Lessons From Daniel About Prayer

Introduction

Good morning. To all of our visitors, we’re very thankful for you being here, and we share in serving a great God. Amen? You will open your Bibles with me to Daniel chapter 6, the sixth chapter of the book of Daniel. As you’re turning there, consider there’s two types of people in this world, and one of those is standing before you, and the other may be sitting in front of me. And we’re divided over this one really important issue. And that is if there is a big red button that says, Do not touch, except in case of emergency. I am the kind of person that wants desperately to touch that button, especially if I don’t know exactly what it’s going to do. Is anyone like that? Now there are some other mature members in our audience who think that’s silly.

But I’m the one having fun with the button. We think about in case of emergency buttons or fire hydrants or fire alarms. There’s a specific time and way to pull them out. In fact, we want to make sure that we don’t overuse it. We don’t want to cause any problems. We certainly don’t want to distract from the members of our fire department and have them come and try to help us when we have no problem when there is a fire to be set out. But imagine if there was something that we could access at all times, any any any problem we may have, any focus that we may be struggling with. And we would have someone who would not only be there to answer, but someone who has all of the solutions, and who certainly could fix any one of our problems and knows and will deliver what is best for us if we simply petition him.

Certainly, as Christians, we have a great privilege and blessing to come before the throne of our great God in heaven and to petition him for whatever our hearts desires. This morning I do want to think about prayer, though. And I want to learn some lessons from Daniel, but in Daniel chapter 6, there’s a great chapter here about Daniel’s faith. When you look at Daniel chapter 6, you notice that Daniel is no longer the young man who was taken away into Babylonian captivity around 605 or 606 BC. This Daniel, who is going to face the lion’s denial, now we know the story in Daniel chapter 6. This Daniel is in his 80s. But notice where the story picks up. In Daniel chapter 6, beginning and verse 1.

He pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom. And over them three high officials of whom Daniel was one. Now stop for a moment, and you see, Daniel’s life has persisted. Not only did he escape the challenge of Daniel chapter 1. Do you remember what happened in Daniel chapter 1? He set himself that he would not defile himself before God. And there was the test of the two groups, those who ate of the meat and the king’s delicacies, and there was Daniel, who would not eat, who would not violate his conscience. He would not violate his standing before his God. And yet it was Daniel and his friends who were found better looking before the king, and not soon after, the entire group of these young ones, these teenage teenagers to serve the kingdom of Babylon, all followed Daniel’s lead.

And we find ourselves in Daniel chapter 6, where not only is Daniel in his 80s, but we see his faith has continued to where he was to be set over the kingdom.

And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. But what happened? In verse 4, then the high epistles 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. 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. And thus the basis for the trap of this great faithful man, Daniel, was laid. You see, not only was Daniel great in his service to God, which we know from Daniel chapter 1 and verse 2, but we see even that the king wanted to set him above over the whole kingdom.

So Daniel certainly was a man marked by his faith in God. And that’s what these men would use to have the beginning of his undoing. You see, in verse 6 they reached an agreement. In verse 7, after praising King Darius, they say, 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. 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. Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.

Certainly there was a power play here. They said, O king, you are so great. Don’t let anyone serve you, don’t let anyone bow down to anyone to implore anyone’s name except you, O great King Darius. And of course, in verse 10 and verse 9, he signed that. And Daniel had to face the consequences of this action that was taken directly at his expense. You see, in verse 10, when Daniel knew that the document had been signed, that’s an important marker in this history of the story. When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber opened 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.

Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. Then they came near and said before the king concerning the injunction, O king, did you not sign an injunction that anyone who makes petition to any God or man within thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked. Then they answered and said before the king, Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day. And we see in verse 14 that the king heard this and he was distressed, and yet, as we know from the reading that we’ve already done, this law could not be revoked.

It could not be altered. King Darius, even though he was against it, even though he knew Daniel to be a good man, was stuck, caught in the trap that was made at the expense of his own vanity, and his perhaps favorite advisor and servant Daniel. And of course we know that Daniel ends up in the lion’s den in verse 16, and the king declares to Daniel this important phrase, May your God, whom you serve continually deliver you. 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 lord’s, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

Then at break of day the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 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? King Darius was worried. He would not be diverted from this attention. He was concerned about his friend, his companion, his fellow servant, Daniel. And he says, Did your God deliver you, and we serve a great God? You can see that our God stopped the mouths of lions in verse 21. Then Daniel said to the king, O king, live forever. My God sent his angel and shut the lion’s mouth, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him, and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.

