Victorious Prayer in Dark Times | Rev. Paul Lawler

When you can’t see a way out, and the pressure feels personal, Daniel’s quiet habit exposes a louder truth: darkness doesn’t get the final word.

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[0:17] Our scripture reading this morning comes from the Old Testament book of Daniel,

[0:22] Daniel chapter 6 and verses 10 through 23. Hear the word of God. When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber opened toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. Then they came near and said before the king concerning the injunction, O king, did you not sign an injunction that anyone who makes petition to any God or man within 30 days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. And the king answered and said, The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked. Then they answered and said before the king, Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king.

[1:35] Or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day. Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel, and he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed. Then the king commanded and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions.

[2:13] The king declared to Daniel, May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you. And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lord's, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went into his palace and spent the night fasting.

[2:37] No diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. Then at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. And the king declared to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions? Then Daniel said to the king, O king, live forever. My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths and they have not hardened me because I was found blameless before him and also before you, O king, I have done no harm. Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no kind of harm was found on him because he had trusted in his God. This is the word of God for the people of God.

[3:46] Amen and amen. I greet you this morning on this snowy, icy day in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My name is Paul Lawler. I have the honor of serving as the lead pastor of Christ Methodist. We welcome you this morning. And before we dive into the text, I want to take a moment and pray. I want to identify that we're going to spend a few moments talking together about how to experience victorious prayer in dark times. Let's pray. Lord, as you look upon us, deep in each of our hearts, there's a current.

[4:30] And we understand the currents of our hearts at certain levels, and there are levels of our own hearts that go beyond our own understanding. The Scripture teaches us that above all things, our hearts are deceitful. And so as you see our hearts, O God, at their deepest level, We pray that you would activate the currents of the Holy Spirit to flow, to nourish, to interrupt, to create new pathways and channels in the currents of our hearts for your glory. And we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen.

[5:15] Well, as you've noticed already through the scripture reading, our main character this morning is a man named Daniel. Many of you are familiar with him because you're familiar with your Bibles. Many of you are aware that when Daniel was young, he was a young man of great promise. He had a high IQ. He was a high achiever academically. This drew the attention of political leaders, king in the nation. He was full of wisdom. In fact, Daniel was uniquely gifted, not only with great knowledge and understanding, but the correct way to apply knowledge and understanding, which is what wisdom is in its ultimate essence. Daniel was exceptionally talented. But now as we look at this story that we've read this morning, Daniel is well into adulthood. And he's dealing with some very unique dynamics. Scripture says in verse 3 of chapter 6, Daniel became distinguished. Now notice this phraseology, distinguished above. Take note of that. Distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. Now, at this time, a king named King Darius the Mede is ruling.

[6:42] And as he's ruling, Daniel, who is actually one of the refugees out of Judah, he's a Jewish man, is exceeding above, or shall we say, excelling above his contemporaries. And so in verses 1 and 2, we learn a little bit more of the dynamics that are going on. If you have your Bible open, it might be helpful. It seemed like a good plan to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom. Above them, there would be three supervisors. Daniel would be one of them to whom these satraps would report. Now, you may ask a logical question, what is a satrap? Well, let me define that so that we can move sequentially together. A satrap is a high-ranking governor in ancient Babylon or the Persian Empire, responsible for overseeing large provinces, collecting tribute, maintaining order, and acting as the king's chief representative. And as we noted earlier out of verse 3, the king planned to set him, Daniel, over the whole region. And here's where the problem that Daniel is facing begin to arise. This is the seed of the dark times that Daniel is about to enter.

[8:01] Other governors, other officials are jealous of Daniel. Other people who are politically connected, who are craving influence, resent the fact that Daniel has been elevated and he has such wisdom, and they resent that he's highly favored by King Darius. So Daniel is resented by his peers. Verse 4 tells us, The supervisors and satraps kept trying to find a basis for an accusation against Daniel in regard to his administration of the kingdom. However, they were unable to come up with an accusation or any evidence of corruption because he was trustworthy, and no neglect of duty or evidence of corruption could be found against him. Daniel, loved ones, think about this, had been such a godly man, such a wisdom man, filled man from God on high, such an upstanding man that they couldn't find anything to use against him.

