in proportion to the amount of time and effort we spend in getting to know Him.