{"id":18393,"date":"2017-04-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-02T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/daniel-018-the-principles-of-prayer\/"},"modified":"2017-04-02T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-04-02T05:00:00","slug":"daniel-018-the-principles-of-prayer","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/daniel-018-the-principles-of-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"Daniel 018: The Principles of Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[72],"series_event":[467],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18393","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-daniel","series_event-daniel","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Daniel 018: The Principles of Prayer","sermon_date":"20170402","sermon_month":"4","sermon_year":"2017","sermon_notes":4526,"sermon_slides":4531,"sermon_mp3":4532,"sermon_id":"42171018596","series_or_event":467,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":72,"chapter_and_verse":"6:1-11","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 SUGAR LAND BIBLE CHURCH\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 18, The Principles of Prayer, Daniel 6:1-11 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 April 2, 2017\n\nLet\u2019s take our Bibles, if we could, and open them to the book of Daniel, Daniel 6 as we get thrown into the\u00a0 lion\u2019s den this morning.\u00a0 This is a very well-known story, Daniel in the lion\u2019s den; most people, if they have no exposure to the Bible at least know a little bit about this, but it\u2019s a tremendous record of the faithfulness of God and how to trust God in the midst of difficulty.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to try to make it through verse 11 today and the title of our message is The Principles of Prayer.\u00a0 How do you pray when you\u2019re under pressure?\u00a0 Anybody under pressure today?\u00a0 Daniel 6 is very instructive to us.\n\nOf course, Daniel, as we know, has been raised up by God to comfort the nation during a difficult time; during the 70 year captivity Daniel is not only explaining the time period that the nation is in prophetically, he\u2019s actually serving as a role model.\u00a0 How do you live for God in the devil\u2019s world?\u00a0 You might be a visual learner so you might not like outlines the way I presented them so one of the easiest ways to remember the different chapters of the book of Daniel is just to associate a picture with each chapter.\u00a0 As a matter of fact, my mom, I was complaining about a test that I was taking, I think it was maybe fourth grade, something like that, where I had to memorize things, and she said well just associate some kind of picture or visual with each thing you have to learn, and kind of string them together.\u00a0 And I did that and you know what?\u00a0 I aced the test.\u00a0 And you know what?\u00a0 I kept acing tests and I went all the way through a PhD program because of that one little thing my mom taught me.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that amazing, the power of a mom over her son?\u00a0 And it\u2019s not even Mother\u2019s Day!\n\nBut chapter 2 you can remember that, the giant statue.\u00a0 Chapter 3, you might remember fire, that\u2019s when Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego are thrown into the fiery furnace.\u00a0 Chapter 4, you might think of a tree being cut down, that\u2019s the humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar.\u00a0 Chapter 5, which is something we covered last week, we concluded covering it last week, you might remember the handwriting on the wall.\u00a0 And then of course chapter 6 is Daniel in the lion\u2019s den.\u00a0 You might not know every single thing about those chapters but you basically know where the different things happened in the book of Daniel just by something as simple as a visual memory.\n\nChapters 1-7 is the historical section (that we are still in) of the book.\u00a0 Chapter 1 is sort of the setting of the book; the nation of Israel is in captivity.\u00a0 And then you move into chapters 2-7 and as I\u2019ve tried to explain chapters 2-7 is chiastically structured, meaning the themes in chapter 2 are recapitulated in chapter 7; you read chapter 7 you say wait a minute, I read that before in chapter 2.\u00a0 The events of chapter 6, you say wait a minute, didn\u2019t something similar happen back in chapter 3?\u00a0 The answer is yes.\u00a0 Just like the events in chapter 5, the revelation to a Gentile king sort of is like what happened in chapter 4.\u00a0 Having moved out of chapter 2 into chapter 3, into chapter 4, down into chapter 5, now we find ourselves in chapter 6.\u00a0 So we are gradually working our way out of this chiastic structure.\n\nWhat has happened is earthshaking in the sense that Babylon has fallen.\u00a0 That happened at the end of chapter 5; that\u2019s what the handwriting on the wall was all about.\u00a0 Babylon has fallen and been replaced by Persia as Darius the Mede now moves into center stage and God begins to extend grace to Darius the Mede. It\u2019s interesting how God is working overtime, feverishly to reach people that have really no knowledge of Yahweh, the Torah, the Old Testament, what we call the Old Testament, or the Hebrew people.\u00a0 God uses this time of distress to reach these individuals.\n\nAnd you might be going through kind of a time of distress in your life.\u00a0 The question is not are you going through a time of distress but what is God doing through your time of distress?\u00a0 He might be using that time of distress to reach people through you that would never be reached any other way.\u00a0 It\u2019s a different way to look at times of difficulty which is what the nation of Israel was under.\n\nChapters 1-5, Babylon was in power; Babylon is gone, Persia has come.\u00a0 As we move into chapter 6 it\u2019s the Persian Empire that\u2019s now in place that conquered the Babylonian Empire in a single night and Darius, of Medo-Persia, as we mentioned before, now moves into center stage.\u00a0 As I\u2019ve tried to explain, we can chronologically document when the events of chapter 5 took place; 539 B.C.