You see, Daniel was caught by a particular habit that he had. And yes, this story is a great amount of faith. It shows how Daniel’s faith was not moved to stop. It didn’t matter that people were persecuting him. It didn’t matter that people were even disliking him to the fact that they would lay a trap for him, let alone that that trap led him where? Straight into the lion’s den. It didn’t matter that he was going to be in the den of lions. It mattered only that he loved and served his God first and foremost. Even in his 80s, this Daniel, a man of high reputation, served and lived, and God delivered him, despite all that could have thrown Daniel off the path. I wonder which of these obstacles would have perhaps thrown me off the path.

Daniel was faithful despite personal enemies, despite political legislation, despite facing the mouth of a lion overnight, he stayed faithful to God. Is that not the very attitude we should have? But note in verse 10 the very trap that was laid was done solely because they knew this is how they would get to Daniel. I think in verse 10 we see four different ways that we can learn about prayer from Daniel, this great faithful servant of God. In verse 10, note the timestamp once again. When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber toward Jerusalem. Do you see what happened in verse 10? He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously.

1. Make Prayer a Daily Habit

Daniel made prayer a daily habit. In fact, it was such a habit that it was known by those officials who were seeking to trap him. They knew this is how we will get this great servant of God. He will pray no matter what we do. Even if we sign legislation into it, he will continue. It reminds me of Psalm chapter 55 and verse 27, when it says that David would cry out in the evening in the morning. David made time to pray to God. Is that not the mark of a Christian? Is that not the mark of a follower of the Lord? They will speak to him in prayer. Certainly it was a mark of Jesus. If you look in Matthew chapter 4, as Jesus is about to be persecuted, about to be tempted by the devil.

You find an interesting verse in verse 4. After he’s gone away and with this first temptation, the tempter came in verse 3 and said, If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. And what did Jesus say? As he did three times, but beginning first in verse 4. It is written. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Sometimes we treat the word of God as if it’s something that we can fast from. Have you ever been like that? Have you ever fasted from food? I haven’t because I like it too much. It’s hard to fast for food. First of all, we need it, usually not the food I’m eating, but we do need sustenance to continue.

But what did Jesus refer to the Word of God as? The bread. What do we know it in other scriptures as? The bread of life. And yet, many of you, like me, sometimes think that we can be fed on Sunday and then go the whole week with no more food. How can we think that? Or maybe we even get some food Wednesday night. Can you imagine if I spoke to my wife and I said, hon, you know, not because we can’t, not because we’re in any type of financial problems, but just because it’s okay and we’ll make it. We’re only going to eat on Sunday morning, but it will be a big buffet. It’s going to be about three hours worth of eating. You see what I did there?

And then on Wednesday evening, we’re going to eat for about an hour. What do you think? I think she’s going to be at my parents’ door or her parents’ door really quickly. We like to eat. We need to eat. Jesus is suggesting in Matthew chapter 4, as he did in the two subsequent temptations, he says, it is written. Jesus knew the word of God. He would not fast from learning about God. And we know we should read the book. But what about speaking to that great God who provides those words of life? Do we make prayer a daily habit? Does someone know that I, that you always pray, that you, the servant of God that you are, speak to your great God? It’s a shame sometimes to think personally.

And maybe you share this with me. That I have this button. Which I can’t just access the fire department or the police or any type of phone number I could call. I can speak and approach the throne of God any time of day as a Christian, and yet I pass it by. Not just one time. Sometimes in the mornings I don’t think to pray. And then when I go to work, I get distracted. I don’t even think about that great button that’s sitting there. The fact that I can speak to my Almighty God. And then someone comes up and has a pressing need, and I’m there for them. I help them. I’m locked into my work, and then as I move forward with my day, then it’s nighttime, and I’m spending time with my wife, spending time with my friends, spending time with my family.

