Daniel knew his rivals were out to get him, enticing King Darius to sign a phony worship decree designed to force Daniel’s hand. But despite the edict, Daniel returned to his practice of daily prayer.

Now when Daniel learned 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.

Good habits serve us well. Daniel leaned into his powerful habit of prayer in a time of crisis. He certainly knew the king would hear of his actions and call him in for accountability. But he prayed anyway.

Of course, Daniel carried long experience with the Lord. He interpreted dreams, discussed with his friends their experience in a fiery furnace alongside Jesus, and read angelic handwriting on a wall.

Despite a death sentence, Daniel humbly knelt to say his prayers. The Lord would do with him what the Lord would do. In this case, the Lord sent an angel to hold shut the mouths of the lions and Daniel emerged unscathed.

Daniel knew the Lord’s track record was better than that of the kings of Babylon, and his faith carried him through the crisis.

But still, I bet he was nervous peering into that pit of big cats looking back up and waiting for dinner.

Daniel 6 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Dawid Zawiła