\u00a0\u00a0 We believe that the events of chapter 6 took place in close chronological proximity to the events of chapter 5 which indicates that in chapter 5 Daniel was in his late 80\u2019s\u2026 I said that wrong, his early 80\u2019s, we don\u2019t want to make him too old here.\u00a0 And as the events of chapter 6 unfold he is now also in his early 80\u2019s, perhaps, we don\u2019t know for sure, the age 83 as some might argue.\u00a0 And Daniel is no longer a teenager as he was in the initial chapters of the book; he\u2019s no longer a 19 or a 20 year old.\u00a0 He\u2019s no longer even a 45 or a 50 year old.\u00a0 But in chapter 5 and in chapter 6 the man is in his very early 80\u2019s.\u00a0 He\u2019s had a lifetime of seeing the faithfulness of God, how God continued to be faithful to the nation of Israel all of those years that the nation of Israel was outside of their comfort zone and their land.\n\nHere is an outline off chapter 6, which obviously we won\u2019t get through all today.\u00a0 I hope you like the letter P, The Position of Daniel (1-3), The Plot Against Daniel (4-9), The Prayer of Daniel (10-11), The Prosecution of Daniel (12-15). The Presentation of Daniel into the Lion\u2019s Den (16-17); The Protection of Daniel, which is the climax of the chapter, (18-23).\u00a0\u00a0 And then finally after all has been said and done what has really been said and done?\u00a0 We have, finally at the end of the chapter The Product, the end result of what God was trying to show along, verses 24-28.\n\nUsually when we get around this time of the year, as we get ready to celebrate Palm Sunday next week, Easter, or better said Resurrection Sunday the following week I typically leave the verse by verse teaching and do a special message on the resurrection.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to have to do that this year because so much of what happens in chapter 6, Daniel being sealed in a tomb, thought as good as dead, and then miraculously comes out, is reminiscent of what the New Testament says concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ so I\u2019ll be able to make some easy points of analogy without switching subjects.\u00a0 So my plan, unless I get some kind of vision from God telling me to do otherwise is to just continue marching through Daniel 6 next Sunday and the following Sunday, of course using this as a platform to talk also about the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 We serve not a dead Savior but a living Savior, a Savior that has not lost control of your life, He has not lost control of this universe but He is a God who interrupts our lives and performs, as we\u2019ll see in chapter 6, signs and wonders; that\u2019s the God we serve.\n\nNotice, first of all, the position of Daniel.\u00a0 Notice, if you will, Daniel 6:1, \u201cIt seemed good to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they would be in charge of the whole kingdom,\u201d Darius has overthrown Babylon in a single night and he does what new bosses have a tendency to do, to reorganize.\u00a0 He takes the existing Babylonian Empire, now that it is in subjugation to him, and he starts to organize it according to 120 of a group of people called satraps; satraps\u2014we might put them this way, would be the low man on the totem pole, because as we move into verse 2 we get more insight into this organizational structure.\n\nIt says, \u201cand over them three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss.\u201d\u00a0 So let\u2019s take these 120 satraps and let\u2019s divide them into three groups of 40, and over each group of 40 let\u2019s put a commissioner, or we might call them an upper level manager over the lower level managers, and Daniel is going to be one of those three commissioners.\u00a0 So it is interesting that the organizational structure is given to us early on in the chapter; this is not some tall tale, there are actually facts and information that went into this; this is actual history that we\u2019re reading.\n\nWe move down into verse 3 where Daniel begins to distinguish himself. Verse 3 says, \u201cThen this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps\u201d why? \u201cbecause he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom.\u201d\u00a0 Everybody recognizes that there\u2019s something unique about Daniel.\u00a0 Daniel was not a grumpy old man, as to put it that way, but he was a man on fire for the things of God.\u00a0 He was a man in his 80\u2019s that was just as strong for God as he was as a mere teenager.\u00a0 And Daniel, consequently, no longer is just one of the commissioners, he begins to rise through the ranks and the Spirit of God is so evident in his life that Darius actually has the goal to make Daniel the second in command over the entire Medo-Persian Empire.\n\nWhy did Daniel begin to rise through the ranks?\u00a0 It says it right here, he possessed an excellent spirit.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it interesting that the Holy Spirit in a person\u2019s life can be recognizable even by unbelievers, pagans.\u00a0 Genesis 39:2-4, of Joseph, puts it this way:\u00a0 \u201cThe LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. \u00a0[3] Now his master saw that the LORD was with him and <em>how<\/em> the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. \u00a0[4] So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge.\u201d\n\nJoseph, like Daniel, was special not because of their abilities in and of themselves but because these were men that were guided, directed, energized and empowered by God.\u00a0 May I say to you that the same Holy Spirit in these men is the same Holy Spirit inside of you, that wants to give you excellence in your craft, excellence in your profession, a skillset that\u2019s even recognizable by unsaved people.\n\n1 John 4:4 says, \u201cYou are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.\u201d\u00a0 Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world,\u201d in other words, Daniel, Joseph, they have no lock or monopoly on God; the same Holy Spirit in them is permanently resident in you and He wants to direct you, He wants to guide you and empower you.\n\nJust a quick question: when people look at your life what are they actually seeing?