Daniel: September 24, 2014

TODAYS WORD FOR WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2014.

DANIEL

DEFINITION:

A man of purpose, prayer, power and faith.

SCRIPTURE:

So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. Daniel 6:4.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Daniel was a man of strong faith and godly character. Our goal in life should be to have a godly character like Daniel had so that others may say about us what was said about Daniel in verse 4 (above). Daniel was so faithful and upright that no fault could be found in him. As we look into the scriptures and read about Daniel we can learn many things from his life that can help us understand what it means to be faithful to God and the importance of having a godly character.

If Daniel had a flaw in his character it has not been revealed to us in the scriptures. The scriptures do give us four character traits of Daniel that we can apply to our lives.

Daniel was a man of purpose. In Daniel 1:8 we read that Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, or with the wine which he drank. Although Daniel was living in exile as a captive of Babylon, he had found favor with the king and was offered the privilege of eating from the king’s table. He would not allow himself to be tempted with the meat and wine of the king, because it was an offering to Babylon’s false gods and Daniel knew that to eat the meat and drink the wine would be to disobey God.

The food and wine were tempting but God gave him wisdom and strength to say “NO” and Daniel refused to partake of the food and wine. Daniel had resolved to stay true to his convictions and always faithful to God.  We need to learn to say no to all of the temptations to do evil that Satan will present to us in order to draw us away from the Lord.

Daniel was a man of prayer. He recognized the importance of having communication with God. Daniel had been taken captive to Babylon and even though he lived in a pagan country he never strayed from his faith in God. He continued to pray to his Lord even when he faced death for praying to his God. Daniel not only prayed when he was in danger but he had a pattern of prayer, praying three times a day. We need to develop that kind of prayer pattern because we need daily communication with God.

Daniel was a man of power. King Nebuchadnezzar bestowed honor, gifts and great power on Daniel. Daniel received power from the king, but Daniel knew that his real source of power came from God, and he continually gave God the glory in all that he did and always put his total trust in God’s power not his own. If we want to be men and women of power that God can use we need to follow Daniel’s example.

Daniel was a man of faith. He showed his faith in God in his times of great distress and anxiety. For example, he was forced to spend a night in a den of hungry lions because of his loyalty and trust in God. The scriptures tell us in Daniel 6:23 that King Darius came to the den in the morning, after Daniel’s night in the lion’s den, and found Daniel alive and well, “and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in God.” When we are faithful to God and put our trust in Him, God will be with us as we go through our times of difficulty and despair.

We all can learn from the life of Daniel. God wants us to live our lives like Daniel lived his and if we do God will work miracles through our life just as He did in the life of Daniel.

There is an old hymn written by Philip P. Bliss in 1873. We sang it in Sunday school, maybe some of you did as well:

The words to the chorus are:

Dare to be a Daniel,

Dare to stand alone,

Dare to have a purpose firm,

Dare to make it known.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Ephesians 2:8-9.

For by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourself but it is the gift of God, not by works so no one can boast.

PRAYER:

Thank You for the standard of godly commitment that has been given to us through the life of Daniel. May my life and the lives of my family be lives of purpose, prayer, power and faith like that of Daniel. Keep us from being tempted by things that would defile us and keep us steadfast in our faith.