We all know the story of Daniel in the lion’s den. Daniel, put there by the scheming of jealous colleagues, was in a fatal predicament. King Darius, who had reluctantly ordered Daniel’s imprisonment, was distraught. He had been forced to exact the punishment for the sneaky law Daniel’s haters had pushed through. So, the night Daniel was in the lion’s den was a night of worry, hunger, and loneliness for King Darius. The Bible tells us that after giving the order and sealing Daniel in the lion’s den, he returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.
Grief… that’s what King Darius felt. But Preacher Girls, when God puts a certain type of grief in you, it’s for you to minister to someone else. If you’ve ever borne the pain of something, then you know exactly how to pray for someone going through the same thing. There’s a man of God in our church whose daughter has suffered from spina bifida since birth. Paralyzed from the waist down, this baby has gone through so much in her eleven years that many of us will never go through. Her parents hold on to a promise from God – that she will be healed completely. This same man of God, father to this daughter, has an anointing to heal. He’ll be the first one to tell you he’s questioned God about how it’s possible that he can pray for someone’s healing, yet his own daughter hasn’t been healed yet. God will use that same grief you feel over something in your own life, to demonstrate His glory in someone else’s. Grief will reach the throne of God.
The Bible doesn’t explicitly tell us that King Darius prayed to God for Daniel’s deliverance, but I imagine that he did because the Bible does tell that early the next morning, he hurries to the den and cries out “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” Oh, and was Daniel’s God able! King Darius knew an essential fact to Daniel’s salvation – that Daniel served the living God CONTINUALLY! Despite everything Daniel has been through, kidnapped from his home, forced to serve his captors, he continued to publicly worship his God. Daniel had a habit to worship and when you develop a habit of worship, it becomes legal in heaven.
The other ministers in the kingdom were jealous of the favor Daniel had gotten over his career in Babylon. They tried to find something to accuse Daniel of, and they couldn’t find anything. Daniel was an upstanding citizen in a foreign place with foreign gods who still honored and served the one true God. When the ministers could find no law that Daniel broke, they went to King Darius to MAKE a law that Daniel would HAVE to break. Knowing Daniel’s habit of praying, they made a law that saying you couldn’t pray for 30 days. So naturally, Daniel immediately went to pray.
He didn’t stop to think.
He didn’t hide it.
He flung open the window of his room, knelt in the direction of Jerusalem and prayed as he normally did. You see PG’s, a Daniel generation doesn’t compromise. We’re not gonna hide who we are and who we believe in. We’re gonna fling open the windows so everyone can see what we’re doing. If you are faithful to God, He will be faithful to you. In this season, Daniels are arising. A Daniel generation is full of unshakeable faith that our God is ABLE. An able God will vindicate and validate you in the face of accusations. So be faithful and stand your ground. Be a Daniel in a Babylon world. Be consistent in your faith, making time to meet with God. Open a window, get on your knees, and serve Him continually!
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