As I was reading Daniel 6, I remember an image illustration about one lion, among the many lions, in the Lion’s Den who is praying, “Thank you Lord for this food that I am about to eat.”
Thank God that it was Daniel’s prayer that God answered, and not that of the jealous officers who made a conspiracy to kill Daniel.
What can we learn from Daniel about prayer?
First, Daniel is teaching us to pray to the one true God.
We can remember the story of Daniel in the time of King Darius. He was appointed by the King as one of the satraps or one of the high officers. But there were jealous people around him. They forced the king to make a decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to the Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.
In the midst of the pressure to pray to other gods or to the king, Daniel continued to be faithful. What happened to Daniel because he prayed to the one true God? Daniel was rescued by God through an angel who shut down the mouths of the lions. It was not just one lion but many lions. There was one angel only but he was able to shut the mouth of the lions. Amazing! This is how God works.
Because of what happened, King Darius was convinced of the God of Daniel.
Second, Daniel is teaching us to write down our prayers.
Daniel wrote down his prayer. Thus, we were able to read it even thousands of years later. This is a reminder for us to write down our prayers as well. Read Daniel 9 and see for yourself Daniel’s prayer.
When we read the Bible we could see a lot of prayers that were written down. The book of Psalms is not just full of songs but also prayers. John also wrote down the prayer of Jesus. Paul wrote down his prayer as well.
The ending of Daniel’s prayer is an example that we must follow. It says, “O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city…”
Daniel is someone with a lot of experience with prayers. This is a person who survived the Lion’s Den because God answered his prayers.
Let us continue to pray to one true God. Let us try to write down our prayers. And let us continue to pray for God’s mercy!
May God bless us all!
Sincerely,
Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on
Director
Office of Communications
Central Philippine University