[9:07] This reminds me of a quote from Chris Tegreen who wrote, Satan is like a rock climber. He needs cuts and protrusions on the rock in order to get a foothold. Jesus' character, which displayed faith, humility, patience, and mercy perfectly, made him as smooth as a sheet of glass. He gave Satan absolutely nothing to grab. And while we're not elevating Daniel to the level of Jesus, what we recognize is that Daniel's enemies couldn't find anything to grab. So what they decided to do is to use Daniel's walk with God against him by manipulating King Darius to create a law that would affect almost nobody except Daniel.

[10:00] You look at verse 8 with me. Now, your majesty, these jealous persons who are politically connected, others who are in places of offices, your majesty, please establish a decree and sign a document that cannot be changed according to the law of the Medes and the Persians that cannot be revoked. Now, the question is, what is this law that's being established? Well, the Bible tells us, verse 7, all the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, The counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction that whoever makes petition to any god or any man for 30 days except to you, O king, shall be cast into a den of lions. And King Darius has now been manipulated into a trap. And by manipulating King Darius to create a law that would affect almost no one except Daniel, that in this case, those that are jealous and resentful of Daniel have plotted by deception to bring Daniel down. Which reminds us, fallen human beings are capable of being evil. people.

[11:26] Very evil. And it can mask itself with a cleverness laced with deception. They made sure the law was written in such a way King Darius couldn't get around his own law. And now Daniel is facing a great dilemma, a dilemma in which it's very dark. There is no logical way out. So as Daniel is facing the consequences that ultimately are death, what does Daniel do? Does he wallow in self-pity?

[12:09] Does he run to the liquor store and get a bottle and engage in escapism? Does he pull a few friends together and gossip and slander about his enemies so that he feels falsely validated in some way? Well, verse 10 tells us exactly what he does. Look there with me. When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went to his house. It had windows on its upper story that opened toward Jerusalem. Now, note this, church family, three times a day each, he would get on his knees and pray. And he would offer praise before his God. And he continued to do that just as he had been doing before this dark episode began to emerge over his life. Now, loved ones, all of us in the sanctuary, all of us watching online this morning, either have encountered times in our lives that are very dark and there's not an earthly solution. Some of us may be in it right now. And loved ones, your pastor says this with great tenderness and love and gentleness, but there will be, because of a fallen world, dark times ahead.

[13:34] And as we look at this episode out of Scripture, I'm going to say something that may be very familiar to you because I say it a lot. God did not give us story in the Bible to entertain us. He gave us these stories, these episodes out of history to equip us because we too would face times when there seems to be no logical way forward. So let's learn from Daniel. How did Daniel experience victorious prayer when 360 degrees all around him, lions are coming at him, and there's no—and they're not just physical lions, they're human lions, and there's no logical way out of this. So how did he experience victorious prayer in dark times? Number one, Daniel already had a foundation. Take note of that, loved ones.

[14:29] Daniel is facing lions, as we noted, physical, but also in the forms of those persons coming at him. Did you notice verse 10 and the way it's worded? He continued to do that. What is that in reference to? He continued to pray. He continued to praise. This was already the pattern in which he was living in. That's why the text says, just as he had been doing before this episode, Daniel was already a man who had a foundation of walking with God, communing with God. He had a foundation of ongoing communion with God. And you know what else fueled Daniel's foundation?

