I am writing to you again about another story of Daniel and his life. When Darius had taken over the kingdom he set over 120 satraps. I had to look this up, Satraps are like governors. Daniel was one of the governors and he become distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him.
That brings me to my first point I want to encourage you with. Daniel was distinguished because others new that the Holy Spirit was in him. He was noticeably different because of that. He was different and people noticed. I encourage you to have a certain light about yourself. Be noticeably different than all of those around you for the right reasons.
All of the satraps then came by agreement to the king and said to him, "O King Darius, live forever!" They had put Darius above God. The decided to establish that injunction and sign a document saying that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except Darius, shall be cast into the lions den.
So if anyone who Darius ruled over praised any other gods or men they would be thrown into the lions den. They put Darius over everything.
Daniel had gotten word that the document was signed and he went to his house and got down on his knees and prayed three times a day, giving thanks to God for what He had previously done. I don't know how long this lasted but he did it day after day.
This is my second point. Daniel began to thank God for all he had done three times a day. We underestimate the power of prayer sometimes and this story shows an example where prayer did work. Faithful and continual prayer. Daniel knew that he couldn't just pray one time, he knew that he was going to have to pray over and over again. That is a good lesson for all. Be continual in the things you pray for. One time isn't going to do it. Be persistent. Be persistent and watch God work. Watch God deliver you from the things you prayed for and for others to be delivered because of your prayers for them.
All of the governors and high officials found out that Daniel was making a plea before God. They were not happy about it because he wasn't abiding by the written document. They went to Darius and told him that Daniel must be thrown into the lions den for making a plea to God and not Darius.
Darius was very distressed in this time. He set his mind to deliver Daniel. He labored until the sun went down to rescue him. Darius was going to do whatever it took to deliver Daniel, unfortunately he couldn't because it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.
My third point. Darius was distressed because Daniel was going to be thrown into the lions den. He did whatever he could to deliver Daniel and it just didn't work. I believe that Darius understood that Daniel served the Most High God. He knew that Daniel was different and did not want to see him be devoured by the Lions. Daniel labored until the sun went down, meaning he worked all day trying to figure this out. There are things in our lives that we need to fight for. There are times when we get this gut feeling that we really screwed up. We can't just give up. Darius never did.
The day came that Daniel was going to be thrown into the lions den and the King declared to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you." just like that, a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his signature signet. While this was happening, Darius fasted in his palace the entire night and did not get any sleep.
Fourth. Darius fasted all night. The power of fasting is incredible. We all like food and when we go without it, we get super hungry. But when we get that hunger, we can focus on prayer and having open ears to what God has in store for us. Fasting causes us to rely on God.
At the break of day, the King arouse and went in haste to the den of lions. Darius saw that God has delivered Daniel from the lions! Daniel told Darius that God had sent his angel and shut the lions' mouth, and that they had not harmed him, because he was found blameless and that he had done no harm. The King was so happy about this. A weight was definitely lifted off of his chest when he saw that Daniel was still alive.
Next, the King commanded that the men who had maliciously accused Daniel be brought and cast into the den of lions along with their children, and their wives. Before the reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones into pieces.
My fifth point is this. Never falsely accuse anybody for anything. Don't accuse someone of being wrong about something just because they are different than you are. The leaders had to know deep down that Daniel served the Most High God, yet they wanted to look good in the eyes of Darius, an earthly king. We can never cop out to please people and things of this world rather than God. It might be what is easiest and it might give you more clout, but it's not everlasting. We need to become more astounded by God than afraid of the world. Fear causes us to cop out. We must be still and know that God is God and that He rules over all.
After all of this had happened, King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages over all the earth: "Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and 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 recuses;
he works signs and wonders
in heaven and on earth,
he who has saved Daniel
from the power of the lions."
Finally, my sixth and final point is this. King Darius had seen all that God had done and wrote to all the people on the earth telling people to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. How powerful is that? He told everyone!!! What if we shared the work God has and is doing with everyone? Whether we do that or we don't we can start with a few people. Choose somebody to share what God has done in your life. There is so much power to that.
Don't let your bones be broken by things of this world, there are hungry lions out there ready to attack. It's up to you and your trust in God.
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