[Friday's Devotional] - Daniel and the Lions

Daniel and the Lions Darius is now the king and Daniel is one of the 3 most powerful men under him – and Darius intends to promote him to be "over the whole kingdom".  This makes the other leaders jealous of Daniel and keen to find a way to discredit him.  However:   They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Daniel 6:4b [NIV]   So they resorted to a deceitful decree which they knew would challenge Daniel's loyalty to God –   They all went to the king and said: Your Majesty, we hope you live forever! All of your officials, leaders, advisors, and governors agree that you should make a law forbidding anyone to pray to any god or human except you for the next thirty days. Everyone who disobeys this law must be thrown into a pit of lions.  Order this to be written and then sign it, so it cannot be changed, just as no written law of the Medes and Persians can be changed." Daniel 6:6-8 [CEV]   Daniel could not change his prayer habit, neither did he start praying in secret to avoid discovery.  The king was informed of Daniel's non-compliance and although he didn't wish Daniel harm he knew he couldn't repeal the law he had been tricked into making.   Daniel survived a night with the hungry lions without a single wound – yet when the next morning came and the ones who had tricked the king and accused Daniel were thrown to the lions, they were immediately overpowered and killed.  Daniel again was promoted and rewarded and the king acknowledged the supremacy of "the God of Daniel".   This episode in Daniel's life shows: Crime doesn't pay – the leaders and their families were killed by the lions A hasty declaration can cause trouble in the future Prayer is a good habit – not a bad one God can protect us – even from acute danger – if we have faith Obedience to God takes precedence over obedience to man   Perhaps you have enemies who are jealous of you and want to see you fail or be disgraced – take heart, God will not allow triumph for the deceitful and vindictive! Danger may come, but disobedience is not the right choice.   Lord, give us courage and faith to obey – even when we are under attack.  Amen      Dave MacLellan (First published in 2007) Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!