Daniel in the Lions' Den
Daniel was an exile from Judah, living in the royal court of his captors. Loyal to the God of Israel, he went into his room three times a day to open a window facing Jerusalem and pray. Daniel's devotion and wisdom endeared him to king Darius, who raised him to a position of great power. The favor he found with the king incited the other courtiers to jealousy. Though they could find no charge to bring against Daniel, they plotted to use his faithfulness to the God of Israel against him. The courtiers went to Darius, and convinced him to make a decree: For thirty days, no one in his realm could pray to anyone but the king. The flattered Darius signed the order.
Daniel, aware that he was disobeying the king's decree, continued to pray to God. His enemies immediately denounced Daniel to Darius. The king was greatly disturbed, and tried to save Daniel. But the order could not be revoked; what Darius had written was immutable law.
As evening fell, Daniel was brought before the king, who said to him, "May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!" And Daniel was thrown into a den of hungrey lions. All that night, Darius refused food and could not sleep. Early in the morning, he ran to the den and called out for Daniel.
"O king, live forever!" the faithful Daniel cried. "My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you."
Darius raised Daniel out of the pit and ordered the conspirators to be thrown into the lion's den instead; before they even reached the ground, the lions had torn them limb from limb.
Calderhead, C. (2004). One Hundred Miracles. Singapore: Welcome Books. p. 55.
