Miracles at the last moment -17

                          Miracles at the last moment -17

Introduction

Daniel 6:27-28 “He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”

            The life of Daniel is very challenging. He was put under very difficult situations and goes through a lot of trials and tribulations in his life. But the hands of the Lord was with Daniel right from the beginning. In the above passage we see the Lord God delivered Daniel from the power of lions. As a part of today’s meditation let us discuss on how the hands of the Lord was with Daniel and how he prepared himself to experience the might miracles in his life.

Daniel’s faithfulness

Daniel 6:3-4 “Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.”

            In the above passage, we see Daniel was faithful in his life. Daniel lived a sacred life and he did not defile himself. Despite of his faithfulness, Daniel was given into a circumstance where people ganged up to find fault on him. Though people tried to defeat him, Daniel never gave up. He stood firm and held on to his faithfulness. The faithfulness of Daniel enabled him to prevail against all their traps. We see the King himself wanted to exalt Daniel but the people around wanted to put him down. Daniel finds favor from the king’s authority. As we rightly read in Matthew 6:33 ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ We the children of God should put God first and the rest is in the hands of God. When we place our Lord as our priority, he will honor our faith.

Daniel’s prayer

Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”

            Prayer was one of key reasons why Daniel was blessed abundantly. We see Daniel had a highest rank in the nation. His position did not hinder his prayer. He prayed around three times a day. In Psalm 55:17 ‘Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.’ The relentless prayer of Daniel helps him to defeat all the biggest trils in his life. Daniel kept talking to God all day. Daniel’s prayer pleased the Lord almighty. The Lord honors his prayer and calls him ‘Beloved’ three times in Daniel 9:23 / 10:11 & 10:19. We the children of God should have an intimate connection with the Lord through prayer. This we read in Psalm 5:3 ‘My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.’ In Mark 1:35 ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.’ We see Jesus himself rose up early for prayer. And this shows the significance of spending time on prayer. Let us place all our burdens and requests in prayer. The same God who heard the prayer of Daniel will hear and honor our prayer.

Daniel’s resolution

Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”

            Over here we see Daniel takes a firm decision. Since he was in the place where the law was written, he knew about the law in advance. But he never gave any excuses. Daniel continued his prayer. The commitment of Daniel was divine and powerful than all the laws of the land. Daniel stood firm in his decision and did not give room for anything to change his life. He did not even worry about being eaten by the lion. Daniel trusted on the Lord of hosts and he knew that he will not be ashamed.

            In Daniel 6:13-14 ‘Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.’ Here we see people started to bring in allegations on Daniel. Since he did not adhere to the decree, they tried to defeat Daniel. But it all went in vain as the King was displeased on himself. The King’s heart moved seeing the steadfastness of Daniel and he desires to deliver him.

The Lord’s doing

Daniel 6:22-23 ‘My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

23Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.’

            Here we see the Lord shuts the mouth of roaring lions. The Lord changes lion’s den into a place of peace. Though Daniel was put under a very fatal situation, the Lord honored his faith. He guarded him from the lions. The faith of Daniel did not change even though he lived with the gentiles. We read in I Peter 5:8-9 ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.’

            Even in our lives, our problems can be like a roaring lions. But we the children of God should never forget that we worship the supernatural Lord. The Lord that shuts the mouth of lions and rebukes the sea. The mighty hands of the Lord will never let anything harm his children. Therefore, let us make it a point to be faithful, prayerful and make decisions that pleases the Lord almighty. Amen.