to chapter 6 in the book of Daniel, we turn our Bibles this evening, reaching the halfway mark of the book. And that means that we will be resuming our series on Romans next Sunday evening, the Lord willing, and return to treat the second half of the book after we're done with chapters 5 through 8 in the book of Romans. The sermon this evening is based on the entire chapter, chapter 6, so we read the entire chapter at this time. This is God's inspired Word. It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom and 120 princes, which should be over the whole kingdom. And over these three presidents, of whom Daniel was first, that the princess might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find none occasion nor fault. For as much as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, we shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king and said thus unto him, King Darius live forever. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counselors, and the captains have consulted together to establish a royal statute. and to make a firm decree that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for 30 days, save of thee, O King, he shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O King, establish the decree and sign the writing that it be not changed according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Wherefore, King Darius signed the writing and the decree. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house, and his windows being opened in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed, and gave thanks before his God as he did aforetime. Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. Then they came near and spake before the king concerning the king's decree. Has thou not signed a decree that every man shall ask a petition of any god or man within 30 days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, the thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Then answered they, and said before the king, that Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him. And he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him. Then these men assembled unto the king and said unto the king, no king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, thy God, whom thou service continually, he will deliver thee. And a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lord, that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and passed the night fasting. Neither were instruments of music brought before him, and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel. And the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, Is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not heard me. For as much as before him innocency was found in me, and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding glad for him and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no manner of hurt was found upon him because he believed in his God. And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them their children and their wives. And the lions had the mastery of them, and break all their bones in pieces, or ever they came at the bottom of the den. Then King Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom, men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, and steadfast forever, and his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even until the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who have delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Thus far we read from God's holy inspired word. May he bless the reading of his word. Beloved congregation, as we move from chapter five to chapter six in the book of Daniel, certain things have changed, but the things which really do matter haven't changed. What has changed is that this is now no longer the Babylonian world kingdom, but the Persian world empire. They are both powerful and wicked kingdoms with proud, wicked, unbelieving rulers, of which now Darius is the king. And though their methods of torture and punishment are different, one through a fiery furnace and the other through a den of lions, both are cruel, both are oppressive, both are ruthless in maintaining their unquestioned authority. Importantly also, what has not changed is that Daniel is still a faithful servant of Jehovah. He finds himself once again, not just as the chief wise man now serving a king of a world kingdom, but now the chief vice regent in this more organized king ruling over his kingdom. Here in this wicked kingdom, Daniel finds favor with his king as he honors him in service according to the fifth commandment of God's law. However, Daniel finds not favor with his colleagues, those other wicked court officials who are jealous of him. and who come up with a wicked plot and assault that eventually forces the king's hand into delivering Daniel into a den of lions. But beloved, most importantly, Daniel continued to find favor with God, and God gave him a blessed deliverance through prayer. Let's take that for our theme this evening, Daniel's blessed deliverance through prayer. We'll notice in the first place the assault on prayer, in the second place the response of prayer, and we conclude with the blessedness of prayer. What began Daniel's blessed deliverance in chapter 6 is an assault on prayer against him. For Daniel is judged by God's