\u00a0 Do they see a replica of the sovereignty of God, the power of God, the glory of God or are they seeing something different because we have quenched the Spirit here, quenched the Spirit there, pushed Him out, pursued our own will.\u00a0 And many times we are reflecting a refracted image of everything that God can and will do when we become obedient to the Holy Spirit and begin the walk of faith.\n\nIt\u2019s interesting to me that the faithfulness of God has no limits.\u00a0 Daniel might have thought to himself well, God was faithful to me all those years in Babylon but now it\u2019s different; we\u2019ve got a different President in the White House, I\u2019ve got a different retirement plan, I\u2019ve got a different job, I live in a different city, I live in a different house.\n\nIs the same God that was with me in the past somehow going to stop being with me now?\u00a0 In other words, we think that somehow God in the past was faithful but now circumstances have changed politically; is God really the same?\u00a0 Many people reach a point of retirement and they think well, you know, God was faithful to me all those years but now it\u2019s different, I\u2019m on a limited income, and does the faithfulness of God still apply.\u00a0 May I say to you that the faithfulness of God was applicable in Daniel\u2019s life as a 15 year old, as a 17 year old, as a 20 year old, as a 50 year old, and now here he is in his early 80\u2019s and the exact same character of God in totally different circum\u00adstances, in a totally different political empire, God keeps coming through for Daniel over and over and over again.\n\nMay I just say to you that God does the same for you. Why is that?\u00a0 Because Malachi 3:6 says, \u201cFor I, the LORD, do not change\u2026\u201d My character is the same when you\u2019re young, My character is the same when you\u2019re old.\u00a0 My character is the same when the Babylonians are in control; My character is the same when the Persians are in control.\n\nHebrews 13:8 says, \u201cJesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and\u201d what? \u201cforever.\u201d\u00a0 David, in the Psalms says this: \u201cI have been young and now I am old,\u201d kind of like Daniel, Daniel was young and now he is old, and yet what did David say after all of that time?\u00a0 \u201cI have been young and now I am old, and yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or His seed begging for bread.\u201d\u00a0 Why is that?\u201d\u00a0 [Psalm 37:25]\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because the character of God never changes.\u00a0 We change, life changes, circumstances change, predicaments change, careers change, economies change, the course of nations changes, but God never changes.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that great!\u00a0 And so the God that was with you in the past, to somehow say God is not going to be with me now would be to criticize one of God\u2019s attributes which is His immutability, which simply means His changelessness.\n\nIn fact, God was so evident in Daniel\u2019s life that Darius, an unsaved man, looked at Daniel and said you know, I ought to put the whole empire under this man\u2019s custody and under this man\u2019s jurisdic\u00adtion.\u00a0 Daniel is moving up, as we might say.\u00a0 But watch out, the time to be on your guard is not during a time of adversity because during times of adversity we have a tendency to depend upon God.\u00a0 The time to be on your guard is when things start going well from the human point of view; there\u2019s more money in the bank account, there\u2019s more of a lucrative future, you get a bigger house, (hopefully minus the payments), career options are better, life is better, relationships are better.\u00a0 And thank God for those seasons in our lives.\u00a0 And may I just say to you that\u2019s the time to be on guard because it\u2019s the time of ease that we have a tendency to forget God, forget first principles.\n\nWhen was Joseph tempted to commit adultery, or immorality I should say, with Pharaoh\u2019s wife?\u00a0 After Pharaoh had put Joseph in charge of everything, that\u2019s when the temptation came.\u00a0 When was David tempted to commit adultery and then murder?\u00a0 After an entire string of victories going all the way through 2 Samuel chapters 1-10.\u00a0 David is on top of the world; he\u2019s made Jerusalem the official empire of the nation of Israel; everything is going well. \u00a0And yet that\u2019s when the temptation came, right there in 2 Samuel 11.\n\nWhen was Jesus brought into the wilderness by the devil himself to be tested three times as Matthew 4 and Luke 4 records it?\u00a0 After Jesus had been filled with the Spirit, had this phenomenal experience with the Lord, after the heavens had opened and a voice said, \u201cThis is My Son with whom I am well pleased.\u201d\u00a0 What a euphoria that must have been.\u00a0 And then right afterwards comes the three temptations at the hands of Satan.\n\nWhen were Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego tested to the point where they were thrown into the fiery furnace, back during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar?\u00a0 After they had been promoted.\u00a0 We studied their promotion at the end of Daniel 2.\u00a0 What is being said here is watch out, that\u2019s where the devil starts to work, that\u2019s where the problems start to arise.\n\nAnd look at what the devil is doing here with Daniel in the midst of his success.\u00a0 We have now a plot against Daniel which is described in verses 4-9.\u00a0 Look at verse 4, \u201cThen the commissioners and the satraps,\u201d now who are they?\u00a0 These are the people who Daniel was promoted over.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026 the commissioners and the satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to affairs, but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him.\u201d\u00a0 Those that Daniel was promoted over start to hatch a plot against Daniel.\u00a0 What\u2019s the motivation?\u00a0 It\u2019s the good old \u201cj\u201d word, jealousy.\n\n[Daniel 6:4-9, \u201cThen the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or <em>evidence of<\/em> corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was <em>to be<\/em> found in him. [5] Then these men said, \u2018We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find <em>it<\/em> against him with regard to the law of his God.