Praying to Prepare for the Lions’ Den
7. The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.
8. Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered – in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.
9. So king Darius put the decree in writing.
10. Now when Daniel heard that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows 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.
Daniel 6:7-10
What is the Worth of Prayer?
The question of prayer can be very complex for prayer itself involves much more than simply making a request to God. If we take the simplistic view of prayer, most people pray to get something, to get out of something, or to get somewhere. That is the simple view of prayer. For many prayer becomes a glorified “911 system” and the emergency calls are made where believers expect a rapid response from God for deliverance, power, and blessing. The only problem with 911 prayers is that they do not embrace the spirit of worship that should accompany the petitions. To be honest, all of us have had to call on God in a crisis. So lets be real about it. The Bible does not condemn such prayers and even suggest that we “call on the Lord in our time of need.” We must pause and ask if there is something more to prayer.
So, prayer can be extremely complex. The late Dr. Charles Stanley in his book, “Prayer: The Ultimate Conversation,” suggests that these conversations with God will help us recognize the sound of God’s voice, lead us to victory in spiritual battles, and assist the believer in becoming more confident in their walk with God.
Those are only a few of the prayer benefits. As we shall see in the prayer life of Daniel, prayer is the key to maximizing our life for the glory of God. That is a powerful statement. What it simply means is that prayer is not some magical key into God’s Kingdom but rather spending time with God to know His Heart and His Will for our lives. It is my sincere goal to help all of us as believers to discover that calling on God prepares us to face life with clarity, confidence, and conviction to live for God. There is so much that we can learn from Daniel on effective prayer that it cannot be explored in one message, but there are some principles and warnings that can be explained. This will get us started on the road to conducting that ultimate conversation with God.
Let’s go into the royal palace where Daniel was charged with breaking the Medes-Persian law. Two of the administrators inform the king that someone has violated his royal decree by praying to someone else other than the king. The king affirmed that the law cannot be repealed that the violators would be thrown into the lions’ den. Then the administrators informed the king that it was Daniel, one of his highest ranking officials, that had broken the law. These prosecutors charged that “Daniel paid no attention to the decree … he still prays three times a day.” Daniel 6:13. When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed and was determined to rescue Daniel until the sun was going down. It looked as if Daniel’s fate was sealed. But little did the king and administrators realize that Daniel had already won the case on an appeal to his God. They did not realize that God had given him victory over the lions’ den. While Daniel was on his knees praying, he was not protesting the idiocrasy of the law but was preparing to face whatever he needed to face in order to honor God. As we discover in reading the closing verses of Daniel 6, it was God’s intention to have the king sign another royal decree that could not be altered. In his own words king Darius would declare that “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 has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” In order to get such a testimony, Daniel had to go through the test.
Barriers to Prayer
The start of the test was not entering the lions’ den but rather entering into prayer itself. Whether we realize it or not, there are barriers to prayer. There is no other way to overcome such obstacles except to have a made up mind. First, there is the people barrier of allowing individuals to get in the way. Jealousy had led the administrators, satraps, prefects, advisors, and governors to attempt to trap Daniel. They were jealous because king Darius had already promoted Daniel to one of the top three positions as administrator over all the provinces in the Medeo-Persian empire. The king had further plans to promote Daniel over all the king’s leaders.
You and I would certainly find that grounds enough to complain to God, wouldn’t we? But not Daniel. He did not give into the subtle enticement of complaining to dominate his prayer life. We note that Daniel prayed to God as he had before, meaning Daniel gave God thanks and spent time worshipping God as he offered his prayers. If we are not cautious, the focus on the wrongs of others will cause us to miss out on the valuable insight that God can give us. For starters, God will provide clarity on why the situation has come about. Second, God will give encouragement so that we can be strong and courageous in responding to the situation. Third, God will also point out how we can grow in our understanding of His Will. As Dr. Stanley suggests, “we will learn to hear the Father’s voice more clearly.” Then our prayer will be that other people, including our enemies, will see the Goodness of the Lord.
There is another barrier that must be addressed and that one is caused by the problem itself. If we are not careful, we can become so problem focused that we fail to find God in prayer. How could that happen? It can happen if you magnify the problem rather than magnify the Lord. Daniel had evidently read and remembered many of the Psalms where David and other song writers presented their needs but also focused on the might and majesty of God. One particular song, Psalm 34:3 says, “O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His Name together.” Whenever believers exalt God, they automatically reduce the size of everything else that opposes God’s Way. Daniel was approximately 82 years old at this point and he knew that God had never failed him. He was confident that nothing could ever separate him from God’s love. As we approach God in prayer, let us be mindful that God already knows about our problem, what He wants to hear is our praise.
There is one other barrier, among a multitude, that can damage or severely limit our prayers to God: it is pride or prosperity. Pride is basically our way of telling God what we think we deserve. I cannot tell you of the many hours I have wasted on so-called prayer to remind God that I was His child. At the time it sounded so sincere, but I was actually complaining that I was “too good to be tested.” Here is where the maturity in prayer comes in and we must open up to God about our reaching our full potential in Christ. Here is where we admit to God that given the option, we would choose comfort over suffering. Here is where we have to say, as did our Lord Jesus, “Father, not my will, but Your Will be done.” It is here that God shows us a vision of what we shall be if we are willing to trust His Power. I believe that God showed Daniel that king Darius needed to understand the Power of God. This would eventually lead king Darius and later king Cyrus to release the Jewish captives and allow them to return to Jerusalem. Not only that, but God would also later use king Cyrus to order the reconstruction of the Temple at Jerusalem. Great things were in the making but it all started with Daniel going through the lions’ den.
