Fast Like DanielSample

The Lions' Den

We sometimes think that if we’re doing it God’s way, we’ll never get into trouble or difficult situations.

WRONG! 

Daniel was a powerful man of fasting and prayer, committed to God to the extreme. Yet today you’ll read that his enemies set him up to be destroyed by the very thing that set him apart: his devotion to God. Daniel was doing it right, serving God with everything he had—and it lands him in the lion’s den.

Shouldn’t God have stopped that? If God was really with Daniel, don’t you think He could’ve kept these jokers from nearly killing His boy, Daniel? You’d think that if anyone would be spared troubles, it’d be someone who prayed like Daniel, right? But that’s not the narrative of the Book of Daniel—or, often, of our lives.

Daniel had his best chance to represent God, not by dodging an appointment with the lion’s den, but instead by getting dropped right smack dab in the middle of it.

What would happen if we shifted our energy and our prayers from asking God to help us avoid problems to showing His greatness right in the middle of them? After all, that’s what He does again and again in the Book of Daniel—God shows up, and the most powerful kings in the world find themselves humbled by His power to save.

Jesus told us, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We’re going to face “lions”—that’s certain. The question is, “What will you do about it?” Will you doubt God’s goodness because you’re in a difficult spot? Or will you pray for an opportunity for Him to show up big in the middle of your trouble?

God wants prayer to be your steering wheel, not your spare tire. 

If you’ve been treating prayer like your last resort instead of your primary option, I urge you to start praying like Daniel today—humbly, specifically, and persistently. In advance, during, and after. Don’t just ask Him to keep you from having troubles; ask Him to wow the crowd when you walk out of your “lions’ den” and give Him the glory.