word to be a man with an excellent spirit. And that undoubtedly at bottom is speaking of Daniel's excellent spirit of prayer. In verse three we read, then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was in him. What a wonderful compliment, isn't it, people of God, to receive from God that Daniel, or anyone, should be called by God to be one with an excellent spirit. Such an excellent spirit was Daniel's that the king, verse 3, thought to set him over the whole realm of his kingdom. Now there were three vice rulers or vice regents whom the king trusted upon to rule his huge world kingdom, but now the king, Darius, decides to promote Daniel above the other two so that he is the top dog among the three. Equivalent then to the vice president of our country. Daniel's excellent spirit in him was displayed to the king and to all men as one who was faithful, one in whom there was, we are told, no fault, a blameless man, one who could not only not be influenced by bribery and corruption and greed, but also undoubtedly would take issue with those sorts of things and would protect the name and well-being of his king. So that we have here a faithful obedience to the word of God from Daniel and specifically and in particular for Israel's sake. captive Israel here in Babylon for the safety of all the Israelites dwelling in Babylon to raise children there so that they may return to their homeland at the end of their captivity. But while that excellent spirit was well-received by the king, that same spirit of Daniel's was not well-received by his colleagues. It was resented by the colleagues. It was rewarded by the king, but resented by his colleagues who were jealous. That promotion that Daniel received from the king stoked the flames, fiery flames of envy and jealousy among the hearts of these sinful colleagues of Daniel. They absolutely detested then Daniel and his excellent spirit. These presidents, so-called, and princes sought then to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but could not find any occasion for fault. And so, they had to fabricate one for themselves, laying hold of the cause for His unswerving, blameless, holy conduct, His life of prayer and loving obedience with His God." Specifically, and in particular then, this excellent spirit displayed before man was excellent really because, first of all, and at bottom, it was an excellent spirit before God. And in particular, an excellent spirit of prayer. And that's well captured in verse 10 where we read, now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God. As he did, a four time. What a lovely verse that's recorded of Daniel and his conduct at his time, setting forth an exemplary life and practice of prayer. We all do well to learn from him several lessons on prayer, seven of them this evening. And in the first place, notice that Daniel consciously found a place for prayer, a place conducive for prayer. We read, first of all, that he went into his house. Now, while it is true that we, in the New Testament especially, can pray anywhere and everywhere, it is also true that not every place is equally conducive to us for prayer. And like Jesus, his Lord and Savior, who often went into the mountains to pray, Daniel, in his great need, would find a conducive place to pray. And that place for Daniel was his house. That was his place of operation in prayer. And that, beloved, is something well for us to take note. Are you praying, beloved? Are you fervent in your prayer life? And do you make it a point to find a place conducive for prayer? This is the first lesson. Daniel finding a conducive place for prayer was all part of the loving obedience and submission unto the law of Jehovah God, which Daniel gave himself to. So secondly, we want to consider prayer as a loving obedience to God's holy instruction. A loving obedience that shows itself in good times, when it's easy to pray, when there's no punishment, no penalty to do that sort of thing, but also very importantly when we would have to risk our lives for doing so. Notice those last words of verse 10, as he did aforetime. In other words, Daniel did not compromise on the instruction of his God concerning prayer. He continued to pray. and rather openly too with his window open toward Jerusalem, just as he was directed by God to do so in his day even after the king had made his decree." That the king made his decree didn't make one iota of a difference to Daniel. for Daniel, all talk of how he could serve the Lord better and care for Israel's captive people better and for their long-term good by just waiting for 30 days, just hit the pause button on prayer for 30 days and yield to the king's decree and command, that was banished as foolish Faithless and unacceptable thinking in the heart and mind of Daniel. Daniel would not play that sort of game. He prayed as he did a full time. Business as usual, I'm still in prayer." And that leads us to say that Daniel's wonderful example of no compromise, so to speak, on his prayer life to God was no flash in the pan kind of thing. It was all part of a strong and consistent, constant life of prayer. In a word, Daniel was, in his heart of hearts, devoted to Jehovah. He was devoted to Jehovah and demonstrated that in the midst of his busyness by his ceasing not to pray. This is something for us in our modern life and living to