Facing down our lions

So far this week, we've seen that Daniel had self-discipline and prayed regularly, and also that he was bold to hold up God's promises in prayer and ask for God to work in a situation. When he saw a gap between the current situation and what he knew God's will to be, Daniel asked God to solve the problem.
Daniel's prayer life was so important to him, that he was willing to lose his life over it.
Wow.
Is prayer that important to us? Do we have a set time each day that we meet God on our knees in prayer? Do we pray back God's promises to Him, and expect Him to resolve the problems?

Now let's look one more time at Daniel, as he is facing his lions; we can learn from him how to face our own!
Daniel was persistent. He didn't give up, but prayed until God answered. And yes, I know that brings up a question . . . we'll get to that in a minute. (Grin) God answered his prayers quickly about the lions, but in the entire book of Daniel, we find some interesting clues to his prayer life.

The return from exile didn't happen for about seventy years. Scholars tell us that Daniel prayed for sixty years before that answer came . . . do we have the persistence to pray for something for that long? I know that many of us have long-standing petitions we have taken repeatedly to the Lord, and we know of others who are in the same boat. I found this passage truly interesting, and I would like to encourage everyone to read chapter ten of Daniel.
Seriously. It will help in this study . . .
Here are a few of the verses, if you're impatient or short of time:

A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.11 He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.” (Daniel 10:10-14)

We see in this chapter that Daniel was praying by the river, and saw a man clothed in brilliant apparel who walked right up to him. The people who were with him at this riverside prayer gathering were frightened and left, so only Daniel was there.

Did you get what those verses seemed to say? That on the day that Daniel started praying on a certain matter, his words were heard -- and this man, who seems to be one of the angels, was sent to him with the answer. But along the way, a demonic force pounced on this angel and they fought for twenty-one days! And while they were fighting, Daniel kept praying.

Many people believe strongly in guardian angels. Many more believe in demons and demonic forces. The scholars say that the words translated here relate to angels and demons, so in my humble opinion, I have to think that it's so. Some answers only come after persistent prayer. Twenty-one days. Sixty years.
Did you know that the man known as St. Augustine was pretty wild as a youth? That his mom prayed for him for over twenty years? Then he finally came back to the teachings of his childhood, and made quite an impact for the Lord!

Here's where we come back to that question from earlier . . . how do we know? How can we tell when we should persist, and when we should believe that God is telling us "no" or "not now"? Do we struggle with this? I'm nodding, so I think some others may be nodding their heads, too!
Paul prayed three separate times for God to change something in his life -- and finally he realized that God was saying, "I'm not going to change that particular thing, Paul. But I'll give you a special measure of my grace so that you can handle it."

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (II Corinthians 12:9)

So many things in the Word seem to be on this subject . . . remember when Jesus told His disciples not to pray like pagans, who think God will hear them because they talk so much! And Jesus told us, too, that God knows what we need even before we open our mouths to ask him.

But he also said this:

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8, KJV)

Sigh.
Seems like we are presented with both sides of the coin, no?
I'm thinking of the widow we studied months back -- she wouldn't give up until Jesus said He would help her daughter. And the folks who were praying for Peter's release from prison; they didn't give up, either.
Here is what I think is the key: if it is something that we are certain from His Word, that is His will, then we don't give up. If it's what God wants. Don't give up. Ever. Pray and keep praying. If you have verses that show you what God's will is, and the present situation isn't there yet, keep on praying. Keep knocking.

The Holy Spirit has to guide us. There are some things that we will pray for, good things that we believe are the will of the Lord, that won't happen. But I believe that if God hasn't told us to stop, we shouldn't stop.
That person we are praying for to be saved, or come back to their faith? Of course, that goes without saying, we never stop there. Our marriage that needs sweetening? Don't stop praying. Other situations  or decisions will need faithful study and searching of the Word. That's the only way we can discern His will. If there begins to be a tension there, a feeling from the Spirit, well, I can't tell you what it will feel like. There are no words, I don't believe. We simply must try to continually grow closer to Him, and allow Him to speak to us in our hearts, and in His Word.

How does our story of Daniel facing his lions end?
He gets thrown in with them. Kinda feel sorry for King Darius. He never really meant for this to happen, but he was weak and gullible, and allowed himself to be flattered. The Bible says he stayed up all night worrying about Daniel!
I guess all of the wicked satraps stayed up all night partying -- Yay, Daniel is gone!
The only ones who slept were the lions and Daniel!
So, here is Darius, rushing down to the lions' den, first thing in the morning. He looks in, and there's ole Dan, reading the morning edition of the Babylonian Times, in between the snoozing lions. (Grin)
God had kept him safe, and He was glorified.

