Daniel is an incredible person to look at for a life study. He shows us with living example what it is to live in a society wants nothing to do with God and His Word. Looking to his life we learn how to live in the world around us … to separate ourselves from the grip of the world and at the same time make an impact upon it for the cause of the kingdom. Have you dared to be a Daniel this week?
Words of Operation:
· Purposed in his heart not to defile himself
· Sought the mercies of the God of heaven
The word of operation today is "prayed" … Daniel teaches us to be a person who operates life in the realm of prayer.
In the face of adversity … character is either forged or foiled.
Proverbs 24:10 If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small.
Daniel epitomizes and challenges how you and I are to live in a dark and perverse time.
Daniel 6:3-4 Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. 4 So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him.
· Distinguished himself …to glitter, to shine … he was a second miler (cf. Mt 5:41) going beyond mere duty.
· Excellent spirit in him … preeminent … he was a kingdom seeker (cf. Mt 6:33) … putting God first.
· No Error … No Fault in him … he was a "least & much" man (cf. Lk 16:10)… faithful in all.
Because of Daniel’s character … how he lived, he was being considered by Darius the Persian king, to be in charge over all other officials.
Anytime you are climbing the ladder of advancement … either by man’s hand or God’s … there are those who will not like it … so the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel
From this we can understand that the "world" (anti-God) does not like us as Christians, unless of course we look, sound and act like them … otherwise they would rather see us fail than prosper.
John 15:18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
Since the corporate ladder climbers could not find anything wrong with Daniel they looked to his relationship with His God.
Daniel 6:5 Then these men said, "We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God."
What an incredible point of examination! Would we be found so guilty?
Well the saga continues as these ladder climbers watch Daniel and they discover he is a man of prayer. The guy prays three times a day to his God!
1. Dare to Pray when Prayer is Regulated
The plan of deception is set into motion … they will regulate prayer and cause Daniel to be in error and fault.
Regulated: to control or direct according to rule
Regulated prayer … its nothing new! The government in Daniel’s day was attempting to regulate prayer, as well as today, the highest court of this land attempts to regulate prayer.
"There something wrong when prayer is regulated and pornography is protected." - Don Hamby
1a. Buttering Up (suck up)
Daniel 6:6 So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: "King Darius, live forever!
· Before the plan could be set … they must butter up the king. Better known as "sucking up" … with deception.
· "King Darius, live forever!" was only a front … a façade.
· They were promoting themselves … "numero uno."
1b. Baiting Up (set up)
Daniel 6:7 "All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.
· Deception at its best … with the little word "all." All that were opposed to Daniel had met together to find fault and error in him.
· The Bait: Regulated Prayer for 30 days … No praying to anyone except Darius.
· Judgment: Lions Den!
· Prayer was not their motive … pronouncement of judgment was their aim.
1c. Buying Up (stuck up)
Daniel 6:9 Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.
· Darius bought their scheme with a pride filled heart!
· He signs the fabricated 30-Day law in "lex rex" … meaning even the king is subject to his own law … he could not change it!
Again I am taken back by the this point … the whole plot was based on Daniel’s stubborn, uncompromising commitment to his God!
If Daniel were to be less committed their plans would have been a wash out. In other words … they were counting on Daniel to be a committed man of integrity!
2. Dare to Pray when Prayer is Risky
Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.
With the regulation of the 30-Day prayer law intact … Daniel went home to pray … not to Darius but to His God.
Dan Shaffer, school official of Memphis Tennessee has said in view of regulated prayer (at football games), "If I am guilty of praying, I can live with that."
Daniel had three choices … with price tags on each.
1. Cease to pray … cost him fellowship with His God. (cf. 1 Thess 5:17)
2. Closet the window and pray in secret … cost him the ability to influence others around him.
3. Continue to pray … cost him his life!
· URP … "Upper Room Prayer" … Daniel had a special place and time when he prayed.
· URP praying is … closeting, closing in, and communicating with God.
· He prayed with an open heart and "open windows."
Open … means to pierce; a perforation … Daniel purposely opened the windows!
This past week at a pastor’s breakfast at Shoney’s right has we were going to pray over the meal … someone got up and closed the dividing room curtains, preventing anyone in the restaurant from seeing us pray. I know that was not their intent … but is that how we pray?
Daniel’s choice was to pray openly for "all" to see.
It is upper room prayer that Daniel gives us needed counsel and example of what prayer is all about.
2a. The Position of Prayer … Humility
· "knelt down" … he humbled himself before God.
2b. The Practice of Prayer … Persistency
· "three times" … not regulating prayer to 3 times, but showing the persistency to pray again and again.
2c. The Posture of Prayer … Thankfulness
· "gave thanks" … (yadah … to throw the hands in the air) … thanks for the situation or deliverance?
· Daniel praised God in the midst of it all.
· Have you thanked God for demonstrating Himself through your circumstances?
· Have you sought Him in your circumstances?
2c. The Pattern of Prayer … Customary
· "as was his custom" … Daniel was accustomed to praying about everything.
· Daniel had developed a prayer life from an early age. Parents … build prayer into your child’s life!
· Pattern or customary prayer is not "lead guide and direct us" and or "bless us" and or, "thank you for this food."
· No … it is not praying as usual, but it is fervent praying.
Jude 1:20-21 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
· Daniel would not commit to not prayer (undefiled).
· Daniel once again was seeking the mercy of God.
· What a stubborn man of prayer he was!
Conclusion:
We know the story line … Daniel is rated out (cf. Dan 6:11-13) and found guilty of praying to His God and is thrown into a den of hungry lions to be eaten.
What availed Daniel that day? I believe it was his daring to pray regardless to the point it accomplished much.
Daniel 6:16b But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, "Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you."
Daniel 6:23b So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.
Do you believe in the power of prayer?
James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Be a Daniel … dare to pray!
Amen!