[15:14] His experience in the past with God. Daniel had already seen God's victory in dark times. In the preceding chapter, Daniel, out of communion with God, is giving interpretation to the previous king where the king has wisdom, and that's all emanating out of his communion with God. Daniel had already knew of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego years ago in their experience in a blazing hot furnace some years before, and he had seen God preserve them alive. Daniel had some experiences that provided training for him. He wasn't starting at ground zero, and that brings us to a kingdom axiom, to use spiritual weapons, which is what Daniel is doing in prayer and praise. And they are powerful. Loved ones, they require training. And what I want to encourage you in is that all the dark times that you may have navigated in the past, and when you've leaned into God and you've seen God work, when you look back in your life, be mindful that in the love and sovereignty of God, that those experiences in the classroom, which are your circumstance that is your classroom, is intended for your training.

[16:37] And so if, loved ones, I want to encourage you this morning, if you would say, hey, I don't have those experiences in my life, let me encourage you this morning. If you haven't allowed God to build a foundation in your life, then start building today.

[16:54] Start building in prayer. Start building and studying the Word of God. Start building by praying the Word of God. Draw from God's Word. Draw strength from communion with God. Draw strength from what God has done in your past. Daniel already had a foundation. Secondly, Daniel knew how to battle. Now, when you are walking in darkness, when you're walking in dark times and you've got lions coming at you, when you find yourself in a situation that feels overwhelming, oppressive, or it's just evil spreading, listen, church, that kind of territory comes with vulnerabilities. It's easy to lose focus. You can begin to obsess about the size of the lions you're facing. You can begin to obsess about the dark motives of others or the darkness of your circumstance. You can begin to obsess about the ways you could retaliate or get even depending upon the circumstance. And all of that kind of obsession moves you right where the enemy wants you. Because he wants you to doubt God. He wants you to doubt the goodness of God. He wants you to doubt the faithfulness of God as you lean into him. So don't even try.

[18:24] His expertise lies in that old lie out of the book of Genesis. Did God really say?

[18:33] Just to plant doubt in your thinking. What doubt distorts the reality of God over your life. It moves you into paralysis mode. Doubt says there is no hope. Doubt says you better overcompensate and take control through the fallen patterns that you used to use before you knew Jesus or the fallen patterns you see modeled in many of the fallen people around you. And feelings begin to override what is true. And doubt distorts reality by creating a feeling of uncertainty, a lack of conviction, unsureness, indecision, hesitation, isolation, suspicion of others, and confusion. Think about this. Remember Peter? Peter sees Jesus walking on the water, and Peter says, Jesus, let me do the same thing. Let me walk out there and join you. and Peter goes out on the water and you know what happens. All of you know the story. He begins to sink after he had walked on water for a short period of time. And what did Jesus say to Peter when he grabbed him by the hand, pulled him in the boat? He asked him a question. Here it is, it's so simple. Why did you doubt?

[19:51] Now, what you might miss in that is that in the original Greek, the word doubt in that context translates looking two ways at once. In other words, Peter had one eye on the Lord and began to put his other eye on the storm. And what we take note of as Daniel is battling in prayer three times a day, Daniel is fighting for his heart not to look two ways at once, but to look only to God Almighty. This is why Isaiah writes this, if you are walking in darkness without a ray of light, you understand the way that translates? If you're walking in times that are exceedingly dark and overwhelming and there's no light shining in your circumstance, trust in the Lord, rely on your God. That's what Daniel is leaning into. Or as was a quote out of 2 Samuel 22, 29, You, O Lord, are my lamp. The Lord turns my darkness into light. This is where Daniel is battling in victorious prayer in dark times. And that, loved ones, is how the lions are defeated. Let me give you one more kingdom axiom.

[21:08] Living in the kingdom of God requires unnatural responses. Living in the kingdom of God requires unnatural responses.

[21:21] And see, the lions of this world are going to use all of the tools of a fallen world. Intimidation, control, gossip, slander, manipulation, shame, fear to control people and situations. A believer battles differently. A believer uses an unnatural response by going to God in prayer and praise and communing with the living God. We battle in prayer, move in faith in God's word, live in humility, walk in patience, and exercise mercy toward people to diffuse situations. And the whole strategy of the lions in your life is to intimidate you, to cause you to fear, to ultimately eat you. Death, to steal, kill, and destroy. But loved ones, faith and communion with God destroys fear. Now, let me take a time out here to say this.

