Imagine being audited. Not just your taxes. Your entire life.
That’s what happened to Daniel.
Daniel was a top official in the empire, and King Darius planned to put him in charge of the whole kingdom. The other officials were jealous, so they went looking for dirt on him.
They dug. They searched. They found nothing. The Bible says “they could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.”
So they set a trap. They convinced the king to sign a law: for the next 30 days, anyone who prayed to any god or man except the king would be thrown into the lions’ den.
Now watch what Daniel did. When he heard about the new law, he went home, opened his windows toward Jerusalem, and got down on his knees to pray, three times a day, “just as he had done before.”
Just as he had done before.
Daniel didn’t start praying because of the crisis. He had already been praying three times a day for years. The new law didn’t change his habit. His habit carried him through the new law.
Of course, his enemies caught him, and Daniel was thrown to the lions. The king didn’t sleep a wink all night. At dawn he rushed to the den, and Daniel called out, “My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions.”
So, what is faithfulness? Faithfulness is what you do every day, long before you need it. It’s built in ordinary moments, so it’s ready for extraordinary ones.
Be faithful in the little things. Then, when the lions show up, you’ll already know what to do.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank-you for Your faithfulness to me, every single day. Thank-you for giving me the faithfulness of Daniel, so that my daily habits will carry me through whatever comes. Thank-you for shutting the mouths of the lions in my life. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Wikipedia: Daniel (biblical figure), Daniel in the lions’ den, Darius the Mede
Look-It Up:
The story is told in Daniel 6.
At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.
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.
My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions.
Free Bonus:
Daniel was taken to Babylon as a young man. By the time of the lions’ den, he was most likely in his eighties.
Daniel’s faithfulness started early. As a teenager in the king’s court, he asked to eat vegetables and drink water instead of the king’s rich food. After ten days, he looked healthier than everyone else (Daniel 1).
Daniel’s three friends were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (see Pray 4 Deliverance).