"Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed,
giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before."
giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before."
Daniel 6:10 NIV
Daniel was persistent. He let nothing keep him from praying and giving thanks to God. You may need a little of the back story to fully appreciate what this means. Let me share it with you.
Darius ascended to power over the Ancient Near East when Belshazzar died, marking the end of the reign of the Babylonians and the beginning of the Medo-Persian period. Daniel had been useful to the Babylonian kings and as a result had a pretty good standing even though he was a Jew in exile there.
Daniel even received promotions ahead of those native to the land. He was in line for another promotion and those around him could stand it no longer. They devised a plan by which Daniel's Jewish worship traditions would get him into trouble since they could find nothing really wrong with him. They conned Darius into issuing a decree that everyone pray only to Darius for a thirty day period.
The Bible says, "Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published" he prayed anyway. One might think that Daniel would curtail his prayers for thirty days so he would stay out of trouble and in line for the promotion. But the possibility of punishment either never crossed his mind or he didn't care. I think he was fully aware but was determined that he would pray anyway. So he did.
And his prayer was one of thanksgiving. Not for protection or deliverance. Even when the things of this world are uncertain, be certain that you can give thanks to the Lord. For he is good. His love endures forever.
Are you determined to be thankful? Have you let circumstances push you away from that goal? A quick assessment of any of our lives will show that we have much to be thankful for. Pray that God will help you see the reasons to be thankful and to be determined to give thanks.
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