The Worlds Okayest Pastor

Character Over Compromise: Daniel's Dangerous Prayer

• Jason Cline

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What happens when our faith is truly put to the test? Daniel's story reveals the power of unwavering loyalty to God when faced with life-threatening consequences.

When government officials couldn't find any dirt on Daniel despite searching for corruption or negligence, they targeted the only "weakness" they could find—his devotion to God. Manipulating King Darius into creating a decree that no one could pray to any god or human except the king himself for thirty days, they set a trap that would force Daniel to choose between compromising his faith or facing death in the lions' den.

The remarkable thing about Daniel's response wasn't just his courage—it was his consistency. Without hesitation, he went home, opened his windows toward Jerusalem as was his custom, and prayed three times daily, giving thanks to God exactly as he had always done. He understood that spiritual compromise, like physical compromise, happens incrementally. Small concessions eventually erode our character in significant ways.

This story challenges us to examine our own lives and the subtle compromises we make daily. What shapes our decisions, priorities, and identity? As John Piper notes, "Worship is valuing or treasuring God above all things"—and we can measure what we value most by how we spend our time and money. In a world constantly demanding our allegiance to countless things—success, approval, comfort, power—Daniel's example reminds us that only one throne is eternal.

Are you living with eternity in view, or have you settled for the temporary? When life gets difficult, is prayer your first response or an afterthought? What does your daily life reveal about where your true loyalty lies? Daniel's unwavering faith not only saved his life but brought glory to God throughout a pagan kingdom. What might God do through your unwavering faith today?

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So the book of Daniel is a case study in what it looks like to have an unwavering faith. The book of Daniel is also looking at what it is when you have particularly men in this situation who are unwavering in their character. They're not allowing their circumstances to change who they are. Daniel's evidence of that. He's in exile. He's lost his home, he's lost everything. He's under the rule of these incredibly crazy kings.

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Nebuchadnezzar was known for being nuts. His son, belshazzar, had a short reign, but it wasn't a good one. It was common. Especially then, whenever you took another country in exile, you tried to erase who they were. You tried to wipe them off the face of the map. You changed their identity. You made them like you.

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So here Daniel is, stuck in exile. He's not his own people, but God has placed him in some really unique positions. God's allowing him to serve and to do things that are probably beyond his comprehension. And then you have Shadrach, meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace incident, where they chose to stay faithful to God, even if he didn't save them. But Daniel is the highlight of the story because his gifts have given him an incredible opportunity to interpret dreams. And so we get to Daniel 6,.

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And there's another regime change Daniel, chapter 5,. Belshazzar. God said listen, it's all being taken away from you. And that night he died. And so in come the Medes and the Persians, and we meet a man by the name of Darius. So Daniel, chapter 6, verses 1 through 5. So it pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with three administrators over them, one of them being Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Now, daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

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At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in the conduct of his government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally, these men said we will never find any basis for charges against this man, daniel, unless it has something to do with the law of his God. Now can you imagine for a moment a politician who doesn't have dirt? You know this last election run.

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The one thing that I noticed, probably more than anything, is the amount of negative ads. I feel like doubled. So what? No one's talking about what they're going to do for us. They're talking about the other person has done wrong or how bad or awful that person is. And so that's what's happening here, these government officials.

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They get together and they say let's go after Daniel and his moral character. And the Bible tells us, they find nothing. They say, okay, so clearly he must have done something in all of his time and in all of his leadership roles. He must have neglected someone. Fine, then he didn't. They try to find all these ways to prove that he's corrupt or not worthy. And yet Daniel has impeccable character. He has stayed true to who God has called him to be consistently. So then they go after the only thing he has left. They say surely his faithfulness to God, that'll, let's go after that. Let's challenge that. It says.

