Series: Habits

Sermon Title: Pray, No Matter What

When I think of someone who had a habit of prayer, Daniel comes to mind.

Daniel 6:1-28

¹ It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; ² and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. ³ Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. ⁴ Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. ⁵ Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

⁶ Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! ⁷ All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 

I believe the reason Daniel:

• Had an excellent Spirit
• Was distinguished above all
• had found God’s favor
• Had no ground for a complaint
• Faithful

Is because Daniel had a consistent prayer life.  He was in constant communication with God.  Constant communication with God changes you. 

As a believer you can be assured that the world will be jealous as they see God’s favor upon your life.  Even still you must remain faithful to prayer. 

These men who were jealous of Daniel knew that his success was somehow connected to his prayer lifebecause that is the very thing they went after.  The world is paying attention to your life and will try to discredit your belief in God.   

Since they could not find anything wrong with Daniel to accuse him of they went after that thing that led to his greatness.   They went after his prayer life, for if they were to destroy that , then he would become just as they are. 

If he were to stop praying for 30 days, then he would not be in touch with the things of God and would probably not be in His favor either.  He would lose that connection that made him so distinguished from the others.  For man cannot live a day without God how could a man of God live thirty days without praying to God.

But if he did pray, going against the decree of the king then Daniel would die.  So, either way their problem would be solved.  So, they thought.

The enemy of your soul knows how powerful prayer is and will try his best to keep you from it.  Satan will cause you to be so busy or so distracted that you do not have time for prayer, or maybe he will get you so discouraged because your prayers seem to go unanswered that you lose interest in prayer.

He will try to convince you to go elsewhere instead of going to God for your answers.

Try fixing your problems with self-help programs or with this bottle, with these pills, this relationship, escape the pain of reality by getting lost in this video game etc… Anything but go to God in prayer.

King Darius accepted the idea that people should go to no one else for help but to himself.  That by some wild stretch of his imagination that he was able fulfill every need of every person an attempt to replace God.  How could he possibly meet all the demands of his people including his own for he was no God at all no one else can do what He can.

⁸ Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” ⁹ Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.

King Darius signed the document to remove prayer from his kingdom. The authority by which this could not be undone was “according to the law of the Medes and the Persians.”

According to this law, any laws or proclamations that are made cannot be repealed.   It was likely used to limit kings from going on a whim or showing favoritism.

Though he likens himself to “God” by signing a document which people must petition him alone, we quickly learn that King Darius is subjected to the laws of the Medes and the Persians. 

While both King Darius and the enemy of our soul have power to afflict God’s people it is a limited power.  They can only do what the supreme authority allows. 

But here is where we want to get to today. 

¹⁰ When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem.

Last week we mentioned that worship is not confined to a place and here we see Daniel making his home a house of prayer.  As a reminder Daniel has been taken into Babylon as an exile, he is not in Jerusalem, yet he makes his home a place of prayer. 

God is omnipresent meaning that He is always at all places.  There is not a place where you can go, where God is not there.  Though Daniel found himself in a distant land, amongst a foreign people, Daniel finds a familiar friend in prayer.  For God is a very present help in time of trouble.

Being that we spend much of our time at our homes, it only makes sense that Daniel’s house was a house of prayer. Prayer must become a part of who we are.

Furthermore, “when Daniel knew… he went.”

His automatic response to finding out bad news was to go to the upper room in his house to pray.  That was his first response. 

How many times do we pick prayer as the last option when hearing bad or discouraging news?

We treat prayer like the last kid to be picked in a softball game.  Well, I guess I’ll take so and so.  Well, nothing else worked, I guess I’ll try prayer.

Prayer is powerful and should be the first thing that we turn to.  God is first and foremost in our lives. He is the reason we live move and have our being.

Daniel knew and so he went to house to pray. 

He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God,

If you were to stop right here you may think that this order from the king was weighing heavily upon Daniel’s mind, thus the reason he finds himself praying three times a day. 

But then you come across the next phrase “as he had done previously.”