And you know, the day passes, and all of a sudden I’m back in bed where I started this day, and I’ve made no time to pray. I don’t know about many of your habits, but my habits happen when I do them over and over and over again. A lot of habits are easy to fall into that are bad, that are not good habits to have. But if we’re going to make good habits, we need to make it a priority to pray. Not just a priority to be fed the word of God as we should and we must as Christians to the point of Jesus in Matthew chapter 4 and even in verse 4 and other places throughout the gospel message. But certainly we need to make prayer a daily habit.

How does that happen? Does it happen because someone gets up and preaches an amazing sermon about prayer and we say, Alright, I’m fired up, I’m going to go home and pray? How long is that going to last? Not very long. We have to make it an effort. Just like we do with food, we make it a point to eat because we’re reminded. Maybe we need to write out reminders that we need to speak to our God. Maybe we need to make time to recognize, to look around and see that there is a great amount of blessings to be thankful for.

If that’s the case, should we not at least take time to thank him for being the great God that he is and loving us so much that he sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins? We need his grace each and every day, each and every hour of this life. And if we know that, we should say that to our great God. What a blessing to have a God who spoke, and everything that we see came into existence, and we can approach his throne in prayer. What a great blessing. But do we use it or do we waste it? Prayer should not just be a daily habit. Perhaps it even should be a multiple times a day habit. But frankly, we start where we can.

Start where you’re at. You don’t have to go from one prayer a week to 24 prayers a day and make sure that you pray on the hour, although that certainly would not be harmful. Are we going to love God enough to take time out of our day to pray without ceasing? I think Max Dawson made an interesting point in a lesson he preached. And he called out four distractions from prayer. He called them Satan’s strategies against prayer. The first one was self-sufficiency. If you look in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 5, you note that Paul’s attitude here was one that was not self-sufficient. It was one that recognized need in the Lord. In 2 Corinthians chapter 3, in verse 5. Note that as Paul and Timothy are writing this message, and this is on their behalf, in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, beginning in verse 4.

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ towards God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything is coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now not only is God sufficient, not only has God provided the means to Paul to preach and be a heartbringer of the new covenant and to be an apostle of the Lord who we serve, Jesus the Christ. But we need to be sufficient only in relying on God. You see, it’s one thing to say, I’m sufficient. As Christians, we should be sufficient, but only because we are backed by the Almighty God.

We think about prayer a lot. We say prayer is powerful, and then sometimes we don’t do it. But where is the power in prayer? The power in prayer is to God. You think about a lamp. A lamp gives light to the house, right? But the lamp that only does you good if you plug it in and you either have a battery power or it’s connected to electricity. The power is not in the lamp, but the lamp shines. Where’s the power in prayer? Is it in saying the words, or is it into our great God to whom the words are spoken to? Power is in the Lord. We need to always be cognizant that we have a need for God, that we alone are not good enough, either in the terms of sin or in terms of making it through this life.

We need God. And we have to be aware of that. A second distraction, in addition to self-sufficiency, is just internal distractions. We just think about all that we have to do. Does anyone here have too much free time? Anyone just thinking, you know what, I just had so much time to kill this week? Because we’re busy. Because we’re occupied. But let us be first busy with the work of the Lord. Let us first be concerned about his kingdom growing, about the needs of our fellow brothers and sisters. And let’s take all of those needs, all of our heart struggles, and lay them out before our great God. They don’t have to be separate. We don’t have to fix worldly problems and then talk to God. We should talk to God about everything, including our problems.

What a blessing that God cares. Amen. We can combine these and we should. If our sufficiency is only in God, we will be ready and repeatedly making known our needs before our God. Perhaps the third example, not just self-sufficiency or internal distractions, but external interruptions. Perhaps you’ve set aside a room, even like the movie War Room, to pray. Maybe you’ve set aside an hour to pray, but don’t you know it if that hour that you set aside, that 10 minute span that you set aside that the phone rings? That someone’s sick, that someone needs help. Those things distract us. Now, should we not help? Of course we should. But should we not also make time to speak to God? Of course we should. And of course, certainly the pressure of busyness.