Is the point of the story that nothing bad will ever happen to folks who pray and trust God? Nope. There are lots of people who face their lions and die. This story points to the New Testament -- to someone else Who was innocent and was sentenced to death. To someone else Who trusted the Father God. To someone else Who came through His trial with six wounds, unlike Daniel, who was untouched. Who was in the grave for three days, and then rose again, defeating death and sin!

As we celebrate Easter, let us remember that whatever trial we are in, we are safe. We are loved. His presence is with us, if we are trembling with fright, or deep in despair. We can pray for twenty-one days, or for sixty years if need be, because we know that we know, that God cares and that He hears us. If we call out for deliverance and it does not come right away, we can handle it. We can deal with things of this world, because He has proven His love and commitment for us at the cross.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us,who can be against us? (Romans 8:31, NIV)

Let's press on in our prayers. When there is a gap between what is, and what God wants, let's pray! And keep praying. Don't be discouraged. Look to the cross, and then to the empty tomb -- He cares for us and has made His power available to us as we face our lions!

Facing down our lions

We've said before that it makes no difference how experienced we are at praying. We don't need eloquence, nor do we need to adhere to a set pattern. A sincere heart, fully aware of its own sin and the mercy of a loving God is more important than whether we use flowery language or not.

I believe that Daniel can give us some help, though, if we want our prayers to please our Lord and to be effective and holy. Let's look at his prayer, as he faced the possibility of joining the lions in their den.
We find one of his prayers in chapter 9, and I think it must be similar to what he prayed as the satraps watched to see if he kept up his usual prayer habits:

 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” (Daniel 9:17-19)

Daniel was in a situation that he didn't want to be in. He believed that God would feel the same way about it, and he believed that God would want to change the situation.
When we are facing our own lions, we must believe the same things.

The first thing we can see about Daniel's prayer is that he came at it with a spirit of repentance. He was humble. He could have been defiant! "Hey, I've been doing things right, here! Why have you allowed me to get in this pickle?"
Instead, he was letting God know that he was not defiant. He showed his regret for the sins of his people, and was contrite.

Humility is the fear of the Lord;    its wages are riches and honor and life. (Proverbs 22:4)

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:“In repentance and rest is your salvation,    in quietness and trust is your strength. (Isaiah 30:15a)

Daniel also showed in his prayer that he placed his hope in God's mercy. After all, we aren't worthy to demand things of a holy God. Let's not even go there. He hears and answers us because of His great love and mercy toward us.

Have mercy on me, O God,    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion    blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity    and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions,    and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; (Psalm 51:1-4)

But here is something that perhaps we miss if we are not careful. Daniel also showed an awareness of the promises of God. And he uses this in his prayer. It's almost as if he is reminding God of His promises!
Let's look at a promise that God made in Deuteronomy:

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, 2 and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. 4 Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. 5 He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. 6 The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. (Deuteronomy 30:1-6)

(The portion of verse three that says "restore your fortunes" in the NIV is translated "bring you back from captivity" in the KJV.) It's almost like Daniel is pleading with God, "Please pay attention to me, for this is what you told your people years ago!" Daniel knew his Old Testament. Well, it wasn't the Old Testament back then, but you get my drift. (Grin) He knew those words from the past, and he held them up to God. Those words made it clear to Daniel that there was a gap, a difference, in his present situation and the way that God would want it to be.
And that is where effective prayer can begin. If we are facing lions, and we recognize a situation that we know God would want to be different, that's a good start. If we see that there's a difference between our situation and what we know is His will, then we pray about that. We add the light beam of our faith to the beam of His will, and we get that laser beam we spoke of before!

But that necessitates our having knowledge of His Word! How well do we know the Book? That is how we know His will. Our prayers can be more effective if they are based on the promises He has made to us. If we want His help, we must know His promises.

Have we read the passages in the Bible that outline His plan for our marriage? Do we see a gap between what His promise for our marriage is, and what we live every day? Pray those verses, and ask His help in creating that blessed marriage that is His will for us.

Do we see a difference between what our church should be, and what it is in real life? Read His Word and pray for the church, and be a part of making that fellowship what He wants it to be.
Is there a gap in our attitudes toward others, whether Christian or unbeliever, our own ethnicity or someone different? He has instructed us on our words and behavior, and He wants unity among the believers. He wants all to hear the gospel. Pray those verses and ask for His strength as we try to change first ourselves, and then our world.

What lions are we facing? Do we know the Word well enough to find the help we need, and then to utilize that in our sincere and fervent prayers?

We can claim His promises and face down those lions. Our God shuts the mouths of lions!

More tomorrow . . .

