Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. 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.
Daniel 6:9-10
The decree that king Darius signed in verse 10 was the decree that no person should pray or ask any thing of anyone other than the king for 30 days. The people who got his to sign this decree were just trying to get rid of Daniel. They knew that Daniel was faithful and that he prayed consistently, three times a day. So, Darius signed this decree that anyone who asked any thing of anyone else would be put in a den of lions and Daniel knew about. What did Daniel do? Daniel did exactly what Daniel was supposed to do. He went right ahead and prayed, ignoring the king’s decree.
It is interesting to note that, in verse 10, the first thing he did was “gave thanks before his God.” Daniel’s prayers were prayers of thanks. He even prayed a prayer of thanksgiving when he knew that it would mean his going to the lions’ den. It didn’t matter what the consequences, he understood the importance of offering thanksgiving to the Lord and the importance of just being thankful. He was determined to continue to pray and be thankful even if it would cost him his life.
That is serious thankfulness. I’m sure that none of us have ever been put in the position of having to choose to be thankful and die or to not be thankful and keep our mouths shut and live. But if we were, what would we choose? Would we still be committed to being thankful? Let us be thankful during the good times, and that will make it easier to be thankful during the bad times!
Justified Freely 