Daniel

July 30

Daniel 6:1-13

Nothing will stop me

On the same night that Belshazzar saw the writing on the palace wall, his kingdom was conquered by Darius—as Daniel had told him when he explained the message from God.

Darius chose Daniel, together with others, to look after the daily affairs of his kingdom. Daniel did everything so well that Darius wanted to put him in charge of the whole kingdom.

However, the other governors were jealous and tried to find something wrong with the way Daniel did things. But they couldn’t find a single thing because Daniel was so honest and reliable. So they persuaded the king to give a strict order that no one was to be allowed to pray to any god or person for thirty days, except to the king. Anyone disobeying the new law would be thrown into the den of lions.

The king signed the law—not realizing that this was a trap to get Daniel killed. When Daniel heard about the new law he went home. Then he went upstairs and knelt down in front of a window that faced Jerusalem. There he prayed to God—just as he had done every day.

Why did Daniel let everyone see he was praying?

After hearing about the king’s law about praying, Daniel could have still prayed three times a day—but in a small room where no one would see him. He didn’t even have to kneel for God to hear his prayers. He could have just thought the words of his prayer. So why did Daniel pray where everyone could see him?

Even before Darius brought out a law to stop people praying, Daniel had decided in his heart that he was going to pray at his window every day. Daniel was not going to pray in secret and let others think that he had stopped praying. Even the threat of death could not put out his light that was shining in a dark, sinful world.

Verse for today

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14