\u2019 [6] Then these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and spoke to him as follows: \u2018King Darius, live forever! \u00a0[7] All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions\u2019 den. [8] \u2018Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.\u2019 \u00a0[9] Therefore King Darius signed the document, that is, the injunction.\u201d]\n\nThe problem with promotion is that means there\u2019s other people that aren\u2019t being promoted and you are.\u00a0 Human nature is such that that doesn\u2019t sit well with people and they try to find some way to bring you down.\u00a0 This is exactly what happened with Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego back in chapter 3.\u00a0 And so if people can\u2019t find something blatantly wrong with your life they go on what lawyers call \u201ca fishing expedition\u201d trying to find the proverbial skeleton in the closet; it\u2019s got to be in there somewhere.\u00a0 And they start to look into Daniel\u2019s life, they start to look at his record of service and they can find, number 1, nothing that he did related to corruption (this is the is the sin of commission).\n\nAnd it also talks, in verse 4, about they couldn\u2019t find anything wrong that he had done related to negligence or carelessness, which is the sin of omission.\u00a0 And the reason there was no commission or omission in Daniel\u2019s life is because Daniel was a man described here in verse 4 as faithful.\u00a0 What does \u201cfaithful\u201d mean exactly?\u00a0 It means consistent, your lifestyle is consistent, there\u2019s not a lot of discrepancy between your proclamation and your practice.\u00a0 You live the things that you say you believe.\u00a0 And one of the fruit of the Spirit that the Holy Spirit is seeking to replicate in the life of the child of God, when we study the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23, is faithfulness, consistency.\u00a0 [Galatians 5:22-23, \u201cBut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.\u201d]\n\nPaul, when he is writing to Timothy over in 2 Timothy 2: around verse 2 says Timothy, you need to surround yourself with faithful men that you can teach and can teach others.\u00a0 \u00a0[2 Timothy 2:2, \u201cThe things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.\u201d]\n\nGod, many times, is not looking for talent in people; He\u2019s looking for a character trait called faithfulness, consistency.\u00a0 So many times in Christianity we don\u2019t exhibit faithfulness; we pray when there\u2019s some kind of euphoria over us but the rest of the time many times we don\u2019t want to be bothered.\u00a0 Many times Christian won\u2019t do something, in terms of a ministry, unless they have some kind of emotion first.\u00a0 The fact of the matter is we don\u2019t respond to emotions as Christians; we behave our way into good emotions.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it interesting when we simply do what we\u2019re supposed to do that the good feelings and emotions many times follow.\u00a0 But many people are looking for some kind of vision, some kind of emotion, some kind of euphoria, some kind of emotional high, and God the whole time is looking at our lives and saying you know what I\u2019d like to see out of you is a little bit of consistency.\u00a0 Rather than praying when you feel like it come to Me daily and pray.\u00a0 Rather than giving when you feel like it give to Me consistently.\u00a0 Rather than church attendance when it\u2019s convenient and nothing else is going be consistent in that practice of church attendance or any other issue that we could speak of.\n\nIt\u2019s amazing to me how people, Christians in particular, will be faithful to God in secular employ\u00adment, they don\u2019t leave early, they don\u2019t show up late, they\u2019re faithful on the job, but somehow when it comes to God\u2019s church we get very sloppy, haphazard, careless, negligent and God is seeking to develop this character trait of faithfulness in our lives.\n\nYou know, it\u2019s hard, even in a church our size it\u2019s hard to recruit people for ministries.\u00a0 The reason for the difficulty is once you take on the task of ministry you have to be involved in that ministry; it\u2019s your ministry, if that ministry is not going to succeed or go forward it probably has to do with the fact that the person running the ministry is not consistent in what God has called them to do.\u00a0 You can\u2019t have a church, you can\u2019t have a ministry if faithfulness is not part of a person\u2019s character.\u00a0 And Daniel had faithfulness; that\u2019s why there is no negligence, a sin of omission or corruption in his past, the sin of commission.\n\nKeep in mind here that Daniel had been in government service for 70 years; that\u2019s a long track record, surely there\u2019s something we can find in this man\u2019s job performance.\u00a0 And they could find nothing!\u00a0 And people say well they didn\u2019t have anything to look through.\u00a0 The Persians had just destroyed the Babylonians.\u00a0 Remember the history I gave you last time, how the Persians overthrew the Babylonians and the Babylonians didn\u2019t even realize they had been captured; there was no cataclysm, there was no war, there was no destruction.\u00a0 Beyond that Cyrus went out of his way to make sure that none of the Babylonian deities were injured or hampered because he himself was a polytheist.\u00a0 He went out of his way to make sure nothing was broken.\u00a0 And so the fact of the matter is when the Persians came to power there was a whole paper trail at their disposal.\u00a0 And it was quite a paper trail based on what we know about documents, like the Babylonian Chronicle, where the Babylonians faithfully documented history.\u00a0 And so all of this track record, all of this paper trail was available for the Persians to look through, and they looked through a man\u2019s life for 70 years and he comes out squeaky clean, he\u2019s spotless.\n\nYou know, the book of Colossians, chapter 3 and verse 23 says this: \u201cWhatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.