[22:24] Sometimes when your pastor is preaching, and I don't mean just here at Christ Church, What runs through your mind, I want to confess something to you. I can teach, and then there's a part of me that goes, I'm wondering where their minds are. And so I just want to confess that. Because sometimes when you're standing and you're proclaiming God's word, you wonder if people are processing, is that man just saying things because that's what he's supposed to say?

[23:00] And I just want to stop and say, when we talk about faith destroying fear, I've seen it and experienced it in my own life. I'm not speaking out of opinion. Lord, loved ones, I'm giving testimony out of conviction. Perfect love, his presence, which is perfect love, his presence really does cast out fear. It's not make-believe. It's not preacher talk, God help us. And that's what Daniel walked in. Because he communed with God in faith and prayer in probably the darkest hour of his life. Daniel already had a foundation and Daniel knew how to battle. And Daniel, as he battled, experienced loads of assistance from the Spirit of God.

[23:55] So Daniel prays, and as he's praying and communing with God, his enemies report him to the king. Verse 14, when the king heard this report, he was very upset about it, but he was determined to save Daniel. So until sunset, he worked hard to rescue him. Now, this is beautiful because King Darius so favored Daniel that he's looking for loopholes in his own law. And remember, the source of that is Daniel's relationship with God. I would remind you many times in Scripture, when you are walking closely with God, God will give you favor with certain people. Now, I want to be careful here not to say that recklessly. I would just encourage you to have the heart of a Berean and study the Scriptures for yourselves to see if that's true. But here it's happening, and Darius is actually looking for a way that he could save Daniel.

[24:52] Was there something that he could do to allow Daniel to live and at the same time save face for himself? But Daniel's enemies would not let up. They emphasize that Daniel was not truly one of them. He was in exile, captured from Judah. So there was no reason for them to do this other than to humiliate Daniel and make him seem more likely to be disloyal. They claimed Daniel's actions were disrespectful to the king, to his law, and to the king himself. They declared, Daniel pays no attention to you, King Darius. And not only has he broken the law, but he does it three times every day. And all of this was said by Daniel's enemies not to honor King Darius, but to eliminate Daniel, all because Daniel had become a rival.

[25:48] And the target of their dark jealousy. And then the king had no choice. Verse 16, Then the king gave the order. Daniel was brought, thrown into the lion's den. And the king said to Daniel, May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you. There's a lesson here too church note this Daniel still had to go through the trial, he still had to go into a den of lions, and that teaches us something, sometimes trials get more difficult before they get better but God is at work, I don't know who said this originally some say it was Charles Spurgeon but it's been credited to a lot of different people.

[27:00] But it's a saying that I too have held on to at times, when the trials are difficult when the darkness seems overwhelming it's this quote don't doubt in the darkness what God has taught you in the light.

[27:21] I think about David when he wrote Psalm 23. And some scholars say that his own son Absalom may have been pursuing him to kill him when he wrote that. But other scholars say that it may have been when he was running from Saul who was out to kill him. And yet David's able to write these words, God, you prepare a table before me. in the presence of my enemies. And I would ask you, what did David know that we need to know? What is Daniel experiencing through prayer and praise in dark times that we need to know? Loved ones I'm keenly aware that in this sanctuary there are many of you who've walked through very difficult circumstances dark times some of you are in them right now, I've been then through them as well.

[28:39] But if we had time and we had opportunity for people to stand and share testimony. I think you would hear witness in this congregation of God's faithfulness. That would be my testimony as well. That when I look forward oftentimes, I go, God, are you in control? But when I look back, I go, wow, God, you've been in control all along.

[29:06] Reminds me of why the psalmist wrote, trust in him at all times. Look at that phrase, at all times.

