Daniel 6:10. 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.
When the book of Daniel was written, Israel was in captivity to Babylon. And by chapter 6, after a long life in ministry, Daniel was eighty years old. The godly prophet and preacher had outlived two Babylonian kings, Nebuchadnezzar and his son Belshazzar. Now Daniel served under King Darius.
Through his many years of ministry, Daniel had always been a praying man. And now, in his old age, he had no thoughts of slowing down. Scripture makes no mention of Daniel being burned out or discouraged. It says nothing about him having a nest egg or a country cottage where he could spend his golden years without any responsibilities. On the contrary, Daniel was just beginning. Scripture shows that even as this man turned eighty, his prayers shook hell, enraging the devil.
By this time, King Darius had promoted Daniel to the highest office in the land. Daniel now served as one of three co-equal presidents, ruling over princes and governors of some 120 provinces. The Bible even says Darius favored Daniel over the other two presidents. He put Daniel in charge of forming government policy and teaching all the court appointees and intellectuals :”Daniel was preferred above the presidents…and the king thought to set him over the whole realm” (Daniel 6:3).
Obviously, Daniel was one busy prophet. No one could fill such demanding roles without being awfully busy. I can only imagine the kinds of pressures placed on this minister, with his busy schedule and time-consuming meetings.
Yet nothing could take Daniel away from his times of prayer. Prayer remained his central occupation, taking precedence over all other demands. Simply put, Daniel was never too busy to pray. Three times a day, he stole away from all his obligations, burdens and demands as a leader to spend time with the Lord.
Any praying person is the scourge of hell. And Satan will do everything in his power to shut that person’s prayers down.
Daniel had already proven the effectiveness of his prayers under Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. Now, under Darius’ reign, Satan initiated a great conspiracy to silence Daniel’s prayers. The prophet’s praying had so shaken hell, an incensed devil organized Babylon’s entire government against him.
Remember, Daniel had been appointed over every other leader in the land. Those politicians saw in Daniel a wisdom, respect and favor that made them jealous. And now they conspired against him: “The presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him” (Daniel 6:4).
Daniel was blameless, so Babylon’s leaders couldn’t catch him in a single sin. They finally concluded that the only way to get to the prophet was through his walk with God. They said, “We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God” (6:5). Would to God that this could be said of us today.
These leaders knew Daniel prayed toward Jerusalem three times a day. And they attributed his favor to his prayers. So they implemented a plan to stop his praying. How? I believe they tried to occupy Daniel’s time with busyness. His co-presidents sought to involve him in important, job-related busyness so he wouldn’t have time to pray.
This is one of the prime devices Satan uses against all believers. And it’s an especially prevalent conspiracy among ministers.
If you ask a pastor why he doesn’t pray, he’ll probably tell you he has no time. the demands of his shepherd’s role are so time-consuming, he has to use all the time he has left to prepare his sermons.
Most Christians fall into the same temptation. They say, “I’m too short of time to pray. My work consumes all my time.” Even housewives claim, “I don’t have a moment in the day to pray. By the time I get my children dressed, clean the house and cook the meals, I don’t have any time left.”
Daniel knew he couldn’t survive a day without prayer. So he kept praying, even as his colleagues poured more work on him. You know the story – they finally issued a decree calling for a thirty-day moratorium on prayer. It was a law aimed at Daniel. Yet, even then, Daniel wouldn’t stop his hell-shaking prayers – and he ended up in the lions’ den.
You may wonder, what motivated Daniel to pray so intensely? What caused him to keep praying, even with a death warrant hanging over his head? Why would this eighty-year old man continue to pour his heart out to the Lord so fervently, when the rest of the church no longer sought God?
Consider the immense effort it took for Daniel to devote himself to prayer. After all, he lived in the New York City of his time – great, majestic, wealthy Babylon. And he lived in a time of spiritual apathy – of drunkenness, pleasure-seeking and greed among God’s people. Moreover, he was a busy leader with distractions on all sides.
I tell you, prayer does not come naturally to anyone, including Daniel. Disciplined prayer time is easy to start yet hard to continue. Both our flesh and the devil conspire against it. So, how do we become people of prayer?
You may ask – what is the prayer that shakes hell? It comes from the faithful, diligent servant who sees his nation and church falling deeper into sin. This person falls on his knees, crying, “Lord, I don’t want to be a part of what’s going on. Let me be an example of your keeping power in the midst of this wicked age. It doesn’t matter if no one else prays. I’m going to pray.”
Where are the praying people in God’s house today? Where are the faithful shepherds who seek the Lord night and day? These are the ones who’ll be given skill and understanding.
Like Daniel, these servants identify with and confess the sins of the nation and the church. And they cry out in humility, “Oh, Lord, show me where I’ve been drifting, where I have great lack. Then help me to face it and deal with it. Whatever it takes, God, keep me on my knees. I long to see you restore your church.”
Mark Cowan
Watchmen On The Pod 