Daniel and the Lions

Long ago, in a faraway kingdom, there lived a man named Daniel, who loved God with all his heart.

Daniel worked for King Darius. He did his work so well that the king planned to put him in charge of the whole kingdom. But some of the other leaders were jealous. They whispered and grumbled, and they tried to find something Daniel had done wrong. They looked and looked, but they couldn't find a single thing. Daniel was honest and faithful in everything he did. So they came up with a sneaky plan, a plan to trap Daniel because of his love for God.

They went to the king and said, "King Darius, live forever!" Then they asked him to make a new law. For thirty days, nobody could pray to any god or any person, except to the king. Anyone who broke the law would be thrown into the lions' den, a deep pit where lions lived. The king didn't see their trick. He signed the law, and once it was signed, nobody could change it.

Daniel heard about the new law. So what do you think he did?

He went home to his room, where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. He knelt down, and he prayed and gave thanks to God, just as he always had. Three times a day, every day. Daniel didn't hide, and he didn't stop. The jealous men were watching. They found Daniel praying to God, and they hurried off to tell the king. When the king heard it, he was very upset. He cared about Daniel, and he tried until the sun went down to find a way to save him.

But the law could not be changed. So Daniel was put into the lions' den. And the king called to him, "Your God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you." A big stone was placed over the opening, and the king sealed it with his own ring.

That night, the king couldn't sleep. He didn't want any food, and he didn't want any music. Outside, the crickets sang, and the stars moved slowly across the sky. And the king tossed and turned, thinking about Daniel. Very early in the morning, the king hurried to the den and called out in a worried voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?"

For a moment, everything was quiet.

Then, from deep down in the den, came a voice. "O king, live forever!" It was Daniel! He said, "My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions' mouths, and they have not hurt me."

The king was so happy! He had Daniel lifted out of the den, and there wasn't a single scratch on him, because he had trusted in his God.

Then King Darius sent a letter to all the people in his kingdom. He told them to honor the God of Daniel, "For he is the living God." And he wrote, "He delivers and rescues." Daniel kept on serving God, and he did well for many years to come.

This story teaches us that we can be brave and keep loving God, even when it's hard. Daniel kept on praying, and God was with him, even in the lions' den. God is with us too, wherever we are.