2. Pray When the Document Had Been Signed

Always needing to be somewhere to do something. There’s things to do, people to see, places to go, as I was always told growing up. But one of those things to do is to be appearing before the throne of our God in prayer. Think of second idea in Daniel chapter 6 and verse 10. You know when it was that Daniel prayed? It was when Daniel knew that the document had been signed. This is interesting because this is very different than how at least my generation and this world seems to act. You know what happens when politicians form these these laws, these bylaws, these state laws, these federal laws that are against Christianity. Do we stop and pray? Or do we type out a complaint on social media?

How much more effective would the Christians be in this kingdom if rather than complaining and writing out problems on Facebook, we bent our knees and prayed to our great God to help our country, to help my family, to help me as a Christian shine in the light of a seemingly ever increasing dark world. How much greater would the kingdom be if we were so focused on God that when bad news came, we prayed that God would deliver us, that he would help the hearts of those who are making the laws to be bent towards his will, that he would help me be the influence that I can be. What’s interesting about Daniel is not only did he pray at that time, not only was he not found complaining, but he prayed when it was against the law.

He did not allow politicians, officials, he did not allow them to distract from his relationship with God. And certainly that echoes the words of Peter in Acts chapter 5 and verse 29. We must obey God rather than men. And certainly that must be the rallying rallying cry for Christians. But note with me, 1 Timothy chapter 2. I think this is a personal struggle of mine. In 1 Timothy chapter 2, both because I don’t think of it, and because frankly, sometimes I just don’t want to. In 1 Timothy chapter 2, note here. In 1 Timothy chapter 2, beginning in verse 1. First of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people. Now that would be sufficient, but note the group qualified in verse 2.

For kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. You know that last part’s pretty important. Sometimes we just focus on the need to pray and to give thanks for those kings and those in high officials in high-ranking positions. But what is it in the sight of God in verse 3? It is good. What does our God want in verse 4? He desires that all men be saved. Sometimes, maybe in light of political problems, political persecution, certainly Daniel was in political persecution. That was the purpose for the law that he was found to be violating.

Sometimes we think that it’s about me. It’s about what I’m losing. Rather than the fact that we need to be spreading the word of the kingdom. That our work as Christians continues no matter what Washington, DC decides, no matter what Tallahassee decides for this great state. We need to serve God no matter what. That starts with praying for those who are in those positions. What are we to pray for? For them, how? Why? That we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. How does that help the Christian? It helps us teach the word of God. Let us pray for those and high officials. If we’re unhappy with the way it’s going, let us pray for them. Let us trust the God who is sovereign, who is in control of all the nations.

Do we believe that God is ahead of all the earth? If we do, no matter what bylaw this country passes, no matter what constitutional amendment is for vote or passed, would we not turn it over to that great God who is in control? That was a lesson that Daniel learned in his vision, in Nebuchadnezzar’s vision that Daniel was interpreting in Daniel chapter 2. We understood that after all those kingdoms of men would happen, they would fall, they would crumble, and the kingdom of God would stand forever. We’re a part of a spiritual kingdom, so let’s get on our knees and pray and give thanks to God for that and pray for help in our times of distress and not boohoo ourselves and be a burden on our friends and an anchor away from Christ by complaining and saying, Woe is me.

3. Gave Thanks Before His God

Let’s turn our woe is me into great as God and trust him with our everyday life. I think a third interesting aspect of Daniel’s prayer life in Daniel chapter 6 and verse 10, again, the timestamp is so important of that. In Daniel chapter 6, it was when he knew that the document had been signed. He wasn’t just found praying. He wasn’t just found with the with the windows in the upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed. And do you see it in verse 10? And gave thanks before his God. That’s remarkable, isn’t it? It’s amazing that we can and we should give thanks to God for all things. It’s amazing that God wants to hear our struggles and our problems.

But are we taking time out not just to complain, not just to lament, but to thank God for who he is, for creating us, for giving us what he has. And as Christians, don’t we have a ton to be grateful for? He sent Jesus the Christ to die on the cross because of our sins. Because I transgressed his law. Jesus was crucified to the cross, and we remembered his body and blood this morning. Shouldn’t we give thanks each and every day, no matter what happens to us throughout the course of the day? We have a great God to serve. We should thank him, we should praise him, we should recognize him in our prayer life as the great God that we in our minds know that he is.

