Daniel Worships the Lord

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Daniel Worships the Lord

A Story from the Early Childhood Religion Program
by Rev. Kurt Horigan Asplundh

There was once a brave soldier and hero called Daniel. He lived in a far-away land called Israel. Daniel always worshipped the Lord. One day, this land called Israel was captured by the Babylonians, a powerful enemy from the north. It was a sad day when Daniel and his soldier friends were carried off to Babylon. King Darius of Babylon wanted them to learn the language and the ways of his people.

Daniel and his soldier friends now lived in a land that worshipped idols, but they did not forget the Lord their God. The very first of all the Ten Commandments says, "You shall have no other gods before My face. You shall not bow down to them or serve them" (Exodus 20:3, 5). That means we should worship the Lord alone. This is what Daniel did.

Every day, in Babylon, far from his home and the Temple of Israel, Daniel remembered to worship the Lord. He would go to his upper room and open the windows and look toward Jerusalem, even though it was too far away to see. Then he would pray to the Lord his God. He knew his prayer brought the Lord near to him, even in this distant land.

Prayer is talking to the Lord. It was the only way Daniel could worship the Lord in this foreign land. Three times each day, he knelt at his window and prayed to the Lord.

We ought to pray to the Lord, too - in the morning, at mealtimes, and when we go to bed each night. He has taught us a special prayer to use in our worship. Can you say the Lord's prayer? Daniel didn't know this prayer when he was a captive, because the Lord had not taught it yet, but he knew other prayers from the Word.

During his captivity, Daniel learned quickly and became one of King Darius's favorites in Babylon. Daniel was wise and good and, one day, King Darius thought of making him ruler over the whole kingdom.

Some people didn't like this idea. They were jealous of Daniel. They wanted to be the rulers. They set about to find a way to make it seem as if Daniel had done something wrong, so that King Darius could not make him a ruler. They thought and thought, but they couldn't find any fault in him, because Daniel was always faithful and honest.

At last, they made a plan. They knew Daniel prayed to the Lord every day. If they could get King Darius to sign a law saying that everyone must pray only to King Darius, and not to their own God, then Daniel could be caught. They knew that Daniel would never give up worshipping the Lord.

King Darius signed the new law without thinking about what might happen. All he could think of was how important he would feel if everybody bowed down and worshipped him. The punishment for breaking this law was to be put into a den of lions.

No sooner had King Darius signed the law, than the men began to spy on Daniel. Sure enough, even though he knew about the new law, Daniel went right on praying to the Lord. These wicked men who hated Daniel and his God came to King Darius and told him that Daniel was praying to the Lord instead of to the king.

Then King Darius realized that he had made a foolish law. He tried to change it, wanting to save Daniel from a sure death in the lion's den. He worked all day until the going down of the sun, but it was too late. Even the king could not change this law.

Sadly, King Darius commanded that Daniel be lowered into the pit with the ferocious lions. He said to Daniel, "Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you."

The king did not really believe this. He was sure Daniel would be eaten alive. Sadly, he watched while his men rolled a stone over the mouth of the den. Then he sealed the stone with the mark of his own ring so that it could not be opened until morning.

All night, King Darius worried about Daniel. He couldn't sleep. Early in the morning he hurried to the den. Would Daniel be dead or alive? The king cried out anxiously, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?" Daniel's voice answered the king from inside the den: "My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths, so that they have not hurt me."

Daniel was alive! The Lord had sent an angel to protect him all through the night.

How glad the king was! Immediately, he commanded men to open the den and lift Daniel out. King Darius could see that he had no injuries at all from the lions. He knew it was because Daniel worshipped the one true God.

The king punished the wicked men who had tricked him into signing the foolish law. He had them thrown to the lions. Then King Darius wrote a new law: that everyone in his kingdom should worship the Lord, the God of Daniel. "For He is the living God," the king said "He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth" (Daniel 6:26-27).

So Daniel was restored to honor and made a ruler again by the king. And each day, he went to his room, opened his window toward Jerusalem, knelt down and humbly prayed to the Lord.

We should never forget the words of the Psalm: "Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" (Psalm 29:2).

This story is part of the Early Childhood Religion Program from the General Church Office of Education. For more information, email OEd@newchurch.edu or call 267-502-4949.


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