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Throughout much of the book of Daniel, we see the prophet repeatedly confronted with tests of ultimate loyalty. Chapter 6, no exception. Daniel has distinguished himself as an exceptional administrator under King Darius, which led the king to consider promoting him over the entire kingdom. This stirred jealousy among other officials who sought to undermine him. Unable to find any fault in his work, they targeted his faith, knowing that Daniel would never compromise his devotion to God, they manipulated the king into issuing a decree that for 30 days no one could pray to any God or human except Darius himself. In a polytheistic culture that's what this was they kind of have tolerance for other people's beliefs. Darius wasn't opposed to God. Everyone kind of shared their belief system. But in this kind of culture it wasn't unlikely that this would happen. But there was a moment in time when they are calling loyalty in the question. So, as John Woodward explains, the probability is that Darius regarded this act as a pledge of loyalty to himself and a token of their desire to respect his authority to the utmost. So, darius, they go to King Darius and they say listen, we want people to, only for the next 30 days, to worship you, oh great and wise king. We want to show that we respect you and that we love you, and everyone should love you. So Daniel, chapter 6, verses 6 through 9, says so.

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These administrators and satraps one is a group of the king king and said may King Darius live forever. The royal administration, the prefects, satraps, advisors and government have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce a decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being for the next 30 days except to you, your majesty, they should be thrown into the lion's den. Now, your majesty, issue the decree and put it into writing so that it cannot be altered In accordance with the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be repealed. So King Darius put the decree in writing. I've always found that fascinating, right? Because the way that kings work is, once they put something down in writing and sealed, that was it. There was no coming back from that, and that always gets them in trouble, like historically, always gets them in the trouble. But they go to the king and they butter him up, they speak to his pride and they say, king, let no one worship anyone but you. And so here lies the question, right? What does Daniel do in a situation like this? What's he supposed to do? You know, compromise is easy. Compromise in the world today is Cody and I had a conversation earlier in the week about this. Compromise is something that usually happens like a little bit at a time. I remember in 2014, so 2015,.

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Right before Everett was born, everett being my oldest. If you don't know that, he'll be 10 this year, which is crazy. It's almost 10 years ago, right before ever was born, I I was on this like kick because I wanted to lose weight and I got down to like 320 I don't know if you know me, but 320 is a good way for me like, I feel pretty good. At 320, I was pretty solid. I was hitting the gym. I was, you know, getting there. You know, some lady stopped me in the store and asked me at 29 years old if I wanted to go play for like a city football league, and I was like yeah. And then I went and watched. I was like no, no, I appreciate that, but no, like I'm, I'm, I'm too old, like I'm not old, but I feel like it would have broke me Right. But I did, I put in the work and I worked really hard to lose the weight. I got in shape.

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And then Everett was born and life got busy and so I started compromising. The first compromise I made is I started drinking pop again and I would tell myself I'm only going to have this one Mountain Dew. And then there was two and the next thing, you know, before the end of the week, I drank a two-liter and I was like no, no, it's fine, it's just Mountain Dew. And then I started eating different again and I was like you know, around my birthday I was like I want that Dairy Queen ice cream cake and we got one and I ate a piece, and then I ate half of it. Listen, I'm just saying right. But?

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But I started making choices and as I got further along and and here's what I started notice I would weigh myself. I was like, oh, I put on 10 pounds, like I'll be fine, I can come back from that. And then I stopped working out. Then I kept eating and then last year when I weighed weighed myself, I weighed 450 pounds and I was like whew. I was like nope, no way, I'm dead serious, I promise. I stepped on my scale and I was like what? But it's because I made compromises along the way. I would allow little things to get into my life and before you know it, all of my old habits had come back. I'm currently on a weight loss and I'm down 50 pounds and I keep telling myself don't eat the junk. I'm not good at it, but I'm trying.

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But compromise happens and we see it a lot of times physically, but we see compromise happen spiritually. Well, I didn't spend time in God's Word today. I guess I'll do it tomorrow, and then tomorrow turns into a week and then a week turns into a month. Well, I didn't go to church today, but that's okay, I don't really need to. I make it up. Next week I was busy, and then we compromise, and the next week you're busy, and then something else comes up. Well, I don't really need to teach my kids how to pray and study. They'll figure that out in school. Isn't that why we have Sunday school teachers? It's not really my place.