How do we do this, though? How do we decide to make prayer a daily habit? It’s one thing to think it, it’s another thing to say, pray during times of political distress. Certainly, yes, we need that. But how do I make sure that I’m giving thanks? That I’m not just complaining, that I am glorifying God even in the avenue of prayer that we’re studying this morning. Look at Philippians chapter 4. There’s a perspective of a Christian. And it not only recognizes that God has done everything for us, but it lets us understand where our mind is to be. What is the Christian disposition? In Philippians chapter 4 and verse 4, Paul writes, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.

The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. You see, again, there’s the obvious imploration to pray and to give thanks. But do you see verse 7? What is the Christian heart to be ruled by? How should I act always? I should have the peace of God guarding my heart. That peace of God which surpasses all understanding. How is it that the Christian has a peace of God? How is it that we have this peace that surpasses understanding? It is knowing that we rely on an omnipotent God. How can we ever worry?

If we serve a great and mighty God, how am I going to worry about the things of this life? I know God can fix it. I know I can be where God wants me to if I read his book, if I get filled with the bread of life, if I’m hungry and thirsting for righteousness, and I pursue what God wants from me. And if I communicate to him in prayer, I will be found right where he wants me. And I will have the peace of God that surpasses all understanding because I know this life is not why I’m here. We’re living to go on. We’re pressing on to heaven. Amen? As soldiers of Christ, we need to arise and remember that spiritual mission, that spiritual journey that recognizes, as Paul writes, even in Philippians chapter 3, our citizenship is not here, but it’s in heaven.

That’s life-changing. That’s game changing. And then we see in verse 4 that we’re going to be rejoicing always. Isn’t that not the very antithesis of what happens to us when we get beaten down? We think, oh, woe is me, things are hard, life’s tough. I don’t understand. And yet, Paul writes, rejoice in the Lord always. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Why am I not to be anxious about anything? Because I know that God will take care of it. How am I to continue? With everything in prayer and supplications and with thanksgiving, making known my needs to God. We are truly blessed to be Christians that love God, to have a God that we love because He first loved us.

We understand love. We know love because God showed us His love. What does it say about me if I don’t take the time to pray? What does it say about me if I don’t even think to petition my great and heavenly Father? What does it say about me in Philippians chapter 2 if I’m not following verse 14 to do all things without grumbling or complaining? Do we not see that the Christian’s life is markedly different? The Christian’s life is comprised of rejoicing in the Lord and not being anxious in anything. And yet the world grumbles and disputes. We are to be blameless, verse 15. Innocent, children of God without blemish, even though we are what? In the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

This life is hard. Getting through it is difficult. How many brethren have you seen over the years fall away from God? Being a Christian is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. It’s a race that we are to endure. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1 through 4 goes into great detail. But what are we to do in this race? How are we to make it? Look unto Jesus. We have to continually go and go and go some more, but how are we going to make it? Only if we’re connected to God. And to be connected with God, we need to be fed on the words of life. And we need to have a relationship with our God that says, my sufficiency is in the Lord. I will make time for God.

4. As His Custom Was From the Early Days

Dear God, please have grace and mercy on me. Help me shine as a light in this darkness. Help me to stick to your narrow way. Help me to be who you want me to be. You see, that’s a very different life. That’s a very different perspective than that of the world which doesn’t care. The world that is grumbling and disputing, the world that is crooked and twisted. The world that is going down that broad way. See a final point in Daniel chapter 6. And those of you in the New King James Version will see this more clearly than in my English Standard Version. But in Daniel chapter 6, if you note the last part of verse 10, not only was he down, Daniel on his knees giving thanks to God, but the English Standard Version says, as he has done previously.

But the New King James Version makes it clear it was as his custom was from the early days. And yes, this is perhaps a repetition of the first point to make prayer a daily habit. But it is no coincidence that Daniel in verse 3 was distinguished above all the other high officials because an excellent spirit was in him. And that Daniel’s habit, his life, was marked by prayer to his God. Faith and prayer are not separate aspects of a journey. The Christian who has faith that God is the omnipotent being that he is, prays to him because he knows we need God. And God will be there for us. And he wants us to petition Him, and we need to pray to our God. Perhaps that’s why Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 17, pray without ceasing.

