How Important Is Thanking and Praising God to You? (Part 2)

Being faithful to express our thankfulness to God is always more important than our obedience to man.

November 23, 2021

"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 aforetime."

Daniel 6:10

Part 2

Yesterday:  We Are Obliged to Be Thankful

 

Today:  We Are Challenged to Stand for God Regardless of the Cost

“Daniel always prayed to God three times every day.  Three times every day, he bowed down on his knees to pray and praise God.  Even though Daniel heard about the new law, he still went to his house to pray.  He went up to the upper room of his house and opened the windows that faced toward Jerusalem.  Then Daniel bowed down on his knees and prayed just as he always had done” (Daniel 6:10, HSB [1]).

 

“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed.”
There is no mistake, the new law is signed, and prayer to anyone but Darius is forbidden for the next 30 days.  Whoever breaks this law will pay with his life.  But this did not shake Daniel.  He had chosen his God many years before this time.  His faith was in Jehovah.

“Probably there was some proclamation made in regard to that decree” [2] (Barnes).

Daniel knew where a law like this came from and why, but he did not fear what man could do to him.

“He saw what was designed, and he knew whom he served” [3] (Clarke).

Because the writing was already signed, Daniel did not have the opportunity to advise the king against it, as he usually would have in his role as advisor to the king.

“It isn’t hard to see why people are men-pleasers; it seems as if people have the power to hire or fire us, to break our hearts, to slander us, to make our live[s] generally miserable.  The power to obey God and stand for Him comes from a settled understanding that God is really in control” [4] (EWC).

“That which would have daunted the confidence of any man became the very means of giving Daniel boldness: and what would have kept back the boldest heart from a throne of grace was made the occasion to drive Daniel thither.  Reader!  I pray you observe the conduct of this servant of the Lord.  He did not go to the king, to beg of him to reverse the sentence or to pray that he might be excused in the disobedience, but he carried his request to the court of heaven, and there he lodged all his petitions” [5] (Hawker).

“Unless you are prepared to be in the minority, and now and then to be called ‘narrow,’ ‘fanatic,’ and to be laughed at by men because you will not do what they do, but abstain and resist, then there is little chance of your ever making much of your Christian profession” [6] (Maclaren).

when Daniel realized – Daniel chooses to obey God’s command to worship Him alone… over the king’s edict.  His disobedience is not motivated by spite—he simply refuses to compromise his religious convictions” [7] (FSB).

Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).

Daniel was fearlessly loyal to his God.  No thoughts of running or quitting.  He just wanted to remain faithful to Jehovah.  This is interesting indeed, for when Daniel came to a crisis point in his life, his habits never changed, and he kept on living as he always had.

Believers, is this how we live?  Do we live and act in a crisis the same way we do when everything is going fine?  Or do we need to stop and do some spiritual housekeeping before we can take our burdens to the Lord?  Shouldn’t we live in such a way that we can turn immediately to God and cry out to Him in our need?

When Daniel received the bad news that the writing was signed, what did he do first?  Did he run to the king to disagree with that new law?  No!

Come back tomorrow and see how Daniel handled this new law directly pointed at him.

 

Quote:  The first thing God’s child should do in a crisis is to run to our heavenly Father.  “Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

 

 

 

[1] HSB is the Harvest Study Bible from Harvest Ministries in Guam.
[2] BNB, Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.  Daniel 6:10.
[3] ACC, Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.  Daniel 6:10.
[4] EWC – David Guzik.  Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.
[5] PMCThe Poor Man’s Commentary, Robert Hawker, the electronic version in eSword.
[6] McLaren’s quote is from EWC, ibid.
[7] FSB, Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016).  Faithlife Study Bible (Da 6:10).  Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.  The emphasis is theirs.