I’m not sure I could have done it. Most likely I’d have kept my head down and waited for better circumstances. No one asked for a martyr.

Jealous advisors hood-winked the all-powerful King Darius into issuing a pretentious decree: Anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lion’s den.

Daniel got the news and did not hesitate:

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.

I would have prayed with the shutters closed. Or with the windows open but kneeling further back in the room, out of sight of conniving co-workers. I might have moved my devotionals to the middle of the night. I don’t believe God would blame me.

Daniel, on the other hand, pushed open the windows and took a knee, a daring act of civil disobedience. Daniel may have felt that if not now, eventually these twisted advisors would figure out a way to dispose of him. Might as well face them head-on.

We know the story. God rescued Daniel from the mouths of the lions. The king and nation understood the power of the God. The bad guys got what they deserved.

But walking up the stairs, opening the windows and going to his knees proved the greatest demonstration of faith in Daniel’s life and one of the most magnificent in the Bible. Don’t hesitate. Don’t hide. The Lord who tamed the lions can tame the most ardent critics in our lives as well.

Daniel 6 in reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Mona Eendra