Growing up in a Christian home, school, Bible college, I am constantly amazed that God can continue to teach me from stories I have heard all my life. Surely, I could not learn something new from the story of Daniel and the lion’s den. Why have I never realized this before? The speaker in the church we attend pointed out that Daniel was obeying a command of God given to Jeremiah the prophet when he prayed. The command was given in Jeremiah 29:4-7,
4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce…. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
It has been a while since I brushed up on OT prophetical literature, but it is there in Daniel 9:1-2,
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.
So yes, it is quite possible that Daniel read and followed the words of Jeremiah to seek the welfare of the city where he was exiled, and that is what he was praying for when he prayed three times a day.
Feeling only a very small measure of what it is like to live far away from one’s homeland, compare expat to exile, I am convicted that I do not pray for the welfare of the city-state where I live.
However, that was not all I learned. In Daniel chapter 6, the story of the lion’s den, Daniel is shown following his custom of prayer, thanksgiving, petition, and plea (ESV). Yet not once does he receive any reassurance or promise from God- no answer- until he is already face-down in the dust at the bottom of the den and with roaring lions licking their chops over his head. In fact, I think he did not even have an opportunity to apply these “helpful” strategies, and probably was curled up in a fetal position waiting for the fangs until the room started to glow and the guy with wings carrying lion-sized, extra strength, duct tape showed up!
Somehow, Daniel did not need the constant reassurance I seem to demand from God. He knew he would probably die since there was no indication that God promised him deliverance. He just kept on with his normal life of devotion, which may even have included praying for the welfare of the city whose officials were trying to kill him. All day long, he may have waited for the foolishly arrogant, now repentant king to find a loophole in the law. No messenger came with assurance from God he would be delivered, no last minute reprieve arrived, and yet the king gives the greatest testimony, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” Whether as the highest counselor in the land, or the man condemned to be torn apart by lions, with no assurance of heavenly intervention he continued to serve.
Wow! Maybe I need to go back to Sunday School…