Psalm 42: 1, 5										Rev. S. de Marie
Psalm 143: 8, 9
Psalm 17: 1 - 3
Psalm 55: 7						Reading:	1 Kings 8: 46-53; Daniel. 6: 1-29
Psalm 55: 9						Text		 Daniel 6: 10, 11, 23b

Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The public worship of our Lord God is under pressure in our society. And how about at work or at school? Can you still pray for your food in the canteen? Or do you feel so watched and threatened that you would rather go without?
Let us be aware that not only society judges our public behaviour, but also the Lord our God.
I may proclaim God's Word with the following theme:

God maintains Daniel's faithful prayer
1. the threat to that prayer
2. the persistence in it
3. God’s hearing of it

1. During the exile, the Church of Jesus Christ is in crisis. It is a dark time. God's people are deprived of regular worship in the temple. They live in a pagan, wicked world, in which service to idols is forced and the king considers himself god. It was at that time when Daniel was living. His name means: God is my judge. That name indicates that the church is experiencing injustice and is looking forward to the justice of the Lord upon its oppressors.
In the actions of Daniel and his friends we see how the Lord, in His faithfulness, maintains His church, even in a lawless and merciless unforgiving world. This may also comfort us as a church in the last days.
Daniel is called to a high secular office under three consecutive kings. Under the second king, King Belshazzar, the Babylonian empire perished. The golden head of Nebuchadnezzar's dream of Daniel 2 gave way to the silver chest of the realm of the Medes and Persians. God carries out His counsel.
Likewise, God's kingdom will come in the time and order of the Lord God. In a very wonderful way: just as the stone shattered the image in the dream.
Darius, king of the Medes, reforms matters at the governmental level. He puts things in order and appoints new governors. Likewise, The very old Daniel, with nearly 65 years of service. must again line up. He even becomes one of the three governors. 
The king also notes that Daniel has an excellent spirit (verse 4).
That spirit points to the gifts, strength and wisdom that the Holy Spirit gives Daniel. As a result, Daniel excels in practical wisdom and administrative insight. But he is also trustworthy and loyal to the king who has been put above him by the Lord. King Darius therefore even wants to put him over all his kingdom.
But then the other governors become jealous. Will this Jew be put above them? His dutifulness will make life difficult for them, if he becomes their chief. They concoct a trick to get rid of him.
Their attack on Daniel's religion is the means by which they plan to achieve their goal. Thus they are tools in the hands of God's great adversary, Satan. For Daniel is, as a public figure for all, a faithful servant of the Most High God.
Ezekiel 14 reveals Daniel to be a righteous man next to Noah and Job.
What is a righteous one? That is not a saint in the sense of a perfect believer. But a believer who wants to obey God's will. Someone who does not want to turn to the left or right, but wants to go straight ahead, and thereby puts his trust in the Lord no matter what is happening.
But the other governors do not want to have such a righteous man. Certainly not as their leader. So they look for something in which he may be charged or of some fault. But no matter how hard they try to do that, they don't find anything in Daniel's work and behaviour that argues against him. Then they catch him on his loyalty to his God. Daniel is not ashamed of that, no he is openly aware of that.
They hatch a crafty plan. They propose to the king that everyone in his empire should not pray to his own God for 30 days. Only King Darius may, in that time, be honoured as god. Failure to do so will result in terrible punishment. They will then be cast into a den of lions, who would tear apart their thrown prey. A sign of horrific cruelty of the kings of the time.
The king agrees and this even becomes an irrevocable law under the laws of the Medes and Persians. Daniel knows about this. He knows the command and knows of the threat of cruel death to those who do not follow the command. What will he do?
Congregation, as we have said many times, in the book of Daniel it is not about the battle between people of flesh and blood. No matter how directly this threat affects Daniel's life, here too the real battle is a spiritual battle between the woman's seed and serpent’s seed.
What is at stake now? What will happen if Daniel just prays to his God less openly and obviously for a month? Do you have to put so much weight on your faith? You can also pray silently without folded hands. And certainly without open windows, as was Daniel custom? Then you don't disturb anyone and Daniel doesn't have to be afraid.
Congregation you can feel the subtlety in this temptation. It is also very near. Surely, congregation, when we give way to that subtle temptation, than true loyalty has been broken! Because then Daniel will have given in and acknowledged the power of Satan. He then accedes to Satan’s desire to take away the worship of the Lord from this world. For what is the Lord's will? Surely the worship by all people, and especially by His people. If Daniel gives in, the church succumbs to the temptation of bowing before Satan.
Congregation, the Lord Jesus will later suffer the same kind of temptation on earth in the desert. It concerned just one bow to Satan. But God the Father would then be denied, and Satan would have won. You see that is now also at stake with Daniel.
When Daniel closes his windows when praying, it means surrender to the satanic power, which denies God his worship. For those windows were in the direction of Jerusalem, where the temple had stood.
It was the prayer - which Solomon prayed - toward the Lord's abode, whether He will still have mercy on His people in exile.
Congregation, prayer is a powerful weapon. Through prayer, the church brings itself in remembrance of God the Father. Through prayer, God is believed and praised, and in prayer His help is sought. Daniel shows in his life what it means to pray:
Our Father, hallowed be thy name.
He is even a living proof that God answers the prayer of the righteous. For it is by God's bestowed power that Daniel leads a holy life in the midst of a wicked world.
 And also this is Daniel's daily prayer:
Thy kingdom come.
We especially think of the elaborate prayer in chapter 9, which Daniel had already prayed in the first year of King Darius. 
In it he begs the Lord to remember his people, to redeem them from exile. Daniel recalls Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple, in 1 Kings 8, which already anticipated the situation of an exile at that time. Solomon then already appealed for redemption from that captivity. Having this in mind, Daniel knows that he can pray for God's saving power.
From chapter 9 we know something of the content of Daniel's daily prayers. They are stamped by the urgent prayer:
Lord, see the desolation of Thy people, Thy church.
Lord show Thy mercy. Lord forgive us.
Lord Thy kingdom come. Lord keep Thy promises.
Lord restore Thy temple service. Lord grant us right.
What Satan wants is for this prayer to be silenced. That the call of God's people on earth to God in heaven falls silent. How then will God's people come to remembrance before God's throne? He allows himself to be found by those who seriously seek Him, but if Daniel's humble prayer is omitted how will God hear his people?
Congregation, let us also view our own daily prayer in this way. And realize that the devil prefers to see us omitting or forgetting our prayer. And let us truly worship the Lord in prayer and implore for the hallowing of His name and the coming of His kingdom. Let us pray that He will give us, by His spirit, resistance to all temptations, that we may offer our life of faith to the society we live in. The Lord will then certainly be found to assist us.