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And then they get older and they walk away from God and we have no idea what happened. We see it in our marriages. You know, I've worked in a couple warehouses in my life and I can tell you that I've worked in some places where there's some relationships that I've had that to me were nothing more than a conversation. But I've come to realize that sometimes being nice to someone can be misconstrued. There was one time when I was working for Abercrombie Fitch and me and this girl her name was Courtney and she was one of my good friends and we worked in the same area and someone jokingly said to me one time is that your work, wife? And I was like no, because now I have to go back and think what? No? No, because now I have to go back and think what was I doing? That was making people think that I know that doesn't seem like a big deal, but that's a compromise, because that compromise can lead to other things.

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Billy Graham is one of my favorite people in the world because he had no compromise. He would not. I don't know if you knew this about him. He wouldn't even ride in an elevator with a woman that wasn't his wife. He wouldn't even ride in an elevator with a woman that wasn't his wife. He wouldn't go out to eat with a woman that wasn't his wife. He wouldn't do anything with a woman that wasn't his wife alone. Ever and in all of his years of ministry, he never had a scandal. He taught his staff to do the same thing.

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There was no compromise, but we compromise in our faith. We compromise in our marriage. We compromise in our marriage. We compromise in the little things that we don't think are a problem until we realize we're so far down the road. And so here, daniel has a decision to make. It's only 30 days, right. Imagine that it's only 30 days not praying to God, I'll be okay, it's only 30 days giving my loyalty to King Darius. He's a nice guy, he's a good king, we're friends. It's only 30 days, but Daniel understood that compromise, compromising now, compromises character later. Always the little decisions we make come back and eventually bite us. Daniel was a man of character, a man of faith.

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Daniel decides, knowing that he could face death, that it doesn't matter. So Daniel 6, knowing that he could face death, that it doesn't matter. So Daniel 6, chapter 10, or chapter 6, verse 10, says now, when Daniel learned that the decree had been published listen, I love this because his immediate response says he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees and he prayed, giving thanks to God, just as he had done before. Daniel hears that if he prays to any other person besides Darius, that he could be thrown into lion's den and the first thing he does is he goes home and he prays to God. Notice, he doesn't ask God to save him. He gives thanks to God as he had always done before.

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Then these men went as a group and they found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree. Did you not publish a decree that during the next 30 days, anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, your majesty, will be thrown into the lion's den? The king answered the decree stands in accordance with the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be repealed. Then they said to the king Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, your majesty, or the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day. When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed. He was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.

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So Darius and Daniel are friends and Darius hears about what happens and he realizes that he has to stand. He's a king right? Listen, daniel can't compromise or Darius can't compromise either. He made a decree, he wrote it down. It's in writing. If he changes it now, they will tear his kingdom apart. That kind of power, that kind of loyalty, is only given to those who stand for what they believe. So here you have, daniel and Darius at odds. They have two different loyalties. Daniel 6 is all about loyalty. Darius has to be loyal to himself, his beliefs, who he is, his kingdom. Daniel only has to be loyal to God, but Daniel's loyalty could cost him his life. Again, though, I mean it's just 30 days. Why not just compromise? There's got to be a medium right.

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We, as a culture, we love the middle ground. We always want to try to find peace and work together. Those aren't bad things, but there are some issues, especially biblical issues, that to me there's no give. It's what God has declared, that this is how it's supposed to be, but we always try to compromise, we try to make it work. We manipulate Scripture, we manipulate text. We don't have hard conversations with family members that we love, because we're hoping that maybe it will just work out in the end, because we're hoping that maybe it'll just work out in the end. Daniel is someone who could have compromised. He could have just, you know, he could have worshipped Darius and put his fingers behind his back and crossed his fingers right oh, worship you, o king. He could have faked it. He could do gaslighting, try to make him think he's so wonderful and powerful, though over time he's over here in the corner silently praying to God. He could have compromised, but compromising always leads to character being compromised Always.

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So much of Scripture is faced with this idea that God is the only one, that God is sovereign, that God is the only one who dictates how we live, the things we do, the things we say. Scripture is what it is. There's a book that I'm reading right now and it's kind of a fun one to read, but it's called the Ink is Dry and it's talking about Scripture. Scripture has already been written. God has already determined this is what it is.