Meaning before Daniel knew about the king’s order, he had prayed and gave thanks to God three times a day.  He did not wait until things fell apart in his life to go to the Lord in prayer. But he is simply continuing the pattern of his life.  But now that he knows the king’s edict, he has some new direction for his prayers.  Daniel knew where to turn. There was no guessing, there was no picking prayer as a last resort.  He knew that in that secret place he could find the Lord and make his petition known. 

Proverbs 15:8   ….but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.

The manner of his prayer: He got down on his knees.  It is a position of humility.  It is a position of dependency.  It is a posture of admiration. 

He includes giving thanks unto God in his prayer.  If you want a good model for prayer,

• Proceed with Humility
• Render thanks.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

• Ask Your Request (pray to God not to the universe, Mary, saints)
  • Toward God
  • Through Jesus

• Timothy 2:5-6

⁵ For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 

• By the power of the Holy Spirit

• Yes, to His will (Be Persistent) (PUSH)

Daniel prayed three times a day every day. 

Matthew 7:7-8

⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

¹¹ Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God.

When your enemies seek to harm you, be found clothed in the armor of God, praying and making petitions to Him.

Ephesians 6:18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Daniel is found praying, making his petitions known to God. 

This is remarkable because Daniel being a high official (only 3 men including Daniel held this position) could have pleaded his case with King Darius letting him know that he did not agree to this edict.  However, he pleads his case with God instead.

Don’t waste your time arguing with fools, (Darius acted foolishly for he didn’t consider Daniel’s allegiance to his God.)

Proverbs 23:9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.

Bring your petitions to the Lord.  He will hear your plea and He will handle it.

Though Daniel was a man who faithfully prayed three times a day, He was still faced with great adversity.  In his adversity it may have seemed like his prayers have gone unanswered.  For he was facing the death penalty in a lion’s den if he did not adhere to the king’s edict.

Let me just say, that as believers we are to submit to the governing authorities to a point.

Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

That is we submit until the laws of the land contradict what the Bible teaches.  In which case we are submitted to an even higher authority than that of our government.  We are submitted to God first and foremost.

¹² Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” ¹³ Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”

Daniel could not obey the laws of men for it meant he must break relationship with God.  Daniel was not willing to sacrifice relationship for self-preservation.  For if we lose our relationship with God then what is left to preserve.

Consequently, Daniel must suffer the penalty for disobeying the king’s edict.

Was all that praying in vain being that Daniel’s death looked certain?

What to do when prayers don’t seem to get answered?

When it seems like our prayers are not being answered in the way that we expect, then we must trust that God has a greater plan that goes beyond what we can imagine.

Let’s summarize the end of the story.

• The king tries to deliver Daniel (vs 14)
• The evil men remind the king of the law that cannot be repealed (vs 15)
• The king gives the decree to throw Daniel in the lion’s den. (vs 16)
• The king tells Daniel “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 

It is ironic that the law that King Darius put into effect rendered him powerless to do anything to save Daniel.  He was supposed to answer all the petitions made by all people in his kingdom, yet he fails to be able to deliver Daniel from his own edict.  How foolish are the ways of man.

¹⁹ Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. ²⁰ As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” ²¹ Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! ²² My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” 

I would say that Daniel’s prayers were quite effective.  They were not prayed in vain.  The Lord heard his prayers and delivered him with a great deliverance.  For these lions were hungry.

²⁴ And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

The Lord had done more for Daniel than what he could have imagined. 

• The Lord had rescued Daniel from the Hungry Lions
• The Lord had judged and destroyed Daniel’s malicious enemies.
• The Lord demonstrated His power and changed the heart of King Darius; for he decrees:

²⁶ I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,

for he is the living God,
    enduring forever;
his kingdom shall never be destroyed,
    and his dominion shall be to the end.
²⁷ He delivers and rescues;
    he works signs and wonders
    in heaven and on earth,
he who has saved Daniel
    from the power of the lions.”

• From this decree all the people in his royal dominion were to fear God. They go from making a decree that no one should pray to any “god” or man except to the king, to now everyone should fear and serve the God of Daniel.
• Finally, we see that God blesses Daniel in the end. Much like the story of Job. 

²⁸ So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

God’s people win in the end.  Daniel won because he did not compromise his values especially went it came to prayer. 

We must resolve in our hearts to always be people who pray, no matter what.