In episode 217, “Daniel and the Lions’ Den”, Brooke & Faren discuss the meaning of Daniel 6:10. Hear how this Bible story helps us learn the significance of a prayer lifestyle, and how it helps us navigate tough choices. We use our © Read Pray Talk Tell Method to discover ways we can practically live this scripture out in everyday life. The Kid Classics mini series begins on episode 209 and goes through episode 218 of the Witty & Gritty podcast.
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Read about Assimilation
We are in week 9 of our Kid Classics mini series (episodes 209-218), and it’s been so much fun taking Old Testament Bible stories, and putting in a fresh perspective. Daniel and the Lions’ Den is a true classic, and our new twist is the idea of the benefits of a regular prayer practice.
Daniel and the Lions’ Den takes place in 605 BC during Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah. The King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, attack Judah, and takes their best and brightest men back to Babylon. The King’s plan was to assimilate these men to the Babylonian culture, and use them to continue the progress of that kingdom. Smart move, but it doesn’t always go the way it was planned.
- Daniel & friends get taken to Babylon
- He works his way up the chain of command
- Native Babylonian men are mad Daniel is getting promoted
- They set up a plan to get him in trouble
- The King gets tricked and approves of a law
- Daniel disregards the law (praying only to the king)
“But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.”
Daniel 6:10
Pray Routinely
There are a couple of takeaways we hit on in the episode. It’s clear from the text that Daniel has an established prayer routine, and he is not going to let a law that goes against God stop him from praying. From our Esther episode, we know it’s a bold move to go against the king (resulting in possible death), yet Daniel chooses God over all.
In our “Daniel and the Lions’ Den” episode, we cover several ways to begin establishing (or enhancing) your prayer routine along with pointing you to our Atomic Habits mini series. With these tips in addition to utilizing our Atomic Habits mini series, you’ll be able to improve your prayer life. Ask God to stretch you and give you ideas along the way. Here are a few from the episode:
- Set a 5 min timer, 3 times a day
- Pick a specific place
- Challenge yourself
- Pray out loud
- Make a list of things to pray for
Talk About Prayer
Daniel and the Lions’ Den is a great example of setting up a routine prayer practice, so now let’s challenge ourselves to further the growth. This is where other people become involved. You can start with familiar people (like kids or spouse), and then broaden (Biblical community), and then so on (extended circles). Here are some tips we go over in the episode:
- Pray for each other (specific is great!)
- Type prayers out (sending it to the person is great!)
- Be intentional with the people you pray for
- Stop and pray with people when they ask for prayer
It doesn’t have to be fancy, filled with verses, or written in the King James Version. Prayers from the heart are great! Simple is fine. The good news, if you want to take some time and pray over a prayer you want to send, you can do that too.
Tell About Truth and Criticism
In the Daniel and the Lions’ Den story, we highlight how Daniel only focused on what God wanted (prayer), not what the world wanted (Daniel praying to the king). There will be times we all face pressure, so it’s best to have ourselves aligned with what God says. When someone outside of that is pressuring us, we have the chance to look at what they’re saying, compare it to what God says, and see if it aligns.
This is the skill we can pass along to our children. There will be days they receive criticism, but is it from a trustworthy source? We can equip our kids to know where the truth comes from, the people who honor God’s truths, and how to walk away from the criticism that doesn’t align with the scripture.
We hope you enjoyed episode 217, “Daniel and the Lions’ Den”, through our © Read Pray Talk Tell Method. Now it’s up to you to work through the Bible chapter discussed, pray about this verse using the prompts given, have biblical community around this verse, and go point others to Christ with the tips we give. Remember, when you read, pray, talk, tell consistently, you’ll grow your faith in God more deeply. Tune in next week to hear another breakdown of a Bible verse!
Links From the Show
- Kid Classics Mini Series
- Witty & Gritty on IG
- FREE Memorization Guide
- Atomic Habits Mini Series, episodes 103-111
- Prayer cards episode 139 with Betsy
- Job Summary: Bible Project
- Psalms Summary: Bible Project
- Proverbs Summary: Bible Project
- Ecclesiastes Summary: Bible Project
- Song of Songs Summary: Bible Project
- Isaiah Summary: Bible Project
- Jeremiah Summary: Bible Project
- Lamentations Summary: Bible Project
- Ezekiel Summary: Bible Project