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You and I don't get to come into the Bible and say, oh well, this doesn't fit. No, I don't want to love my wife like God loves the church. That doesn't make sense to me. No, I don't want to teach my kids to keep unwholesome talk out of their mouth. That was written back then. That doesn't matter. We don't get to pick and choose what applies.

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When we come to Scripture, we say God, what here needs to change me? What about my life is broken? What about me is wrong? Am I too prideful? Am I too arrogant? Do I not love enough? Do I not serve enough? Do I not give enough? You know it's funny this shirt. I do think it's funny, but honestly, this is probably how I think about myself and I'm okay with that.

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I don't ever want to think I'm anything more than just some guy that loves Jesus, trying to teach other people to love Jesus. I don't want to be a celebrity. I don't want to be famous. You see that it's nuts man. I know famous pastors and that's a crazy life. I would be content at the end of my life if God said all right, okay as pastor, welcome home, because I want to live a life that's so true to what God's calling me to do that compromise is not an option. I want to teach other people who are trying to find faith that God is not calling you to compromise. He's calling you to change.

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Standing on the truth of God is the single greatest thing we can do At the end of our life. It's the only thing that matters anyways. It's the only thing that's eternal, and you and I live in a world that are constantly challenging us and our loyalties. Who are you loyal to? Is it yourself? Is it a political affiliation? Is it a celebrity? Who are we really loyal to?

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People always ask me what matters most to you, and my first answer is always God. My family comes next. Yeah, my family is second to God. I just want to make that clear. It's not that I don't love my family, not at all. And then, after I love my family, I love my church.

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I know Sorry, you guys are third, but here's the thing my family is my first ministry. They matter. Teaching my kids how to follow Jesus and loving my wife like Jesus loves me is the greatest thing I can do. But ultimately my loyalty lies in the one who's calling me, the one who has saved me, which means that sometimes God calls me to do stuff, not that it will ever hurt my family, because he's never done that, but sometimes we as a family make a decision because it's the best thing for him, even if it's not necessarily the best thing for us. That's a compromise that I'm unwilling to waver on. Is it inconvenient, yeah, when you say here I am God, sendver on. Is it inconvenient, yeah, when you say here I am God, send me? Guess what he sends you? But then my church. I love my church, but my family always comes first. There's no compromise, and Daniel is a man who has chosen not to compromise, not even an inch.

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He goes to his room and he prays Daniel, chapter 6, verse 15. Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him remember your majesty, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, no decree or edict of the king issues can be changed. So the king gave the order and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lion's den. And the king said to Daniel May your God, whom you serve, continually rescue you. A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. And the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him, as he could not sleep.

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By the way, I don't know if you see it, but I love the imagery A stone is rolled away. I don't know if you see it, but I love the imagery. A stone is rolled away, rolled in front of the opening of a cave, with a presumed dead man to come out. If that doesn't point to Jesus, I don't know what does. But Daniel has to face the consequences. He has to face those consequences for his actions. God didn't save him from the lion's den, so that's important, because a lot of times when we go to God and we talk about life and we pray about things. If we're honest, we would rather God spare us from any kind of problems. We don't want any kind of burdens. We want to live a life where everything's perfect all the time and there's no problems. And if God can give us that, then we'll follow him. But Daniel has that. Even if mentality that, even if God for some reason doesn't save me in this place, I'm going to make sure that they know who I stand for.

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King Darius is torn apart by this. He liked Daniel. He was about to lose a good leader. But his pride, his own allegiance to himself, says Darius didn't realize until it was too late that the whole situation had really been about him. The decree wasn't designed to honor the king. It was a trap carefully crafted to eliminate Daniel, a perceived threat to the power and influence of the other officials. But pride has a way of binding us, doesn't it? After all, who doesn't want to be admired? He doesn't want to feel the pull to be at the center, to be honored, to be worshipped, even in subtle ways. When Darius was presented with an opportunity to make himself the sole object of prayer for 30 days. He didn't stop to question it. The flattery felt good, the loyalty sounded reassuring. The implications he didn't consider them. It was too late. That's what happens when pride creeps in.