\u201d\u00a0 There used to be a day in this country where we believed in something called the Protestant work ethic, where a Christian\u2019s life was obvious just based on how they conducted themselves in their craft, in their business, in their dealings.\u00a0 Christians stood out; Christians were different!\u00a0 And I\u2019ve had the same bad experience as you\u2019ve had, where you hire a Christian to do a job for you, perhaps plumbing or something like that, or around the house, and the standard of the Christians many times is just like that of the world, sometimes it\u2019s below the world.\u00a0 So I quit using the Christian yellow pages because I was discouraged; I thought Christians would be different.\u00a0 And many times they\u2019re not; many times they\u2019re very lethargic, lackadaisical, lazy, cutting corners, just like anybody else.\n\nThe Protestant work ethic\u2026 why have a Protestant work ethic?\u00a0 Because your job is your pulpit.\u00a0 I\u2019m a professor in a college; you know how you get your professor to recognize that you\u2019re different?\u00a0 Not because you\u2019re raising your hand and shooting your mouth off all the time in class but because every test you get an A+, that\u2019ll get your professor\u2019s attention.\u00a0 Every quiz\u2014A+!\u00a0 Reading assignments done perfectly!\u00a0 That, then becomes your platform by which you can share Jesus.\u00a0 But let me tell you something; if that lifestyle is not there no one wants to hear about your Jesus.\u00a0 There has to be a lifestyle that backs up the claims of Christianity, the Protestant work ethic.\u00a0 This is what we see exhibited in Daniel; a 70 year track record, no problems in this man\u2019s life.\n\nThink if people looked into your life, your expense reports, vacation requests, tax filings, hours that you say you have reported to work, all of your social media, all of your Facebook posts, wow!\u00a0 That hits home, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if I want someone looking in my life for 70 years.\u00a0 And\u00a0 yet Daniel\u2019s character was of such a quality that they could find nothing in terms of commission or omission after seventy years of service.\u00a0 Can they say that about you?\u00a0 Can they say that about me?\n\nAnd you move into verse 5 and Daniel is paid here a magnificent compliment.\u00a0 Sometimes your best compliments come from your enemies.\u00a0 Look at verse 5, it says, \u201cThen these men said, \u2018We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find <em>it<\/em> against him with regard to the law of his God.\u201d\u00a0 I can\u2019t find anything wrong with what this man is doing, if we\u2019re going to get him in a wrong we\u2019ve got to pit him against his God.\u00a0 Could that be said of us?\u00a0 The only way this person is ever going to do anything wrong is if we pass some kind of law getting him to violate the laws of his God because I can\u2019t find anything wrong with his life.\u00a0 His character is consistent.\u00a0 This is all there as a role model for how the children of Israel are to live during this difficult time of the times of the Gentiles.\u00a0 How do you live?\u00a0 You make yourself excellent to such a degree that your own accusers can find nothing wrong with you and in so doing, in their vain attempt to find something wrong with you they seek to pit you against God Himself.\u00a0 What a compliment and what a que, if\u00a0 you will, regarding how to live.\n\nThis compliment leads to a request, verse 6, \u201cThen these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and spoke to him as follows: \u2018King Darius, live forever!\u201d \u00a0Verse 7, \u201cAll the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions\u2019 den.\u201d\u00a0 Verse 8, \u201c\u2018Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Verse 9, \u201cTherefore King Darius signed the document, that is, the injunction.\u201d\n\nHere\u2019s what we know about Daniel, having looked through his whole record: the man is a man of prayer, the man prays all the time.\u00a0 So what we\u2019re going to do, since we can\u2019t find anything wrong with his life let\u2019s get a law passed that says you can\u2019t pray publicly.\u00a0 Once that law is passed Daniel will inevitably pray, because that\u2019s who Daniel is, and we will get him, finally, take this man down.\n\nWhy is it that people, when you begin to move ahead with God are always trying to pull you backwards?\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Why is it that people in your secular employment try to get you to compromise.\u00a0 Why is it that even your own family members, God forbid, even in your own church it can get like this, trying to pull you back because your advancement in God creates a standard; they don\u2019t want the standard.\u00a0 If there\u2019s a standard out there then they have something to compare their own lives to.\u00a0 So the name of the game in the world system, the name of the game amongst even some very carnal Christians is to pull back the person that\u2019s moving ahead in God.\n\nAnd I just share that with you because as you aggressively move forward in your fellowship with God there are going to be forces that won\u2019t like it.\u00a0 That is part of the cost of discipleship.\u00a0 What? Are you too good for us?\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you come out drinking with us like you used to?\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you laugh at the dirty jokes?\u00a0 Are you special?\u00a0 Are you different?\u00a0 Are you better than\u00a0 us?\u00a0 The reason they say that is there\u2019s a standard there.\u00a0 So what they\u2019re trying to do is to put out the light; you put out the light by creating the temptation of compromise. If people are maligning you, trying to put out the light, trying to get you to compromise, if there\u2019s some kind of concerted effort going on you ought to take that as a compliment; they wouldn\u2019t be trying to put out the light if there wasn\u2019t a light to put out.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 See, many times in Christianity we just go right on through our Christian life and no one tries to get us to compromise or change at all.\u00a0 Do you know why?\u00a0 Because our life is a light as it should be, that God wants it to be.