My question is whether or not we would make it if we had to go through such a test as Daniel faced? Well, accept it or not, every child of God has a lion’s den. It probably won’t be as severe as the one facing Brother Daniel, but God will send you through a test in order for you to have a testimony. What is your lion’s den? Is it a sickness? Is it a family need that you are now faced with? Is it a challenge to live godly in a godless world? Whatever that lion’s den may be; your Loving Heavenly Father will prepare you for it. But you must pray and trust Him to lead you every step of the way.
Foundations for Powerful Prayers
I’m quite sure that we all have a desire to pray powerfully. With that being said, the Lord has shown me some tools or foundations on which we can build a strong and vibrant prayer life. Daniel exercised great devotion as he knelt upon his knees with his windows open towards Jerusalem. Some might classify Daniel as a super saint, but the Bible teaches that those whom God used were simple human beings just like us. The difference is that they knew both how to talk to God and how to listen to His Voice.
With that in mind, Daniel possessed one of the most critical foundations and that was the desire for prayer. It was not desperation or a crisis that caused this man to go on his knees and talk to God. It is evident that Daniel had a love for God and that God also loved him. We refer to that as a relationship. One author suggests that the more we know about God, the more we will desire to spend time with God. Here is the critical question. If it is not our desire that’s driving our prayers, what is? Think about it for a moment. Almighty God has given you access to His Throne Room. The Lord and Ruler of the Universe, including planet earth, welcomes you and I to come and talk with Him. Why shouldn’t we take Him up on the offer? But please exercise this invitation with great respect and reverence for Who God is. Don’t become so casual that you forget the One you are talking to. He is God. In the New Testament, the Book of Hebrews tells us to come boldly to the Throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find Grace to help in the time of need. Make no mistake about it, Daniel knew where his help came from. It was not desperation that drove him to his knees, but rather, a strong desire to talk with His God. They had regular conversations three times every day.
So, it is not just the desire, but also the determination to pray that gave Daniel a solid foundation for his prayer life. We talked about barriers earlier. Those things did not phase Daniel because he was of the mindset that he was going to pray as long as there was breath in his lungs. Now when Daniel heard that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows 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. If such a decree was put into law in our day, how would we respond? I for one, do not think that Daniel was trying to be belligerent. I believe he was concerned about being obedient to the Spirit of God. He was now in his 80s, so he was simply continuing what he had started as a teenager. Daniel purposed in his heart at an early age that he would not defile himself with the royal food. I also believe that he purposed in his heart to pray.
This also illustrates something else about Daniel’s prayers. His prayers had durability. They were not the fearful and tearful prayers of someone overcome by the threats of the moment. His prayers were made durable by the Hand of God. When Daniel prayed, I believe God would give him strength to carry out His Will. This also reveals a picture of our Lord Jesus’ prayers to His Father. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus offered strong prayers to God to “take the cup from Him.” While many have speculated, no scholar or theologian knows what Jesus faced. What we do know is that Jesus was strengthened to endure what no other had to deal with. The cross, the sin, and the shame of being the eternal sacrifice that would bring Salvation for all. Jesus’ prayer endured. Today, we are saved by His Blood. What does the durability of prayer look like for us? It means that we too will not buckle or bend from the heavy weight of trials. We will arise with power and great confidence that God did not bring us this far to leave us. We will have the power to say that we have come this far by faith and we plan to go all the way with the Lord. We will arise with the power to say, “for God I will live and for God I will die.” When we possess that foundation of durability, we can say with Job, “although He slay me – yet will I trust Him.” Prayer and knowing the God we are praying to will produce such confidence.
But wait, the foundation gets stronger. Not only do we have the foundation of desire to pray, the foundation of determination in prayer, and the foundation of durability as a result of prayer; we also have deliverance through prayer. There was no doubt in Daniel’s mind that His God would deliver him from the lions. He also knew that physical deliverance was not the main objective. The main objective was for him to be faithful to God in the trial. He had taken a stand for God’s Glory – now the matter was in the Lord’s Hands. When king Darius saw that he could not deliver Daniel, he made this statement, “May your God, Whom you serve continually, rescue you.” What a testimony! Daniel had already made an impact on the king. If he perished in the lions’ den – God would still get the glory. But guess what? Daniel was not on the menu for the lions next meal.
At this point, the options of what God could have done were more numerous than the stars in the sky. God could have sent deliverance by destroying the lions. God could have caused the Medeo-Persian empire to be destroyed in a moment, but none of that happened. Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den. God instead, allowed Daniel to go through what no other human had survived. God was saying, “I will get Glory through the suffering of My servant Daniel.” Daniel had to spend an entire night in the lions’ den but something had happened to the lions. The Lord did not kill them. The Lord simply stopped the lions from harming Daniel. Early the next morning, the restless king came to the lions’ den expecting to hear nothing but asking just the same, “Daniel, servant of the Living God, has your God, Whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” The KJV has the king asking in a ‘lamentable voice’ which means to say with tears. Daniel hollers back to the king, “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 at hearing Daniel’s voice and commanded him to be lifted out of the lion’s den with no harm. But what we might not realize is that the Angel was a representation of the Pre-Incarnate Christ. He had already appeared earlier on the plains of Dura to deliver Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. This time, He had come to deliver Daniel in the lions’ den. Isn’t that amazing! That is how much God loved Daniel.
This brings us to the final foundation for prayer. We are to delight in prayer. Do you think that Daniel stopped praying after this? Not a chance. Now Daniel was so overjoyed at seeing God’s deliverance that he would always have that experience to live in his heart forever. You too have seen the Mighty Hand of God. Why not delight yourself in the Lord? Why not give Him thanks for the mighty deeds that He has done? Our prayers are not just petitions that we present in the time of crisis, they are also memorials and testimonies of what the Lord has done. Prayer is a reminder of God’s Faithfulness and Love towards His people. For that reason, we should always pray and give thanks. Amen.