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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
Daniel –A godly man: Daniel wanted to obey God even during his exiled in Babylon. The person who had charge of the young men being trained for the king’s service told the entire group to eat from the king’s table. Daniel thought about it and requested that he not be made to do it. He suggested that he and his friends be allowed to eat vegetables and drink water for ten days and then be compared to the others being trained.
Daniel and his three friends were given Babylonian names. Each of the group had names that had special meaning to the Jews. Their new names had meaning in the Babylonian culture. Giving them new names was meant to assimilate them into their new culture.
Daniel – A man of prayer: The administrators of the court tricked King Darius and had an edict published that even the king couldn’t withdraw. Whoever prayed to any deity other than Darius would be thrown into a den of lions. The men watched Daniel as he prayed to the God of his people. Daniel prayed three times a day. The administrators wanted Daniel gone from his post. They couldn’t find any grounds for charges except his relationship with God.
Daniel was a favorite of Darius; but he had to enter the lion’s den. The next morning He came out without a scratch on him. The king was impressed with Daniel’s God.
Daniel— A man of courage: It took courage for Daniel to approach the one responsible for those being groomed for the king’s service. When Daniel had to tell the king what he had dreamed and then interpret it, most of us would be afraid. At the time of the King throwing Daniel into a den of lions, we don’t read of him showing any sign of fear.
21Century thoughts: We need godly men and women in our world today. We see the work of the enemy all around us. In some of the cities in my state, the homicide numbers average two incidents a week. As we begin a new year, we have to pray for our towns and cities that people will be able to solve their differences without resorting to anger and violence.
We need more people of prayer. Each of us who follow Jesus should practice seeking God early on when problems or traumas come into our lives. Personally, I have found events are easier to handle when I have prayed about them first.
On New Year’s Eve, I watched part of the screen adaptation of North and South, by John Jakes. Several years ago, I had read the trilogy as part of some research I did. In the screen version, President Abraham Lincoln spoke of people on both sides praying to God, asking for the same thing- victory for their soldiers. He realized that God couldn’t and wouldn’t answer both sides request. My thought was yes, God did; to one side he said yes and to the other side he said no.
We still have to pray for God’s will even when He sees the outcome will not be what we desire. A side light to the story of Daniel is that when his three friends wouldn’t bow down to the statue of the king, they were willing to face whatever God wanted for them even if it meant they perish. Daniel and his friends were godly men of courage and of prayer.
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Cecelia Lester has been serious about her writing for over two decades..
She composes Christian essays and posts them to her blog quietspirit-followingmyking.blogspot.com/
She has served in a faith-based organization, Grace In Action by writing two newsletters and searching for possible grants.
In July 2017, she published her first book, 'Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy.'
She and her husband of 54 years live in central Indiana. They have one grown son.
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