\n\nNow there is an interesting reference here, according to verse 8, so the Law \u201cmay not be changed according to the law of the Medes and the Persians which may not be revoked.\u201d\u00a0 [Daniel 6:8, \u201cNow, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.\u201d]\n\nThe book of Esther, written about 60 years later, also during the Persian time period, two times, Esther 1:19 and Esther 8:8 also makes this reference to Persian law.\u00a0 Once Persian law came into force the king couldn\u2019t revoke it, the people in authority couldn\u2019t revoke, the law was as good as immutable and unchangeable.\u00a0 Esther 1:19 says, \u201c\u2026let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Esther 8:8 says, \u201c\u2026so that it may not be revoked.\u201d\u00a0 [Esther 1:19, \u201cIf it pleases the king, let a royal edict be issued by him and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti may no longer come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal position to another who is more worthy than she.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Esther 8:8, \u201cNow you write to the Jews as you see fit, in the king's name, and seal it with the king\u2019s signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's signet ring may not be revoked.\u201d]\n\nSo these critics of Daniel are playing Darius for the fool; they passed a law, even if you feel bad about it, Darius, you won\u2019t be able to change it according to Persian law and its customs, and this man, Daniel, will finally be off our radar screen.\u00a0 So they get it passed, and you know what Daniel does?\u00a0 He prays anyway.\n\nNow that\u2019s interesting because I thought the Bible says we ought to respect the laws of the land and submit to government, and we should.\u00a0 The Old Testament teaches that God Himself instituted human government.\u00a0 The New Testament, many verses, Romans 13:1-7 being the most prominent tells us to submit to the laws of the land.\n\n[Romans 13:1-7, \u201cEvery person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. [2] Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. [3] or rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; [4] for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. [5] Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience\u2019 sake. [6] For because of this you also pay taxes, for <em>rulers<\/em> are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. [7] Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax <em>is due;<\/em> custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.\u201d]\n\nBut what happens when the laws of the land contradict the laws of God?\u00a0 What do you do then?\u00a0 Peter said \u201cwe must obey God rather than\u201d who? \u201cman,\u201d Acts 5:29.\u00a0 [Acts 5:29, \u201cBut Peter and the apostles answered, \"We must obey God rather than men.\u201d]\u00a0 In fact, Daniel 3, that\u2019s exactly what Shadrach Meshach and Abed-nego did; civil disobedience, Daniel 3, civil disobedience Daniel 6, they are the opposite edges of the chiasm as we\u2019ve talked about, bringing up the same themes.\n\nDaniel 3, the government says to do something that God said don\u2019t do, worship a graven image.\u00a0 Daniel 6, the government is saying not to something that God says to do, which is to pray.\n\nWell, I\u2019m glad we live in America, we don\u2019t have to deal with that stuff.\u00a0 You\u2019re talking, pastor, like we\u2019re in some kind of communist or Islamic country.\u00a0 This issue of civil disobedience is getting closer and closer and closer; do we all recognize this, that Christians today\u2026 at no other time in my life can I recall this, are being put under the threat of legal force to go against their conscience.\u00a0 This happened, I\u2019ve used these examples before, Jack Phillips in the state of Colorado who didn\u2019t want to use his bakery for a same sex wedding, the court says you\u2019re going to do it whether you like it or not.\u00a0 Same exact thing happened in Oregon with Aaron and Melissa Kline; the exact same thing happened recently in the state of Washington with a woman named Barronelle Stutzman who simply did not want to use her creativity as a florist and the owner of a flower shop to subsidize a same sex wedding.\u00a0 In fact, she recommended multiple florists that this same sex individual could have received flowers from, it doesn\u2019t matter, you will comply, you will submit to the dictates of the state whether you like it or not and if you don\u2019t do it we\u2019re going to put you under the threat of duress or coercion, in fact, we\u2019re going to destroy your life, we\u2019re going to destroy your business, we\u2019re going to destroy your livelihood.\n\nThis is not some communist country I\u2019m talking about, this is not some Islamic country I\u2019m talking about, this is the United States of America.\u00a0 Daniel 6 is jumping right off the pages into our time period by giving us guidance on how to respond.\u00a0 And so consequently the lesson of chapter 3 and chapter 6 tells us that the door opens at that point for civil disobedience.\n\nYou know this Supreme Court, the State Supreme Court in the State of Washington recently that ruled against Barronelle Stutzman, do you realize that the court ruled against her 9 to 0?\u00a0 Unanimously?\u00a0 Now I\u2019m trained in law, I\u2019ve heard a lot of dissenting opinions.\u00a0 Dissenting opinions is when judges say we disagree on this ground and this ground.\u00a0\u00a0 You don\u2019t even have a dissenting opinion in this case; it\u2019s just an ironclad rubber stamp and there it is, right here in the United States of America where a woman has to decide\u2026 by the way, she\u2019s not exactly a terrorist, she\u2019s a 70+ year old grandmother, not exactly what I would call a menace to society.\u00a0 And there it is, right here in the United States.\u00a0\u00a0 You decide, are you going to obey God or are you going to obey the state?\u00a0 Wow!\u00a0 So what do you do?\n\nDaniel 3, Daniel 6, Acts 5, you obey God, if the following principles are adhered to.\u00a0 Number 1, there has to be a clear conflict between the laws of man and the laws of God.