Daniel Chapter 6 Verse 10

10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem; and he got down upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

Note that verse 10 tells us plainly that Daniel at some point learned that the document had been signed. Thus, whatever he does next is not done in ignorance of the decree. He knows the new law and he knows the penalty for breaking it.

Daniel’s prayers had been his lifeline all these years under the corrupting Babylonian influences. What would he do now?

1. He could compromise and simply not pray for one month. (For many of us this would hardly be noticed!) From the world’s standpoint this would be reasonable and prudent.

This plan would have several advantages.

First, it would be the most peaceful plan. Nobody would get upset. But Daniel knew that peace at any price was too costly if the price turned out to be disobedience to God.

Luke 12:51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

The truth always creates a division. Some accept it and some do not. Jesus was often accused of creating division – and he never denied the charge.

Second, this plan would allow Daniel to follow the path of least resistance. It would be the easy way out. But Daniel knew that the path of least resistance never intersected the path of righteousness. In fact, for Daniel, the path of righteousness was the path of most resistance!

Daniel could not simply do nothing and hope for the best. He knew like James that:

James 4:17 Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Daniel had to act. To do nothing would have been a sin.

2. He could have gone underground and prayed silently or at night when no one could see him.

Sadly, many seem to have adopted this plan ourselves. God, however, has never put out a call for secret agents.

We must speak out and let the world know where we stand. If we are on God’s side then we must let the world know.

This plan might appear to be the best of both worlds. Daniel could please both God and man by just praying silently. Wrong! It is not possible to please God if at the same time you are trying equally hard to please men.

Galatians 1:10 Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ.

Sometimes it is easy to just ignore what we might consider the “little” compromises. But the little things are training for the big things!

Jeremiah 12:5 If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you fall down, how will you do in the jungle of the Jordan?

The time to take a stand against the world is early before it gets a foothold because once it gets a foothold it may be too late.

3. He could have rationalized. Just think how much good he could do if he stayed in power. He had just gotten his power back after being without it for so long. God wouldn’t want him to loose it again so quickly, would he?

We too are faced with choices every day.

Remember what Joshua told the people in Joshua 24.

Joshua 24:14-15 "Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if you be unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

I think that we often follow the advice of that great philosopher Yogi Berra who once said “When you come to a fork in the road, take it!” But we cannot do that. We must make a choice.

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live.

God has given us a choice, and God is begging us to choose life.

We must choose whose side we are on, and once we do that all of our other decisions will be easy.

Should we compromise with the world or should we do what we know is right and stand with God? Listen to Paul’s answer:

Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

Isn’t this exactly what Daniel did? Not only did he did not take part in the wicked plan, but he exposed the wicked plan.

4. He could concern himself with pleasing God instead of pleasing men and not worry about the consequences – and that is exactly what he did.

The decision was easy. In fact, there was no decision to make. Daniel had made the decision to follow God long ago, and whether he was 13 or 83, he would not compromise with the world.

What a wonderful example of faithfulness and loyalty to God!

Why did Daniel pray toward Jerusalem?

1 Kings 8:10–11 tells us that God’s presence resided in the temple.

1 Kings 8:10-11 And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

While Ezekiel 11:23 tells us that this presence left prior to the destruction of the city in 587, Ezekiel 43:2 tells us that God promised to return – and in fact Cyrus’ order to rebuild the city had probably already been given.

Ezekiel 11:23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

Ezekiel 43:2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the east; and the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with his glory.

What was Daniel praying for?

In Daniel 9:1–2 we will discover that since Darius had begun to reign Daniel had been reading Jeremiah with regard to the 70 year period of exile.

Daniel 9:1-2 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by birth a Mede, who became king over the realm of the Chaldeans – 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years which, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

Thus Daniel knew it was time for his people to return from their exile and indeed many may have already returned.

Thus, the returning captives may have been the primary item on Daniel’s prayer list, and he could hardly stop praying for them now that they needed his prayers the most.