Daniel 6:20-22 - When he came near the den, he called to Daniel
in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God,
whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?" Daniel answered, "O
king, live forever! My
God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king."
Some high officials of the king had tricked him into ordering
everyone to petition only the king for any reason. They knew that Daniel would never
give up his prayers to Jehovah morning….noon…and evening. They knew that the king would have to keep
his word and throw Daniel into a den of lions so that he would finally be out
of their way.
Daniel did not deny that he had petitioned his God when he
was brought before the king. So the king had no other recourse but to follow
his own decree. He had a fitful night…going to bed without supper…tossing and
turning…thinking of the horrible thing he had done to one of his favorite
officials. He even ran at first light to the den….with hopes that Jehovah had
indeed found a way to rescue Daniel and called out to his servant to come out.
This story is proof positive that God can do anything he
wants. He shut the mouths of the lions so that Daniel could live and show the
king that God was indeed real and in the business of saving his righteous
followers. His faithfulness not only saved him…but became an example for all
that tried to rig life in their favor to be very careful when the opponent was
God.
It is a great reminder to me of the power of prayer. Prayer changes things. It shuts the mouth of lions. It brings comfort to those suffering in
trials. It brings healing to the diseases that try to take the life from our
bodies. It gives us strength in times of
difficulty. It gives us supernatural power
when God needs to use us to do his work.
I will be the first to admit that I am no Daniel. Sometimes I feel God’s power in my prayers…and
other times I wonder if he was listening at all. Sometimes my prayers have passion and seem
effective…and others they are weak…a minimal offering of petition or praise. At
first I think I am being too hard on myself…but humility works its way into my
thoughts and I realize how very short I come to being a great prayer warrior
like Daniel…or Moses…or even David.
What is great about God is that we always have a chance to
get better once we admit that we are not where we need to be. I can start today…to develop a better routine
of prayer…to learn how to pray with more passion….to be a more effective prayer
warrior…no matter where my physical body may be at the time.
Father…thank you for the reminder that prayer should be an
important part of my relationship with you.
Forgive me for allowing my habits of prayer to be interrupted by
tiredness…or caution that I am in public….or by the simple forgetfulness that
seems to rule most of my day. Help me to
be as passionate about prayer as I am about writing each day. Help me to develop a boldness like Daniel and
Moses…and David to come to you…asking you to intervene in all the needs that
are brought to my attention. Help me to
connect with your holy spirit when I pray…so that they may be as powerful as
possible. Amen.
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