Daniel 6:10 – 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.
Some crooked politicians made a law that for one month no one could worship anyone but the king of Medo-Persia. The entire intent of the law was to trap the godly Daniel into violating the decree which would result in him being thrown in the lion’s den.
Daniel has a few options. One, he can obey the order and for thirty days backslide against God to stay alive. Two, he could fake being on board with the law and pretend to go along with it. Three, he could have fled and run for his life. Four, he could simply take a thirty-day break from his daily prayer routine, much like Christians today who skip Bible reading, prayer, and church for far less complicated reasons than a death sentence. Five, he could make his prayer and faith private, hiding it from others. Six, he could do what he had always done and pray to God leaving his future in God’s hands.
Without hesitation, Daniel refused to change his worship of God. Facing Jerusalem where Jesus would be coming to, he openly and publicly prayed as he always had. Ezekiel places Daniel in the same category of righteousness and faith as Noah and Job (Ezekiel 14:14,20).
This same pressure continually comes upon believers as government policies in every age seek to restrict the freedom of people to obey the Word of God, particularly in the context of public education when we are younger, later on the college campus, and ultimately in the workplace.
From Daniel’s example we learn seven prayer principles:
- Your faith should be public and not just private.
- When others look down on you, you should look up to God.
- Your character is only as strong as your prayer life.
- Prayer is how you march into battle and march through a battle.
- The only remedy for panic is prayer.
- When there’s nothing you can do, there’s always one thing you can do – pray.
- Prayer’s less about changing your future & more about preparing you for your future.
If you were Daniel, would your prayer life have gotten you in trouble or not?
In addition to this introduction to and overview of Daniel, you can find the corresponding sermons, daily devotions, men’s ministry resources, and hundreds of additional sermons and Bible teaching resources for free at markdriscoll.org or on the Mark Driscoll Ministries app.
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