\u00a0 Number 2, there has to be an exhausting of all created legal remedies, in other words, civil disobedience is never a first resort, it\u2019s a last resort.\u00a0 Number 3, you\u2019ve got to be willing to pay the consequences when you disobey.\u00a0 Number 4, even while you disobey you still maintain respect for the civil authorities.\u00a0 Was these criteria met here?\n\nIs there a clear conflict between the laws of man and the laws of God?\u00a0 Yes there is.\u00a0 I\u2019ll show you in a minute.\u00a0 Number 2, was this a last resort?\u00a0 Yes it was.\u00a0 Number 3, was Daniel\u00a0 willing to pay the consequences?\u00a0 Yes he was, as were Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.\u00a0\u00a0 Number 4, Did Daniel become disrespectful or rude to government agents?\u00a0 No he did not; down in verse 22 he continues to refer to Darius in the most respectful of terms, calling him \u201cO king,\u201d recognizing that he was in an office, that God put him there, and yet he was abusing his authority.\u00a0 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego did the exact same thing, continuing to refer to Nebuchadnezzar as\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cO King,\u201d respectfully.\n\nSo what do you do when you find yourself in conflict?\u00a0 You\u2019re saying I know what to do, I hit the panic button.\u00a0 That\u2019s what your flesh does.\u00a0 Daniel doesn\u2019t hit the panic button.\u00a0 What does Daniel do?\u00a0 He starts to pray.\u00a0 Is that what you do when the pressure comes?\u00a0 Is prayer your first option or your last option?\n\nLook, if you will, at verses 10-11, \u201cNow when Daniel knew that the document was signed,\u201d he knew what had just happened, he knew he had been set up.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow when Daniel knew that the document was signed he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks\u201d did\u00a0 you catch that, \u201cpraying and giving thanks,\u201d he\u2019s about ready to be thrown into the lion\u2019s den, \u201cpraying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. [11] Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God.\u201d\n\nWhat does Daniel do in an impossible situation as an infirm 80 year old?\u00a0 He goes to God in prayer; he goes directly to the source of power in the universe\u2014God Himself!\u00a0 And in the process we learn tremendous principles about prayer.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I\u2019ve entitled this message Principles of\u00a0 Prayer so everything I\u2019ve said thus far is introduction, now we\u2019re getting to the sermon.\n\nVery quickly seven principles of prayer.\u00a0 Number 1, the principle of Priority.\u00a0 He knew the documented sign and immediately he prayed; prayer was a priority in this man\u2019s life, something he did first, not last.\u00a0 Number 2, there is the principle of obedience and faith, what does it say here, he prayed with his windows open to what?\u00a0 Jerusalem.\u00a0 Why would he do that?\u00a0 Do you know why he did that?\u00a0 Because God told him to do it all the way back in the time of Solomon.\u00a0 1 Kings 8:44, this would be about 400 years or so earlier, Solomon said this: \u201cWhen your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way You shall send them, and they pray to the LORD toward the city which You have chosen\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 1 Kings 8:48-49 says this, \u201c [48] \u2026 and pray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name.\u201d\n\nNow I don\u2019t think this is a command necessarily for the church age believer, if you want to pray towards Jerusalem go for it, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s required but it was required for a pre-church age Hebrew.\u00a0 God said you\u2019re going to go into captivity and when you go into captivity I want you to keep praying for Jerusalem and towards Jerusalem.\u00a0 Daniel is obeying that command.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why I like to call this the principle of obedience.\n\n1 John 5:14 says, \u201cThis is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.\u201d\u00a0 Why is it that so many times our own prayers don\u2019t get any higher than the ceiling; they\u2019re never answered?\u00a0 Because we don\u2019t follow the principle of obedience; we pray in ways and we pray for things that are not in the will of God.\u00a0 You\u2019ll notice that the prayer life of Daniel was Scripturally informed; the better you know the Scripture the better you know the will of God.\u00a0 The better you know the will of God the better you know how to pray.\u00a0 I also see in this the principle of faith because Jerusalem had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.\u00a0 The temple had been toppled, and the fact that Daniel was willing to face Jerusalem as he prayed showed faith that God was not finished with Jerusalem.\u00a0 From the human point it looked like God was finished with Jerusalem but not from the prophetic point of view.\n\nJames 1:6-8 says, \u201cBut he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. [7] For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, [8] <em>being<\/em> a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.\u201d\u00a0 Daniel had confidence in God.\u00a0 He had confidence in God\u2019s plan for the city of Jerusalem, even though it was in an ash heap when he prayed this prayer.\n\nAlso here we see the principle of consistency.\u00a0 A lot of times we pray when it\u2019s convenient, we pray when we have an emotional euphoria, but how did Daniel pray?\u00a0 Three times a day as he had done previously.\u00a0 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, \u201cPray without\u201d what? \u201cceasing.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s like breathing; prayer for the Christian should be as natural as breathing.\u00a0 As you\u2019re constantly, throughout the day communicating with the Lord.\n\nYou know Jesus was a man of prayer.\u00a0 Matthew 14:23 says, \u201cAfter He had sent the crowds away,\u201d isn\u2019t that interesting, Jesus sent crowds away; Jesus needed some alone time.\u00a0 \u201cAfter He had sent the crowds away He went up on the mountain by Himself to\u201d do what?\u00a0 Check out his Facebook postings?