Facing down our lions

We're continuing to study Daniel this week, and the first thing I noticed in the passage yesterday was that prayer was a discipline with him. It was a routine.
Now, by that I DO NOT mean that it was hum-drum.
That he took it for granted.
Nope.
Did you see how many times each day he prayed?
I'll wait a moment for you to check back in Daniel, chapter 6.

Are you impressed? Three times daily.
You know, I'll just bet that this is why he had "an excellent spirit," and why "they could find nothing" with which to accuse him.
What do we do three times a day?

Other than eating, I mean. Shouldn't our spiritual food be just as important?
Ouch!
Do we have the self-discipline to get on our knees and spend time with God each and every day? I'm not asking if we can do it three times daily, although that would be awesome, to emulate Daniel.
I'm just asking about once daily!

Seriously. I don't know how people do it. Life, I mean. How do people survive, that don't have the Lord to be their Friend and their strength? How do they juggle the responsibilities? The crises? The demands from spouse, kids, and jobs?  How to keep all those balls in the air?
If I didn't have the Lord as my Rock, I'd be a puddle of goo from trying to live life in this world. The stress would simply squash me.
Look at the example that Jesus provided for us. He Who was God in the flesh. Let's look at some verses:

The next morning Jesus went out to a place where he could be alone, and crowds came looking for him.  (Luke 4:42a)

And again in Luke's gospel:

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:  (Luke 6:12-13)

In college, we would study hard for an exam, and sometimes "pull an all-nighter." We'd stay awake (through many and various means) and cram as much of that textbook into our heads as we could.
Because it was important.
Jesus prayed all night before He chose His disciples.
Because it was important.
How many big decisions have we prayed over? How many times have we sought His guidance for an important decision?
Have we prayed all night? Or have we hurriedly laid it at His feet and moved on? Do we have the self-discipline to pray like we mean it? Like it's important?
I know, I know, my toes are hurting, too . . . .

Let's look at another passage:

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. (Matthew 26:36-44)

This was the night before Jesus died. He took three of His closest disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane, to pray with Him. What an honor. To come alongside of their Master and pray with Him.
He left them in one spot to pray, and then went further into the garden to pray alone. Before He left them, He told them that they needed to pray -- so that they would not fall into temptation.
But it was night time.
And they were tired.
And the grassy spot felt so soft.
And cozy.
And they nodded off.
And that is how He found them.
I don't know about you, but I think I would have been tempted to say that my eyes were closed because I was deep in prayer. Right? Hey, no way was I sleeping! Um, that would not work. We can't fool Him; He knows us.
He woke them and asked couldn't they pray with Him for an hour?
Later that evening, a frightened Peter would distance himself from his Lord. He would deny Him three times.
This study has made me wonder . . . what if Peter had stayed awake for that hour? Maybe he would not have crumbled and denied Jesus? Christ Jesus said, "...the flesh is weak." Absolutely! And that is why we need to discipline ourselves to our prayer life.

Prayer can be God's time to strengthen us, so that we can avoid temptation!
What would our days be like, if we immersed each day in prayer? What if we looked at our calendar, or our "to-do" list, or just listed the items aloud from memory? What if we prayed for each thing we are going to do?
And what would our days be like, if we set a time for our prayers? Sure, we can pray all throughout the day. At any moment, we can pause and seek His guidance and His help. But if we set a time, and we are disciplined, we will see the fruits of those prayers in significant ways!

This verse can speak to so many things in our lives. You can insert anything you wish for the word "house." Our jobs, our families, our relationships . . .

Unless the Lord builds the house,    the builders labor in vain. (Psalm 127:1a)

We truly must learn to have self-discipline. There is no magic number. Praying a certain number of times each day is not a magic charm or spell. But setting a time and sticking to it -- making it important enough to stick with it -- the results will astound us, as He honors our commitment and blesses us abundantly. We will see that we can face our lions . . .

Facing down our lions

Last week, we studied Daniel, and the early strength of character that he showed, that was the start of his good reputation. We mentioned that it was hard for bad guys to "pin something on him." This week we get to that story!
Just to refresh our memories, God warned the Israelites that if they were unfaithful to Him, He would send them away from the Promised Land, into exile. Well, they were unfaithful, and He allowed Nebuchadnezzar to overrun their land and cart a bunch off to his homeland, Babylon.
We saw that Daniel and his buddies surprised the steward of the king, when they ate simple, wholesome foods and were healthier than the captives who ate the rich food of the king's table. Daniel saw that food as something that would defile him, and so for the sake of his faith, and his God, he would not eat it. God honored Daniel's courage and faith, and blessed him and his three friends with health and knowledge.
He also gave Daniel the ability to interpret dreams, and even put "an excellent spirit" in him (Daniel 6, KJV); I guess that means he just kind of oozed graciousness and friendliness. You may have known some people like that; they're nice to be around. (Grin)
Anyway, that brings us to chapter 6 of the book of Daniel, and a new king.......