take note. This is something for us who are all pretty busy and kept busy by all sorts of activities and distractions, including technology. Daniel never found himself too busy to pray, even though he was the vice president, if you will, of a world kingdom. Beloved, it's so easy for us, isn't it, to deprioritize prayer in the busyness of our lives? How easy it is for us to find an excuse, to excuse ourselves from prayer, to abbreviate, to shorten our prayers and thereby cause our prayer lives to suffer. Daniel would have none of that. Not Daniel, and Daniel who was thoroughly devoted to God from the heart. And that showed also in the next and fourth aspect of his prayer and prayer life, which is this. His posture in prayer. We find in the text that we are told that he kneeled upon his knees. He kneeled in prayer. Children, did you take note? Daniel kneeled on his knees in prayer. Now, while there is nothing wrong with being seated in prayer, or for that matter, adopting another posture such as standing, in prayer. There's nothing wrong with being standing in prayer or being seated at church in prayer. We do well to note that there's something special about this posture of prayer that is called kneeling, that the Holy Spirit calls our attention to. There is something to be said for this posture for kneeling. Beloved, if you have never tried it before and you are able to, I suggest you give it a try. Try it this evening. Try it tomorrow morning. Go literally on your knees in prayer, perhaps by your bedside, and start speaking to Jehovah in that position. And you will know from experience what that does. What does that do? It humbles us, doesn't it? We are like beggars pleading before the majestic throne of our Heavenly Father. We are kneeling before Him. We are in a position that's very, very low. It humbles us. It causes us to remember who we are and who He is that we are praying to. This too, I believe, is something for us to learn from Daniel's example. That's fourth and fifth. Consistent with that, notice Daniel's constancy and regularity of prayer in his life. We are told that Daniel prayed three times a day in the Word of God. And that's pretty consistent with the psalmist in various places, such as Psalm 55, where he confesses that he engages in prayer morning, noon, and evening. Daniel prayed three times a day, every day of his life. Daniel prayed three times a day in spite of his busyness as the prime minister of a world kingdom. Daniel prayed three times a day in times of peace, and as well also in times when his life was threatened. Daniel prayed three times a day in loving obedience to his God, and remarkably also in his very old age now, still upon his knees. And in his hour of great need, when he knew that his life was being threatened, Daniel did the same, and in the sixth place, notice that Daniel not only made supplication, we are told that he also gave thanks to God. And that giving of thanks includes also the idea of praise, giving praise and thanks to God. As we heard this morning, that's the chief thing about prayer, isn't it? Prayer in the heart of heart of a child of God is praise and glory of God the Father from the heart personally. And that too we find in Daniel's life. In his great hour of need, when his needs are great, we find Daniel not only bringing supplications and petitions unto God for himself, we find him giving thanks and praise to his God. A scriptural pattern and formula for prayer is ACTS. We note this, A-C-T-S, the acronym, A for adoration, C for confession, T for thanksgiving, and S for supplication. That's a pretty good acronym. Beloved, we ought to endeavor to praise and thank our God and not forget to do that. We ought to make that our chief purpose and priority in prayer, in our prayer lives. It's adoration. first. And even though confession comes next, thanksgiving to him is also a feature of worship of God that's not to be forgotten in prayer. These are the very elements of prayer Daniel engaged in in his prayer life. So then, seventh and finally, if that was the excellent, excellent spirit of prayer which Daniel exercised before his God, is it a surprise, I ask you, beloved, that he displayed an excellent spirit before man? Notice the order. First, vertically in his relationship to God, and then secondly, in his horizontal relationship to men. It's never the other way around. We seek to please God first. And when we have our mind and heart set on that, we find ourselves relating to men in a proper, well-pleasing way. Daniel's was a truly excellent spirit of prayer. And with no surprise, given the fact that he lived his life clearly in view of the eye of the public, he drew an assault from his enemies, and which assault was an assault on prayer. These men, the enemies, hatched a plot against prayer and the prayer life of Daniel and really all of God's captive children in Babylon. What was the plot? It is described in the verses six and seven. Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king and said thus unto him, King Darius live forever. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors and the princes, the counselors, the captains have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for 30 days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. Did you notice, beloved, how they lie? How they flattered and deceived? First of all, they lied. All, they say, all the presidents of the kingdom have consulted together. Really? What about Daniel? They flattered. They flattered, placing the king on a pedestal as high as a god. at least for 30 days, anyway, giving him godlike powers of punishment, casting the disobedient to the den of lions. And they deceived. They deceived, making the king think more highly of himself than he truly was. They flattered the king. and sensing that their king was taken in by their proposal, they finished the execution of their plot super swiftly. The coup de grace is captured in verses 8 and 9. Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing. Do it now, king. That's the idea, that it be not changed. According to the law of the Medes and Persians which altered of not, wherefore the king Darius signed the writing and the decree." Just like that, the decree is made. The assault against true prayer of Daniel, of all gods faithful in Babylon, was now firmly in place. How wicked was this plot? How powerful they knew pride was. It worked their plot unto perfection. That was the assault on prayer as it applied to Daniel and to the Old Testament church in captivity. What about us, beloved? Are we being assaulted in prayer by our enemies today? The assault against us continues, doesn't it? And it's indirect, but also direct. Indirectly, we find so many things in this world that will take us away from prayer with God. We mentioned busyness, busyness in general, busyness with activities, activities, and activities. But beloved, like all things in life, Activities can be controlled by priorities, is it not, beloved? Each one of us knows that when we make something a priority, when we delight in that which we prioritize, amid all our busyness, we will find the time for that activity, won't we? We're going to stick, no matter what, to prayer and our prayer life with God if we do indeed make it a priority. Is your law and prayer unto Him a priority in your life? Prayer is the chief part of thankfulness. That's indirect. Directly, just as in Daniel's day, though, there are those who would make it illegal to pray to Jehovah. Is it not so in Muslim lands? Do we not find oppression with communist governments against Christians throughout the world, even countries which put Buddhism as the main religion, as we find in Myanmar? Beloved, these threats are real. And even though it has not come to this land and nation yet, be assured, beloved, that it will most certainly one fine day. We may be absolutely certain of that. Such is the assault on prayer that one day it will come to a head in the very kingdom of Antichrist. What is going to be our response, the response of our children, our grandchildren to that? Well, Daniel's response is the response of prayer. In other words, Daniel responded with prayer. You attack prayer, I pray. That's Daniel's response. He persevered in prayer. Notice verses 10 and 11. Now, when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went to the house, into his house, and his windows being opened in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day. You'd have to be blind not to see him do that and pray. and gave thanks before his God as he did aforetime. Then, verse 11, then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. Daniel was resolute. When times are good, when prayer is not being assaulted directly, Daniel prayed. When prayer was being assaulted, when his life was at stake, Daniel prayed. He didn't try to live the life of an undercover Christian. Doesn't work. Daniel persevered in prayer. He responded with the assault on prayer with prayer. Will we? The immediate result of that response is well captured by the following verses, 12 through 15. Then they came near and spake before the king concerning the king's decree. Has thou not signed a decree that every man that shall ask a petition of any god or man within 30 days save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? And of course, the king couldn't deny that. He answered and said, the thing is true. according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Verse 13, And answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with Daniel, no, with himself. He realized he had been tricked. And he set his heart on Daniel to deliver him, and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. Then these men assembled unto the king and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is that no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed." In other words, sorry king, you signed it, you sealed it, it's the law now, the law of the Medes and Persians, you can't change it. So get to action and put him in the den of lions. And so Daniel was caught praying to God. He was arrested. And then the king realized too late that he was tricked. He tried frantically, of course, to see if he could deliver him from his own decree, his own foolish action. But of course, nothing could change the very fact that he signed and sealed that decree. Daniel was going to be dinner to the lions. It seems as if Daniel's reward for his response to the assault on prayer is negative, that he is paying a costly and terrible price, it seems, for soon he will be thrown into the den of lions Well, beloved, as with Daniel, so also with us. We should not be surprised if the very same thing happens to us for unwavering, loving, faithful obedience to God in all matters, but also in regard to being fervent and faithful in prayer. But beloved, this response of prayer is not only right, it is also a necessary response. It is a necessary response of prayer. It needs to be applied to you and I. Beloved, this is the principle of scripture. Never, never must we cease praying. Not for one day, three days, 30 days. Scripture is clear. Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 17. Children, don't stop praying. Pray every day. Pray daily to your God. Our Reformed fathers took that to heart and so penned what they did in Lord's Day 45 as we studied this morning concerning the necessity of prayer for Christians. It's confessional among Reformed believers. Why is prayer necessary for Christians? Because it is the chief part of thankfulness which God requires of us. And also because God will give His grace and Holy Spirit to those only who with sincere desires continually ask them of Him and are thankful for them. Prayer is necessary. Prayer is necessary because it is the important and chief expression of he who is truly thankful to God for his salvation. And prayer is necessary because it is God's ordained means and way by which we are sustained spiritually through him. Or, to put it very simply and yet powerfully, Prayer is the breath of life. Children, are you listening? What happens if you stop breathing? Stop breathing for one day, 30 days? That's right, you're going to die. Prayer is a spiritual breathing. to God. Just as you must breathe in order to live your earthly life, so also in the same way, prayer is the breath of your spiritual life and living with God. That is the first explanation for this necessity. But there is also a second explanation for the necessary response of prayer when prayer is being assaulted, and it is this. that this is the response of true faith, a true and living faith. Now, for those of you memorizing Hebrews 11, you're going to get to verse 33 if you haven't already. And that verse reminds us that it was of faith that the mouth of lions was stopped. And that in particular speaks to Daniel and his situation here in chapter 6, doesn't it? Through faith, the mouth of lions was stopped. But let's also not forget that those others who were sawn asunder, who were stoned, who were slain by the sword, those who were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection, these ones also stood unwavering in their practice of faith by faith. Beloved, let's remember that what Daniel did in daring once again to stand alone in the midst of great tribulation and persevering in prayer is a necessary response of faith. And that response of faith begins with us diligently, frequently, regularly seeking the face of God in prayer. Constantly, continually. When times are well, but also when times are not so well. When we have lots of time, but also when we are extremely busy. And if we ever needed any more reason to pray, to persevere in prayer, to pray unceasingly and grow in our prayer life, then I suggest let us be reminded of the blessedness of prayer. a blessedness that is spelled out in chapter 6 in the book of Daniel by a blessed deliverance. First of all, and the first part of blessedness is that of a victorious deliverance from the enemy. Verses 22 and 3 record the victorious deliverance Daniel experienced, first of all, from those hungry, hungry lions in the den. Miraculously, Daniel was unharmed, He was saved all because, verse 23 says, he believed in his God. And on the other hand, Daniel's enemies were thoroughly torn up by these lions one day. We read, breaking all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den. But you see, beloved, the real victory that Daniel experienced was deliverance from another lion, Satan. Sorely tried and threatened to obey the king's decree, Daniel was delivered from that temptation even before he was given over to the lions. He was delivered through prayer. And that, as Hebrews 11 reminds us, is the real deliverance. The real deliverance that Daniel and all the heroes of faith and every child of God experiences when they are given the boldness of grace to resist sin and temptation and to stand firmly with their God. on the path that they and we all must walk on. So first, that blessed deliverance from the enemy. Secondly, that's the blessed victorious deliverance unto greater heights of true comfort, joy, and salvation in our God. Daniel and all who come through such assaults from the enemy come through with a stronger, deeper faith, a stronger, deeper hope, a stronger, deeper love and enjoyment of friendship with God through Jesus Christ. Yes, Jesus Christ. Ultimately, it is him, that Lion of Judah, who makes us all to be more than conquerors through him and to enjoy that blessed, inseparable love we have with our God. What blessedness, what joy, what victory. Amen. Bless this word, O Lord, as we see from thy word what took place in Daniel's life. May we take heart to Daniel's example, may we learn from him, and may we be encouraged by Thy blessing of Him to live the same sort of life and to respond in the same kind of way when we find ourselves slacking in prayer or being assaulted in prayer, either indirectly or directly. Grant us grace, grant that also to our children. We ask of Thee for Jesus' sake.