The Beacon
October, 2022
“He (Daniel) got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.” (Daniel 6:10b)
Daniel was positioned to be “set over the whole kingdom” of Darius, king of Persia. He had become distinguished above all the other presidents and satraps – which did not sit well with them. They wanted to bring him down, but he was described as being “faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.” (Daniel 6:4)
In response, an evil plan was concocted. The king’s advisers got him to sign off on a “thirty-day law,” saying that whoever petitioned any god or man other than the king would be cast into a den of lions.
When Daniel became aware of this plan, he went to prayer – prayer to the King of the universe! His “crime” was discovered and Daniel spent a miraculous night probably listening to some heavy “purring.” His adversaries were not as fortunate in their time with the cats. Daniel’s accusers and their families were cast into the den of lions…
Is it hard to pray when surrounded by some with evil intent? It can be. And yet some persist in praying to the one and only true God of the universe! Will you continue to pray in these (in my opinion) increasingly evil days!
Rosa Lalor is a woman from Liverpool, England who is contesting a penalty she received while going on a prayer walk during a COVID-19 lockdown. She walked and prayed silently almost every day during the 2021 lockdown as part of the daily exercise permitted by the regulations at the time. She was masked, socially distanced, and alone. When approached by a police officer one day, she was questioned as to why she was outdoors and outside an abortion clinic. She answered that she was “walking and praying.” The officer said that she wasn’t praying in a house of worship and that she did not have a “reasonable excuse” to be outdoors. She was arrested, detained in a police car, and fined.
Something similar happened in Greensboro, NC, as several pro-life citizens were arrested for engaging in peaceful prayer and sidewalk counseling outside an abortion facility.
In Romans 12:21 the Apostle Paul said, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Is that your response to what is taking place today?
More related instruction from Paul is found in Ephesians 5:15-17 where we read, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Daniel fell to his knees in prayer in his “day of evil.” How are you responding to our day?