It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 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. 5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.” (Daniel 6:1-5)

What did I tell ya! The worst they could say about Daniel was that he obeyed the laws of God too much! What a reputation to have! Since they had nothing bad that they could say about Daniel, they put on their thinking caps and came up with something truly evil . . .

So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! 7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. 8 Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” 9 So King Darius put the decree in writing. (Daniel 6:6-9)

Ah, yes, flattery will get you everywhere with some peeps. So they told Darius how awesome he was, and he fell for it. Terrible political advice, but he loved what he was hearing.
Boom.
What happened next?

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.  (Daniel 6:10)

Wow.
Now that is courage, no?
Yes!
He didn't care one shake of a lamb's tail what the king or his satraps said. He got on his knees and prayed, JUST AS HE HAD DONE BEFORE. (Emphasis mine.)

And don't you think Daniel knew that he was going to be facing some lions?
Yep, he knew.

I'd like us to think about something until we study again tomorrow.

God's Word teaches us that God loves us, and that He wants to bless us. Prayer is the pipeline, so to speak, that brings His power into our lives. Prayer is the way that we grab hold of His promises and remind ourselves of those blessings and ask Him for them. (He needs no reminding, but we do. He doesn't forget.)
In the town near where I live, there is a statue to the inventor of the laser. Charles Townes was an incredibly gifted man, and he discovered that the laser works because you're sort of stacking up light beams on top of one another. As you stack them up, they become more intense, because they are all going in the same direction, and they gain strength.
Prayer is kind of like our laser. We can add the beam of our faith to the beam of God's promises, and the beam of His love and His will, and we get a laser of His power.
Is the power and blessing of God absent from our life?
Is it because we haven't claimed that power and those blessings?

Think on that till tomorrow . . . .

Friday slowdown

This old hymn written in 1873 by Phillip Bliss is a staple at kid's gatherings . . . really brought back memories for me. Hope it's a blessing to you!

A sterling reputation - starting early!

What a wonderful example for believers Daniel provides! His faith, and his persistence, and the resulting blessings from God, show God's love for us and His providence and care for us. Daniel shows us how being committed to our principles can grow our reputation.

What lessons can we learn from Daniel this week?
What can he tell us about commitments and how to keep them?
First, we can be successful in keeping our commitments to the Lord, if we are polite. Remember how confident that Daniel was, that God's way was the right way? He still didn't get loud, or harsh. He especially didn't act rude or arrogant. Being impolite never makes things better -- just makes a situation more tense.

A gentle answer turns away wrath,    but a harsh word stirs up anger. The soothing tongue is a tree of life,    but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.(Proverbs 15:1, 4)

Next, we should always seek God's help in keeping our commitments to Him. We've studied before and noted that He is pleased when we come to Him for strength. Without Him, any effort is more likely to fail.

Unless the Lord builds the house,    the builders labor in vain.Unless the Lord watches over the city,    the guards stand watch in vain. (Psalm 127:1)

And He seeks to help us when we demonstrate our loyalty and commitment to Him.

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. (II Chronicles 16:9a)

Don't forget that Daniel was persistent -- he didn't give up when the first response was "no." After meeting that obstacle, he tried again.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:7-11)

Lastly, Daniel was so sure that God "had his back" that he was willing to test his own faith. To put it all on the line for Him. He proposed to the steward that a ten day trial be held, and then see the results after the ten days. Daniel was so committed to the principles of clean, lawful living, that he was willing to trust God for the results.

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. (Malachi 3:10)

Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. (John 7:17)

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:31-34)

Often I am reminded that lessons from His Word are not just to keep us straight, but sometimes are given so that we can counsel other believers . . . . are there some people, young or old, that we can encourage to stand for their commitments to God?
What about a college age student, moving away from home? They are leaving the comfort and protection that home and family affords, and headed toward situations that will test their faith and their resolve. Let's encourage them to live and act with the purpose in their heart that Daniel had.
What about an adult in the workplace? Sometimes it's necessary to accept jobs that are worrisome, to support a family. Let's shore up their resolve, and encourage them to keep their convictions, not compromise. Let's counsel them to be loyal, but not to lie; to be flexible, but not abandon their principles.
What about someone whose spouse who is not a believer? Can we encourage him or her to serve God with a committed heart? To raise their children in the pathways of the Lord, even though there is not support for those principles from their spouse?

Let's be determined to have the faith of a teenager in Babylon! Let's purpose in our hearts to keep our commitments to the Lord! In time, we will have a sterling reputation for serving Him.