2. God maintains Daniel's faithful prayer. In the first point we saw the threat of prayer, now we shall see the persistence in it.
The Lord upholds Daniel in continue to speak to Him despite this evil plan, even if it carries the death penalty.
Congregation, the longer you think about it, the smaller you feel about it! Because Daniel does not allow himself to be scared! He, no doubt, realizes how serious the consequences are if it is discovered that he does not follow the order. But he shows that you have to obey God more than men. While he continues to honour the king, he will not dishonour His God.
When the Lord's commandment of love collides with human customs or precepts, those human things will have to give way. The problem is that this is very difficult. It will cost Daniel his life if the Lord does not prevent it.
Daniel knows this. Yet he continues to pray. He even goes home immediately after the notification and makes his prayer. What else can Daniel do but present this matter to the Lord? To pray to the Lord for the necessary strength. For the necessary outcome.
Daniel seeks God's countenance, says verse 10. He does not do this in secret, but as always with an open window. Because he is not afraid of the consequences. No, Daniel thus shows the Lord that he expects everything from Him alone. His prayer is directed to Him. Trusting that God hears him, and is with him.
Yes, he expects that God will strengthen him to continue to serve Him in these threatening circumstances. 
Daniel knows that in that faith he will always be allowed to come before God's kind countenance. In this way he perseveres in his confidential relationship and shows how much he loves his God.
The Lord Jesus will say to his disciples later:
You will be hated by all for My Name's sake,
But whoever endures to the end will be saved. (Matthew 10:22)
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and cannot kill the soul;
but rather be afraid of Him, Who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)
The disciples will also have to bear their cross. But all of that will be in the hands of the Lord. They can put all their hope in Him. Because God the Father will keep them. Jesus also points this out by saying:
Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. Bur the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10: 29)
Nor should the disciples keep their mouths closed. By no means! This way they can be sure of their salvation, acquittal and eternal life.
Everyone who confesses Me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32,33)
In full confidence Daniel continues to pray, despite all threats. Three times a day, with open windows. Verse 11 states that Daniel, observed by the spies, was found making his supplications to God. He will also have thanked the Lord, as it says in verse 10. Just as later Paul and Silas continued to pray and praise the Lord in prison.
Congregation, this passage is also for us. Not to praise Daniel in heaven. But to see the power the Lord imparted to all who fear Him, who expect everything from Him, who remain faithful and love Him.
We thus learn what to do when we face mortal danger through human hatred of God and His church. But not only for those moments. Verse 10 says Daniel continues to pray exactly as he always did. With prayers to glorify God's name and confess His name in that wicked world. To plead: Thy kingdom come: Lord keep and save thy church. That the Son of man may come. And Lord, help me to obey thy commandments, just as the angels in heaven do. Even if it contains cruel punishments.
In the prayer of chapter 9, Daniel also confesses his own sins. So Daniel continues to pray exactly as he did every day. But how can he do that without the Lord holding him up?
Congregation, our situation is not yet comparable to Daniel's. Our prayers do not result in punishments. But what about our daily prayer? What about our faithfulness,  our confession and bearing witness of our God?
Do we also persist in this if people make it difficult for us at work or at our school? If we feel watched or if we hear scornful comments about it? Do we neglect it or do we continue? Do we love God more than our own standing? Do we love God more than people with their ideas?
Let us not forget that in all these things the Lord tests us for our faithfulness and our love for Him, just as He has tried Daniel. When we see that, we can trust that He will also provide the outcome of the temptation. That He will also make us endure and uphold us just as He once did for Daniel. Let us make supplication for that every day, with thanksgiving.

