Daniel in the Lions' Den: The Prayer That Couldn't Be Stopped

Daniel is one of three administrators presiding over the whole empire under King Darius the Mede, and he is distinguished above all the others — no negligence, no corruption can be found in him. His colleagues decide the only way to bring him down is to find something against him in the law of his God.

They go to Darius with a proposal: establish a decree that for thirty days, any person who prays to any god or man except the king shall be thrown into the lions' den. Darius, flattered, signs it into law. Under Persian law, once signed, it cannot be revoked even by the king himself.

Daniel goes home. He opens his windows toward Jerusalem — as was his custom — and prays three times a day, as he had always done. He does not conceal it, does not move to a closed room, does not suspend the practice for thirty days. His windows are open.

His enemies find him praying and rush to Darius. The king is greatly distressed — he had not thought of Daniel when he signed the decree. He spends the whole day trying to find a legal way to save him. He cannot. At sunset, Daniel is thrown to the lions. The king says to him: May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you. A stone is laid at the mouth of the den, sealed with the king's signet ring.

Darius spends the night fasting. He refuses entertainment, cannot sleep. At dawn he runs to the den and calls out: O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?

Daniel's voice comes from inside: O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths. Darius orders him taken up. No wound of any kind is found on him, because he had trusted in his God. His accusers — with their families — are thrown in, and the lions overpower them before they reach the bottom of the den. Darius issues a decree throughout the empire: all peoples must tremble before the God of Daniel, who delivers and rescues, who works signs and wonders.