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Pride is not just one sin among many. It's the root of so many others. It goes all the way back to eden. Adam and eve didn't eat the fruit just because they were hungry. They wanted to be like god. It's pride, the desire to put ourselves at the center of the story, the belief that we know better, the temptation to serve ourselves instead of submitting to the one true king.

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And here, in Daniel 6, pride nearly cost Darius everything, one of his greatest friends, his most loyal and capable servant, all because someone stoked his ego. Just enough it should remind us the dangers of pride. Who are you or what are you allowing to fuel your ego instead of feeding your soul? Are there decisions you've made or you're tempted to make not because they honor God, but because they make you feel powerful, important or in control? Because here's the thing pride always has a cost, again, compromise.

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When we are seeking ourself first, when we are seeking to build our kingdom first, we compromise. We don't make big steps in faith. We do just enough to make sure that we can say we can do this. We don't give sacrificially, whether because of our time, our energy or our money. We give just enough to feel like we've accomplished and we can say that we gave something. But we never give until it hurts.

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We don't live for God and we don't stand on the truth of God's Word, even if the rest of the world doesn't agree with us. Instead, we compromise, we water down our conversations, we don't say the hard things, we allow people to say the wrong things and we don't even offer correction and listen. There's a way to do that. We talk about love and mercy and grace, but we never talk about the fact that God is holy and that God is true, and that God is true and that his word is forever. We find ourselves choosing to follow the world because it's the easier thing to do. We compromise and we sacrifice our character in the process.

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This is why compromising is dangerous, because I would venture to say that no one in this room has ever been threatened with death for their beliefs could be wrong. But I can also tell you that I know a lot of missionaries that I'm friends with who have. They've been threatened to be arrested, extradited out of a country, blacklisted. Their children have been threatened, their whole lives, their means of living have been sacrificed. But they were unwilling to compromise Church. We have to be people that are unwilling to compromise the truth and the word of God. We cannot simply allow things to change how we feel or who we are or the things we do, simply because the world doesn't understand it. You and I have to stand on truth always, because compromise sacrifices character. And so Daniel comes to this moment in his life and he says no matter what happens to me next, I'm going to pray to God as I'm supposed to, and the consequence of that action is he's dragged off, thrown into a pit full of lions and a stone is rolled in front.

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I always wonder what that would be like To literally be thrown into a cave full of lions. I would like to think I'm pretty big and I could probably handle like one or two of them. But have you ever seen them hunt? They're like they're good man, they like sneak up on you. It's like the female lions that hunt all the time. If you ever watch a documentary, they're scary, they're fast. When I was in Africa, I saw them take down an elephant. I was like, just kick it. You're an elephant, nope, nope. They're ferocious man, they know what they're doing. But I can imagine that what's Daniel thinking this is it. This is where I die. This is the end of my story. He's prayed, did everything he was supposed to. I don't know, was he mad at God Because he didn't save him from the lion's den? I don't know, was he mad at God because he didn't save him from the lion's den? But Daniel chose not to compromise. He didn't even know the end of the story.

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Daniel, chapter 6, starting in verse 19, says that the first light of dawn the king got up and hurried to the lion's den. And when he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice and said it says King, live forever. My God sent his angel and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me because I was found innocent in his sight, nor have I ever done any wrong before you, your majesty. The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him because he had trusted in his God. And just in case you're wondering whether or not the lions were hungry.

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At the king's command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lion's den along Saying this is scripture, not me, but this is what kings did. They threw the men in with their wives and their children Before they reached the floor of the den. The lions overpowered them and crushed all of their bones. They faced the consequences for lying. They tried to manipulate the situation and it didn't work out. It cost them. It cost them. It cost them, it cost their family, it cost their children their lives. So then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language and all earth said may you prosper greatly. I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel, for he is the living God and he endures forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed. His dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves. He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions. So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Sirius Cyrus the Persian.

