A Prayer about Praise Trumping Paranoia
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. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and pleas before his God. (Dan. 6:10–11)
Heavenly Father, I am so drawn to the heart that beat in Daniel’s breast— a heart filled with praise for you, not paranoia about his life. He just learned of a decree that anybody praying to any other god or man but King Darius would become lions’ lunch. So what did he do? The same thing he’d been doing for decades in Babylon. The windows are open, his knees are bent, his gaze is set, and even be- fore he asks you for help, he offers you thanks. He’s neither paranoid nor presumptuous, but he’s most definitely at peace.
What freedom, what beauty, what intimacy with you this aging son and servant of yours enjoyed. But why am I surprised? Haven’t you promised, “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green” (Ps. 92:12–14 NIV)?
Father, you never demanded that Daniel get on his knees three times a day. You didn’t have to— it was his delight. No government decree could keep him from praying to you, loving you, seeking you, worshiping you. He was much more committed to your eternal glory than to his personal survival.
How much more should this kind of peace and praise mark my life, no matter what spiritual warfare looks like in my day, no matter how intense the clash between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God gets. For even as “the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8), he’s a defeated foe. I live in the victorious day Daniel anticipated from afar. Indeed, your Son, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed” (Rev. 5:5 NIV). Jesus is the Lion with whom I want to be thoroughly preoccupied.
Father, as I get older, please keep me fresh and green and fruitful through the gospel. Fill my heart with your glory and grace, and use me however you choose, all the remaining days you give me in this your world. I pray in Jesus’ magnificent and merciful name.
Amen.