Conclusion

Is your life one marked by prayer? Is your life one marked by a recognition that without God we are stuck in our sins? Without God, this life is not worth the living. If we know that’s true, if we know our citizenship is in heaven, we will get down our knees and thank God, not just at the dinner table, not just when we wake up, but all the day long, because we know when things are good, God has blessed us with it. When times are tough, pray to God for deliverance. And if I need to know the way, I can read his words and give thanks to him that in this day and age we have unprecedented access to his law, to his words. And each and every day, maybe it might help us if we remember that Jesus was on the cross, nails through his hands, put to death because of my sin.

Jesus loved us enough to obey his Father’s will, to die on the cross for our sins. We need the Lord, brothers and sisters. We need him badly. And we can make that known in prayer. We need to make prayer a daily habit. We need to make sure that we are taking anything that this life throws at us and taking that in turn to the Lord in prayer. We need to give thanks to God and not just give our problems, although that is certainly a great blessing of being a Christian, but also glorify God. Praise his holy name. And certainly if we have that perspective, we will pray without ceasing. Will you go to God in prayer with me at this time? Almighty Heavenly Father, we give thanks to you for creating this world with us in mind, giving man dominion over all that you have made.

You are a powerful and mighty God. We know that you are the ruler over all kingdoms of men. For Lord, we pray that at times when we stumble, when we choose to violate your will, that you will forgive us of our sins. We pray that we will be found pleasing in your sight, innocent and blameless, that we will emulate your servant Daniel, who consistently stood up for your principles, prayed to you even when the world didn’t want him to. Help us always to have a mindset that we need you and to act on that by seeking your word and praying to you. As we give thanks to you, O Lord, we recognize that you sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, and we thank you for that great blessing.

We pray that we forgive others as you have forgiven us. We pray that we show grace and mercy to others, as we pray that you show us grace and mercy. Thank you for giving us your good book, the holy word of God. Help us to be like Paul, help us to be like Daniel, and most of all, help us to be like Jesus, who knew your word, who preached it and taught it, but most importantly, had a relationship with you, one that submitted to your will and was always found seeking you, praying to you, seeking to honor and glorify you in all ways that they lived. Forgive us of our sins again at this time. It’s in your Son’s name we do pray. Amen. As we think about Daniel’s faith, as we think about the kingdom, yes, he had faith despite insurmountable odds.

Many a Christian, myself perhaps included, would fall away if I was threatened with the lion’s den. I wonder of this number how many people, if threatened with being thrown in the den of lions, would remain faithful to God. It’s a great challenge to consider. But maybe. Definitely, if we took it to the Lord in prayer, we could trust that like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, whether or not God stepped in and delivered them from the fiery furnace, our God is the creator. If you know at the end of Daniel chapter 6, note the impact that Daniel had. It was not one impact of just on this one soul with this one lion’s mouth being stopped. But in Daniel chapter 6, note in verse 25. Look with me here.

It’s powerful. Daniel chapter 6 and verse 25. Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in the earth, peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in all my royal dominion, people are to tremble and be fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues. He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. He who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions, so this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian. We can serve that great and living God. If you are a Christian this morning, you can have access to that living God, the God who shut the mouth of the lions, and the God who did everything else that we can read about in the great words of life.

But if you’re not a Christian, understand that that living God still exists. And that Jesus alone holds the key to our eternal faith. Jesus’ blood that was shed on the cross for our sins is the only thing that can reconnect us with our Lord. Will you take advantage of the blood of Christ this morning? Will you believe not only that Jesus is the Christ, but that by being baptized into his death, burial, and yes, being raised again as a new life, you can be with God forever, starting your physical and spiritual journey towards the Lord. You can do so now. The baptistry’s ready. Christians here are ready and willing to pray to our great God. It’s not an emergency, it’s a great God that we can pray to.

Let’s serve our great God today. Let’s start now. If we can help you in any way, come forward now as we stand and sing the invitation song.