Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
The story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den is an old favorite. This man was sent there because of political treachery within a corrupt Babylonian society.
The decree went out, no one could pray to anyone but the king. Daniel not only prayed, but prayed out loud as he had always done, facing Jerusalem. You can read about it in Daniel Chapter Six (6).
Our culture, at least in the West, is so very much like that Babylonian kingdom and we are called to live within it like Daniel. The decrees go out on what we can or can’t do under one penalty or another. Daniel wasn’t belligerent about it, he did not protest in the streets, but he did not hide, either. Whether praised or vilified he lived a godly life, and so should we.
Spend some time in the little book of Daniel, he is a great role model.
– fritz
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