At 7:30 two years ago on any given week night you would have found me watching ?The O?Reilly Factor? or ?Biography? but now a freshly bathed little boy sits in my lap. Instead of learning (at least that?s what I try to call my TV watching) about the world we live in, I read books about cars, planes, and Clifford. I savor those times when the Johnson?s Baby Shampoo smell combines with a good story and colorful pictures! Tonight we read ?Baby?s First Bible? which is basically each page with one picture and one sentence dedicated to all of the famous stories. The usual characters are present Adam, Eve, Noah, Moses, Jesus, and the little boy with two fish and some bread (I?ve found he is very popular in cardboard paged books, I guess it is preparation for sharing your snack at school). The character that caught my attention tonight was Daniel in the lion?s den. So once put Greyson to bed, I read through Daniel 6. The one sentence on that rigid shingle called a page didn?t do the story justice.
Daniel is faithfully serving the Lord and the king. Then the decree which is a ploy by the enemies of Daniel, is issued by the prideful King. All the prayers must be prayed to the king alone for the next thirty days. WHAT!? PRAY TO THE KING?! So big D was left with a choice. His career is moving along well, the king is about to promote him over the entire kingdom, but he is also a man of prayer. So should he keep quiet for thirty days? Just pray in his mind not on his knees? Just shush for thirty short days, one month, no big deal right? Wrong, it is a huge deal if you are a man of prayer.
When Daniel hears of the decree he immediately goes home and prays ??giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.? Verse 10. Prayer was a deep element of his character not a luxury item if he had extra time or needs. Prayer was a driving force, more important than physical safety it was spiritual nourishment. No law could keep him from his knees.
When they came to arrest him they ??found him praying and asking God for help.? Verse 11. Lord find us all guilty of prayer!
The obvious point is pray and pray no matter the circumstance. Don?t let anything stand in your way of prayer, God can rescue you from any of the lions that come your way.
The not so obvious point is that our hearts yearn to spend time in prayer. It is a part of our new nature and character we received when Jesus was trusted as your Savior. The desire for prayer is more than a guilty ?I know I should pray more.? It stems from the core of your heart. To add a not so obvious application, turn off the TV, there is a powerful biography God is writing with your life and a Factor that is more enlightening than a debate about politics. On our knees lions are tamed and kings humbled. The lions of our sin and the kings of our own kingdoms (me and you) bow before the Lion of Judah and the King of Kings, Jesus. Lord, I pray for all who read this that You would subdue the lions of circumstance but not until we trust You enough to call out to You in the den. We need prayer more than we need oxygen!