3. God maintains Daniel's faithful prayer, first, we saw the threat to that prayer, second the persistence in it. Our third and final point is: God’s hearing of it. 
That God upholds Daniel’s persistence is in itself an answer to his supplications. He is not led into temptation. And therein Daniel is already delivered from the evil one. He continues in the service of the Lord. Even though death is before his eyes, he continues to confess the name of his God. A miracle of grace.
But, brothers and sisters, boys and girls, the answer to Daniel's prayer extends even further.
Daniel, the supplicant and the intercessor of the church in exile, may live! The Lord miraculously saves him from the hands of his executioners. For Daniel, the time of death has not yet come. The Lord again sends an angel for this purpose to assist His faithful.
Previously, Daniel's three friends had been rescued from the blazing furnace. Now Daniel is saved from the claws and mouths of the lions, in their den. When he is thrown to the lions, God's angel closes their mouths. In this way Daniel remains completely unharmed.
He confesses to King Darius in verse 21 that this also means to him that God is gracious and his sins are forgiven. He therefore is innocent, even to the king.
Yes, that too is a miracle of grace. Especially here the glory and power of God is also expressed. The Lord powerfully spares the life of this faithful servant, who is already around ninety years old. It is the Lord who determines when and how the service of his servants should end.
Congregation, that too is an important indication for every older person among us. We will never be able to say, we are too old now, we have now served and fought enough. You sometimes hear of that in times of reformation and liberation. That people are too old to take an obedient step. That they are tired of warning and fighting, and then: they stay behind. But when the Lord calls, He gives strength as He sees the need. The elderly also have duties in the church. Even with many limitations, the ability to pray still remains, as Daniel did in praying for the salvation of the Church.
 The very old Daniel still has an important task to play. King Darius restores him. He causes Daniel's opponents, with their families, to suffer the cruel death they themselves planned. Thus Daniel’s name turns out to be true: the Lord is my judge.
But congregation, the answering of Daniel's prayers is not yet exhausted. King Darius is not only well-disposed towards Daniel, but he now comes to worship God himself. In a pagan way he pays homage to the victorious God. All his subjects also must hear and follow this.
That must have been a great encouragement to the people of the Lord in exile. And then there is that important closing sentence:
So Daniel prospered the reign of Darius
and in the reign of king Cyrus the Persian.
Yes, the very last remark is part of the answer to Daniel's prayer. For Daniel prayed for the deliverance of the people of Israel from exile. The Lord will accomplish this according to His promises. Under King Cyrus, the Persian, God's people will be brought out of exile again. Yes, even temple building will be taken up again. The fact that verse 28 mentions Daniel’s position with King Cyrus, may indicates that he had a task in this.
Thus the Lord shows himself favourably to his saints. He keeps His promises and hears their prayers. He sends them assistance in their distress and saves them from it.
Congregation, the prayers of the saints have an important place in the implementation of God's counsel. We read about that in Revelation 8. Before the final trumpets of judgement will sound, there is silence in heaven. At that time the prayers ascend like smoke from the altar of incense, before the face of the Lord God. In response, God makes his judgements over all the earth.
Likewise, Daniel's prayer is a fervent prayer of a righteous man, which avails much (James 5:16). It unleashes the powers of God Himself: the forces of redemption and the forces of judgement.
The answer to Daniel's prayer thus serves the coming of the great Savior, the Messiah. The great Angel of the Lord, who, as the son of man, will save all from the clutches and mouths of the lion, who roams the earth. Therefore He suffered on earth and underwent hellish agony. He did have to feel the claws and teeth of the lions when He suffered on the cross at Calvary. He was then consumed in His zeal for the Lord. But he triumphed like the lion of Judah.
And congregation, here in our text we are dealing with three types of lions.
First the common lion, the lions of the lions' den, animals in the service of people who physically kill the faithful.
Behind this action stands the second lion, the roaring lion seeking whom he can devour spiritually. The devil, who directs all the wicked. Congregation, do you realize that this devil, like a roaring lion, is going around also in this world? Do you see him busy in this world? Then don't be afraid. Believe and know from whom you can expect your strength and help!
And then pray for the coming of the third lion. The Lion of the tribe of from Judah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who unwinds the scroll as King in heaven and who, as Head, gathers, defends and preserves His church.
This Lion is invincible. He has all power in heaven and on earth. He saves all His own, and no one can snatch them from His hands. This Lion has overcome sin and the power of death. From Him you can now expect all assistance in all distress, in all danger, in all temptation.
Your prayer will then not be towards earthly Jerusalem, but towards God in heaven and heavenly Jerusalem where Christ is at the right hand of God the Father. From where He will come to judge the living and the dead.
Therefore pray without ceasing to God our Father:
Thy kingdom come,
Maranatha: Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.
Amen.