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The end of that is it can be hard to read, you think what did the kids do? What did the parents? What did the wives do? But those men, they lied, they manipulated, they compromised who they were. They were so worried about Daniel that they did everything they could to try to get rid of him. But Daniel didn't. Daniel stayed true to who he was. Daniel never compromised, even in the face of adversity, he never compromised. So that's the question, right, what compromises do we make If we call ourselves Christians, if we're living to be like Jesus? What compromises do we make to get in the way of that? And that's not just like a question for you, that's a question for me what things in my life have I allowed to change, even a little bit? Because I think we have to ask that question all the time, Because I think we have to ask that question all the time. What changes? What things are we giving in on? What truths are we compromising? Talk about our marriages. What are we doing to protect our marriages? What are we doing to protect our kids? What are we teaching them? What are we showing them? That's important.

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I think that's the biggest question is, if we teach our kids that the church is important and that a relationship with God is important, does our life model that? Do they see and listen? This is my prayer for my kids. Do my kids see that God comes first, then my family, then my job? And let me tell you, as someone who's in ministry, sometimes I get that wrong. Sometimes I put the church ahead of my family and I've got to go to my wife and apologize for that. Sometimes I have to go and apologize to my kids for that, because I want them to understand that they are the most important thing to me. They are my first and foremost, my greatest ministry, and if they see me compromising that, it's going to change the way they look at me. It might even change the way they look at the church. I want them to see that people are deserving of love and grace and mercy, but that we also have to be people who stand for truth, even when it's difficult. The way that they live, the way they interact, the things that they say, that it matters.

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There's something that I started doing recently with my kids, and it's not my own idea, I actually took it from someone else. But we go out and I ask my kids two questions. My first question is who are we and the boy's like we're the Kleins. I'm like that's right, that's our last name. And my second question is who do we represent? And they say we represent God. I'm like that's the second question, because everything you do once you leave this conversation represents God and represents us. What are you showing the world about those things?

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Now, they're kids. They do dumb things, by the way, just so you know, as my kids get older, even though I do preach, my kids aren't perfect. They're going to mess up. I don't need you to tell me, I probably already know. But it's important that that question's in their mind because they have to understand the church is important, the serving God is important and the kind of people they are important. Because every time we compromise, we sacrifice character, and I want my kids to be strong in character. I want my kids to be strong in their faith. I want my marriage to be strong in faith. I want to know that at the end of my life that I compromised nothing and somehow still gained everything.

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So in a world constantly demanding our loyalty, daniel Stans is a powerful example of unwavering faith. At the day of the world, it still calls for us to worship many things Success, approval, comfort, power. But the question is, how do we respond when everything else around us whispers follow me instead? What about when the cost is high, when fear presses in, when standing for God might mean rejection, loss or even death? While many of us may not face physical persecution where we live, countless believers worldwide pay the ultimate price just for staying faithful. Their stories echo Daniel's courage and conviction. But what about us Right here, right now? What does it look like to be faithful to the kingdom that God has called us to build? What does it mean to choose him above all else in a culture filled with distractions and competing loyalties?

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Daniel's story teaches us that worship isn't always about a golden statue or loud commands. It often wears subtle disguises. Sometimes it's the pedestal we put others on. Sometimes it's how we spend our days, chasing things with no eternal value. Sometimes it's the way we invest our time, our energy and our money. These are the true reflections of what we worship. What we worship will shape what we live for, and what we live for will shape how we spend our time, our money and our energy. John Piper says it this way worship is valuing or treasuring God above all things. You can measure what you value most by how you spend your time and your money. God's call is clear. We see this all throughout the book of Daniel. Worship him alone.

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Daniel lived this truth, facing death itself. He stood firm because he knew the eternal nature of God and the fleeting nature of earthly powers. Kings like Darius come and go, but God's kingdom lasts forever, and it was God who delivered Daniel from the lion's den. So that's the question what are you loyal to? What shapes your decisions? What shapes your priorities? What shapes your identity? When life gets hard, is prayer your first response, or is it an afterthought? Does your daily life proclaim allegiance to God or to something far less, because everything else will always be far less? Daniel knew who he was because he knew who God was. That certainly fueled his courage In every moment, especially the hardest ones. He sought God first. Who are you serving? Does your life, your time, your resources reveal that loyalty? The world offers many temporary thrones, but only one eternal king. Are you living? Are you living? Are we living? Are you living? Are we living? Are we living with eternity in view, or have we compromised and only settled for the temporary? Let's pray.