[29:13] Trust in him at all times, you people. pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. I'm sure that that psalm and that thought was true for Daniel. If you've ever studied the psalms, you're aware that 40% of the psalms are written as prayers and songs in good times, but you're probably aware that about 40% of the Psalms are also written in dark times when things are not going well and you're hearing David and others cry out to God. And by the way, if you don't think the Bible illustrates just how honest you can be with God in prayer, stay away from the Psalms. Because there's a lot of bold honesty regarding the emotions human beings navigate when they are in dark times. So Daniel goes into the lion's den, and God, as you heard the text read, miraculously saves him. King Darius rejoices that Daniel is alive, and he understood that he had been duped by these evil men, and so King Darius sentences each of them to death in the lion's den. Now, there is a great lesson for us as we look at the scope of this story. And here it is, loved ones. Don't always judge visible battles with visible signs.

[30:42] Daniel didn't. And let that be a lesson for us. As the Bible teaches us in Ephesians, we are not just wrestling with flesh and blood, that we are wrestling with unseen forces. Daniel recognized that, and he began to tap into a reality that really reflects ultimate reality that is available to you as a believer. Secondly, seasons of darkness, when you're in them, they do not define everything for a believer.

[31:15] Because for a believer, you have H-O-P-E, hope, who is a person to tap into. Daniel discovered, or shall we say, not discovered, but experienced the fullness of God in a very dark time. Seasons of darkness do not define everything for a believer. A season of darkness for a believer is not a zero-sum game. Daniel could have thrown his arms up and said, I'm sentenced to death. I'm done. But we recognize that Daniel tapped into the source because for a believer, a season of darkness does not define everything. And though God does not promise to preserve your earthly life in any and every circumstance, he does promise that he has taken the curse of sin at the cross so that new life is assured for you no matter what happens. This is why the Son of God proclaims to us in Revelation 2, be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of everlasting life. And what that means, church, is for the believer, there is light at the end of darkness, whether it's in this life or the next. And for this ultimate reason, because of the resurrection of Jesus, You have lost.

[32:44] No matter what your circumstance, you have living hope. From the balcony to the front row, you have hope because hope is alive. He rose from the dead on the third day, and the scripture declares not only is he alive, he has ascended to the right hand of the Father in which he is present in heaven. And as the Bible declares, he is your mediator. He is your intercessor. He is your advocate. He is for you, not against you. You have hope. Let the testimony of Daniel's life rise up in your own. Let the reality of the hope of Jesus Christ live and reign in your understanding, in your circumstance, so that you recognize no matter what darkness you're navigating, you have hope because God is at work in your circumstance to his glory. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Now, church family, Bradley's going to come and lead us in a closing hymn. And while it's cold on the outside, it's warm on the inside. And I'm not talking about the thermostat right now. I'm talking about the thermostat of heaven.

[34:03] The warmth and the presence of Jesus is here in our midst.

[34:10] And for some of us maybe during this closing hymn we may want to step out of our pew and come to a place of prayer and kneel at an altar why is that important because there are times where God speaks to us and he's inviting us to surrender something to him you can hear the emphasis in the background.

[34:43] But there are times where God's inviting us to surrender something to him. And in light of the text today, Daniel communed with God in a posture of prayer three times a day. And God worked in his circumstance. And this is a day none of us really are in a hurry to leave, right? Most of the restaurants are closed. Country clubs aren't open.

[35:12] And so as Bradley plays and we worship in song, if you feel so led, just ease out of your pew and kneel before the Lord as a step of faith and surrender whatever lion or lions are coming at you. And just say to God, God, I'm kneeling here because it's just an outward step of faith. And I'm asking you to work in this circumstance, work in my heart to take the posture of Daniel and to see your victory in and through this season for your glory. Let's stand.

[35:59] Jesus says this altar is opened For people you love so deeply To come and pray To yield To surrender To know you To enjoy you, Lord we pray give us a liberty As Bradley leads us in worship Through song to adore you To enjoy you To make room for you and just be with you. This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.