\u00a0 No, \u201cto pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.\u201d\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t even with the inner circle any more.\u00a0 Jesus needed time away from people to pray to God the Father.\u00a0 Now He was God in human flesh and He needed that time.\n\nHow is it that we deceive ourselves into somehow thinking that we don\u2019t need that time of intimacy and solitude and quietness before the Lord.\u00a0 Jesus told the disciples many times, \u201ccome apart and be with Me for a while.\u00a0 [Mark 6:31, \u201cAnd He said to them, \u2018Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.\u2019 (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)\u201d]\u00a0 Let me tell you something; if you won\u2019t come apart you will come apart.\u00a0\u00a0 You are not designed to work, work, work, work, work, work, work like the Energizer Bunny.\u00a0 You need time of rejuvenation with the Lord.\n\nWe see also the principle of humility.\u00a0 What was His body posture here?\u00a0 He was kneeling, a sign of dependency, a sign that He needed a touch from God\u2019s grace.\u00a0 You know, one of the things that really worries me is we have become so comfortable with the grace of God (and I praise the Lord for His grace) we\u2019ve forgotten His holiness.\u00a0 I see these T-shirts that some of the youth wear, and I even wore some of those in my youth, it wasn\u2019t that long ago, it says, \u201cGod\u2019s rad, He\u2019s my dad.\u201d\u00a0 Well, I get it, He\u2019s my Father, I\u2019m intimate with Him, and have I gotten so comfortable with that aspect of His nature that I\u2019ve lost awe or reverence or what Moses was told by God, \u201ctake off your sandals, you\u2019re on holy ground.\u201d\u00a0 [Exodus 3:5, \u201cThen He said, \u2018Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.\u201d\u2019]\u00a0 You find here Daniel didn\u2019t lose sight of that.\n\nAnd then he was\u00a0 a man of thanksgiving.\u00a0 How do you thank God when you\u2019re about ready to be thrown into the lion\u2019s den?\u00a0 I don\u2019t understand that.\u00a0 But rather than pleading and begging and crying and moaning and complaining there he is, this 80 year old\u00a0 in a life altering circumstance giving thanks to God.\u00a0 Wow!\u00a0 \u00a0God protect me from becoming a grouchy old man, or a grouchy young man, or a grouchy middle aged man.\u00a0 Make my heart overflow with thanksgiving, regardless of the circumstances that I am facing.\n\nHe was also to complete this list petitioning God.\u00a0 What is a petition?\u00a0 It\u2019s a legal term, you\u2019re making a request.\u00a0\u00a0 Look at the balance in this, not just petitioning, but thanking; not just thanking but kneeling.\u00a0 And the whole list comes together in this seasoned mature saint.\u00a0 Are you a person of thanksgiving in your prayer life.\u00a0 Philippians 4:6 says, \u201cBe anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and <u>supplication<\/u> with thanksgiving let your requests\u201d that\u2019s your petitions, \u201cbe made known to God.\u201d\u00a0 Has anxiety gripped your life over something?\u00a0 Have you gone to the Lord in prayer over it?\u00a0 And beyond that are you thanking the Lord for the circumstances you\u2019re in, knowing that those circumstances have been orchestrated by God Himself?\n\nThe final principle is supplication,\u00a0 you\u2019ll notice the word \u201csupplication\u201d there at the end of verse 11, supplication simply means supply.\u00a0 God, I have this need, I need a supply.\u00a0 God, I\u2019m short of finances, I need a supply.\u00a0 God, I\u2019m short of physical strength, I need a supply.\u00a0 God, I\u2019m short of relational grace, I\u2019m becoming impatient with people.\u00a0 I know that never happens to you guys.\u00a0 I need a supply.\u00a0 I need You to help me.\n\nPeople say well gee, Andy, we sure enjoy your preaching.\u00a0 Let me tell you something, there isn\u2019t a day that goes by when I come into this church to teach in any fashion where I don\u2019t plead with God, beg with God to help me.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t believe me just ask my wife; she sees me before and the basket case that I am, I\u2019ve got to stand up in front of people and communicate eternal things with the week I\u2019ve had, the mood that I\u2019m in?\u00a0 I need You to help me!\u00a0 I need a supply!\u00a0 I need a reservoir!\u00a0\u00a0 And isn\u2019t it interesting the faithfulness of God over and over and over again when we come to Him with that spirit.\u00a0 How to live for God in a pagan society, how to pray to God in the midst of crisis.\u00a0 A tremendous lesson from the book of Daniel and we\u2019ll continue on next week as we move into the prosecution of Daniel, the\u00a0 presentation of Daniel into the lion\u2019s den and finally the protection of Daniel.\u00a0 Shall we pray.\n\nFather, we\u2019re grateful for this book written so long ago, yet it speaks to our lives with such authority.\u00a0 I pray You\u2019ll be with us as we walk out through different crises and difficulties this week; we\u2019re relying upon You by way of grace, trusting Your touch and Your empowerment.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026 Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 4.9.10 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/daniel-018-the-principles-of-prayer\/\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 4.9.10\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" 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00:53:50","updated":"2025-06-27 09:00:26","seo_analyzer_scan_date":null},"aioseo_breadcrumb":"<div class=\"aioseo-breadcrumbs\"><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/\" title=\"Home\">Home<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">&raquo;<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/\" title=\"Sermons\">Sermons<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">&raquo;<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/book\/daniel\/\" title=\"Daniel\">Daniel<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">&raquo;<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\tDaniel 018: The Principles of 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