“Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions’ den. When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?”” (Daniel 6:19–20, NLT)
King Darius had Daniel thrown into a den of lions. He had done it to please his political compatriots. However, King Darius did not want to see Daniel killed by lions. King Darius knew Daniel well enough to believe his words about God. In fact, Darius was convinced that Daniel’s God was alive and well and active in the world. Despite all this knowledge, because of political decree, King Darius’ hand was forced. Though he threw Daniel to the lions, King Darius still prayed (with fasting according to Daniel 6:18) that Daniel be spared. What gave King Darius hope that Daniel would make it through alive? Darius believed that Daniel’s God was living and active and powerful.
The scripture for today has King Darius coming to the den of lions into which Daniel was condemned. There, the King shouted down “in anguish”, not wanting Daniel to be torn apart by the lions; “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?” (Daniel 6:20). In fact, Daniel’s “living God” was able to keep closed the mouths of the lions. Daniel’s life was spared. Daniel’s accusers were not spared. They and their families were shredded by the lions.
The living, active God of Daniel was able to keep Daniel safe. The living and active God of Daniel was respected for HIS power to overcome the situation and protect the innocent. The guilty were punished. The living God made sure that the right one was protected, and evil was overcome.
So many Christians make the mistake of going through life as if God was not living and active and powerful in this world! Daniel did not make such a mistake. Daniel was not only willing to pray to God, he was willing to stand up and be counted among the faithful even when his life was threatened. King Darius learned that not only was Daniel a faithful man, but Daniel’s God was to be feared! Daniel’s God was not limited to a temple or confined to a limit of power. Daniel’s God was and is all powerful, alive and active, and rendering judgments and justice in this world.
Commenting on the scripture from Daniel, George Mueller is quoted as saying:
“How many times we find this expression in the Scriptures, and yet it is just this very thing that we are so prone to lose sight of! We know it is written the living God; but in our daily life there is scarcely anything we practically so much lose sight of as the fact that God is the LIVING GOD; that He is now whatever He was three or four thousand years since; that He has the same sovereign power, the same saving love toward those who love and serve Him as ever He had, and that He will do for them now what He did for others two, three, four thousand years ago, simply because He is the living God, the unchanging One. Oh, how therefore we should confide in Him, and in our darkest moments never lose sight of the fact that He is still and ever will be the LIVING GOD.” (Samuel Hardman, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour)
I was at the hospital with a desperate mother. Her son was very sick, confined to the Intensive Care Ward. As we talked, the mother begged me to pray for her son. After the prayer, she seemed agitated. The boy was her only child. She and her husband had prayed for years for him. She couldn’t get pregnant with another. As the boy lay gravely ill, the mother smiled woefully and said, “I wish there was more I could do.” I responded, “Make sure you pray hard for your boy. And remember, God is alive and well and here with you. Ask for healing. Let your worries fly up to HIS ears. You also have about three hundred more people praying for you and your son, so go right ahead and lean on God!” She took my words to heart. A smile crept back onto her face. She was determined to talk with God about her son. I know for certain that she prayed day and night.
It was only three days later that the mother phoned me to say that her son had shocked the doctors. He suddenly and spontaneously began to get better. The finest minds at the hospital could not figure out why the boy had gotten better. To this day, they cannot figure out what made the boy well! They had stopped treatment days before! However, I knew why the boy was better. A mother prayed to a God who is living and active. God saw fit to heal that boy.
We often forget that God is living and active. God was that way in the days of prophet Daniel, and God is still the same today, twenty-seven hundred years later.
Since God is living and active, what are you needing to pray fervently about today? What challenges have arisen? What spiritual needs are present? Call upon Almighty God. HE listens. HE watches. HE protects. HE is ready to act.
The scripture for today has King Darius coming to the den of lions into which Daniel was condemned. There, the King shouted down “in anguish”, not wanting Daniel to be torn apart by the lions; “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?” (Daniel 6:20). In fact, Daniel’s “living God” was able to keep closed the mouths of the lions. Daniel’s life was spared. Daniel’s accusers were not spared. They and their families were shredded by the lions.
The living, active God of Daniel was able to keep Daniel safe. The living and active God of Daniel was respected for HIS power to overcome the situation and protect the innocent. The guilty were punished. The living God made sure that the right one was protected, and evil was overcome.
So many Christians make the mistake of going through life as if God was not living and active and powerful in this world! Daniel did not make such a mistake. Daniel was not only willing to pray to God, he was willing to stand up and be counted among the faithful even when his life was threatened. King Darius learned that not only was Daniel a faithful man, but Daniel’s God was to be feared! Daniel’s God was not limited to a temple or confined to a limit of power. Daniel’s God was and is all powerful, alive and active, and rendering judgments and justice in this world.
Commenting on the scripture from Daniel, George Mueller is quoted as saying:
“How many times we find this expression in the Scriptures, and yet it is just this very thing that we are so prone to lose sight of! We know it is written the living God; but in our daily life there is scarcely anything we practically so much lose sight of as the fact that God is the LIVING GOD; that He is now whatever He was three or four thousand years since; that He has the same sovereign power, the same saving love toward those who love and serve Him as ever He had, and that He will do for them now what He did for others two, three, four thousand years ago, simply because He is the living God, the unchanging One. Oh, how therefore we should confide in Him, and in our darkest moments never lose sight of the fact that He is still and ever will be the LIVING GOD.” (Samuel Hardman, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour)
I was at the hospital with a desperate mother. Her son was very sick, confined to the Intensive Care Ward. As we talked, the mother begged me to pray for her son. After the prayer, she seemed agitated. The boy was her only child. She and her husband had prayed for years for him. She couldn’t get pregnant with another. As the boy lay gravely ill, the mother smiled woefully and said, “I wish there was more I could do.” I responded, “Make sure you pray hard for your boy. And remember, God is alive and well and here with you. Ask for healing. Let your worries fly up to HIS ears. You also have about three hundred more people praying for you and your son, so go right ahead and lean on God!” She took my words to heart. A smile crept back onto her face. She was determined to talk with God about her son. I know for certain that she prayed day and night.
It was only three days later that the mother phoned me to say that her son had shocked the doctors. He suddenly and spontaneously began to get better. The finest minds at the hospital could not figure out why the boy had gotten better. To this day, they cannot figure out what made the boy well! They had stopped treatment days before! However, I knew why the boy was better. A mother prayed to a God who is living and active. God saw fit to heal that boy.
We often forget that God is living and active. God was that way in the days of prophet Daniel, and God is still the same today, twenty-seven hundred years later.
Since God is living and active, what are you needing to pray fervently about today? What challenges have arisen? What spiritual needs are present? Call upon Almighty God. HE listens. HE watches. HE protects. HE is ready to act.