OVERNIGHT WITH THE LIONS - NCCG.ORG Ning Network Archive 2008-10

by Jennifer Leigh Edwards

Sally was a little girl who was always very sick. She
had a sore throat almost all the time. The doctor said if
they removed her tonsils she would feel much better. She
had never been to a hospital and it made her really scared
to even think about it. To make matters worse, her friends
added to her fears by telling her how horrible hospitals
and operations can be. The doctor assured her that she
would be asleep during the whole procedure but she wondered
if she'd wake up too soon. Sometimes she even worried about
dying.

Sally's mom saw her crying one day and asked her what
was wrong.

"I don't want to go to the hospital," she whispered
through her hoarse throat.

"It will be okay, sweetheart," her mother comforted.
"In fact, I had the same thing when I was your age," she
continued.

"You did?" Sally questioned.

"Sure did!" her mom replied. "The nurses were kind and
even gave me Popsicles. It wasn't so bad, and I've felt a
lot better since then."

"Were you as scared as I am?" Sally asked.

"Yes, until my mommy told me to trust in Yahweh," Mom
replied.
In the Hospital

"What do you mean, 'trust in Yahweh'?" Sally questioned.

"Well, my mommy helped me pray and ask Yahweh to help me
not be so scared; and you know what? He did! When I trusted
Yahweh to be with me in the hospital, He helped me not to
worry about how much it would hurt."

"Wow! Can we try that?" Sally asked excitedly.

"Sure can!" Mom replied.

They prayed together, then Sally asked a few more
questions. Finally she got ready for bed. She slept very
well that night. The next day, she said, "You know mommy,
Yahweh helped me not to worry so much."

"Good! Doesn't it make you feel better when you trust
Yahweh to help you, and to be with you?" Mom asked with a
smile.

"It sure does!" Sally replied.

A few days later Sally had the operation, and
everything went well. The nurses were kind and gave her
Popsicles just like her mom had said. Her friends came to
visit her in the hospital and brought get-well cards and
stuffed animals so she wouldn't feel so lonely. Before she
knew it, she was packing up all those cards and gifts and
leaving the hospital. Sally understood that she didn't have
to worry so much, because she remembered that Yahweh was with
her and she trusted Him.

Lion Divider Bar

Long ago, the king of Babylon died and a new king,
Darius, became ruler. He let 120 princes rule over the
country; and appointed three men over them. Daniel was one
of those men. King Darius liked Daniel so much, that he
wanted to make him the next ruler of Persia when he died.
But . . .

. . . the other leaders didn't like that plan. They
were angry and jealous so they plotted and schemed against
Daniel. They watched him every day, all day long, hoping
they could see Daniel do something inappropriate so they
could report him to the king. Day after day, week after
week, they tried to find fault with Daniel; however, they
could find nothing wrong with him. He obeyed all the laws
of the land, and all of Yahweh's laws. He seemed to be perfect
in every way. They finally gave up and said among
themselves, "If we are going to succeed in finding fault
with Daniel, we must make a new law that defiles a law of
his Elohim."

Since they had watched Daniel so carefully for such a
long time, it didn't take much thinking for them to come up
with a "perfect" plan. The wrote a brand new law that said
for the next 30 days, any person found praying to anyone or
anything except King Darius would be thrown into a den of
HUNGRY lions. Then they took their new law to the king for
his approval.

King Darius had no idea that his favorite prince,
Daniel, prayed to Yahweh three times every single day and that
the other princes were trying to lay a trap to get him into
trouble. When King Darius read the new law that was
presented to him, he thought it was a pretty good idea. He
also wanted to make his princes happy so that they would
continue to do his wishes. Without giving it any more
thought, he immediately signed the new law and sealed it
with his special ring, meaning that the law could never be
broken or changed.

Of course, this put Daniel into quite a predicament. As
the head prince, obviously he was expected to obey ALL the
laws of the land. On the other hand, he knew he could not
displease Yahweh. Even though he knew of the new law, he went
to his upstairs window looking toward Jerusalem, and prayed
to Yahweh just as he had done all of his life. Three times a
day, every day, he went to that window and prayed to Yahweh.

Praying

The princes, knowing Daniel's habits, had been keeping
a close eye on him. They noticed that Daniel was still
praying to Yahweh, and they went directly to King Darius.
"Look, Daniel does not obey your law!" they exclaimed. "He
continues to pray to his Yahweh."

When King Darius heard that news, he was quite upset
because he favored Daniel. He didn't want to harm Daniel
and tried to find a way to help him, but he could not
because the law was set and could not be changed. At
sundown King Darius reluctantly gave the order to have
Daniel thrown into the lions' den.

King Darius called down to Daniel: "May your Elohim rescue
you!" He was hoping against all hope that Daniel's Elohim
WOULD rescue him. Then several men rolled a large stone
over the opening. Using his signet ring and the signet
rings of his highest officials, he sealed it, that no one
would open it.

King Darius sadly returned to his palace. He went to
bed without eating dinner or having any sort of
entertainment because he was worried about Daniel. He
couldn't sleep all night. He tossed and turned and worried.
He wondered if there was any possibility at all that Daniel
might have survived the night.

Finally the long night was over and the stars began to
disappear. At the crack of dawn, King Darius arose and
hurried to the den of HUNGRY lions. He ordered his men to
open it and he called out, "Daniel! Has your Yahweh saved
you?"

Daniel in the Lions' Den

Daniel answered back, "O King live forever! Yahweh has
sent an angel to close the mouths of the HUNGRY lions. They
haven't hurt me. Yahweh has found favor with me because I am
innocent in his eyes. Neither have I done any wrong to
you."

King Darius was overjoyed to hear Daniel's voice and
immediately ordered his men to pull Daniel out of the den.
He looked Daniel over carefully, amazed that the lions had
not harmed him in any way. The king then commanded that
those princes who had schemed against Daniel to be thrown
into the den of HUNGRY lions.

King Darius was so thankful that Daniel was safe, that
he wrote a proclamation to all the people in his entire
kingdom, that they should listen to Yahweh because He is the
true Living Elohim, and they should not pray or bow down to
any other Elohim or person, including himself.

* * *

THINK!

What made King Darius like Daniel so much?
What made the other princes hate Daniel?
What scheme did the princes devise to cause trouble
for Daniel?
Did Daniel change his godly habits in order to save
his own life?
How did Yahweh protect Daniel?
What proclamation did King Darius make when he
discovered Daniel was alive?

REMEMBER!

Always trust in Yahweh and don't be afraid to stand up
for what you believe.

A VERSE TO LEARN

"My Elohim has sent his angel, and has shut the lions'
mouths, that they have not hurt me" (Daniel 6:22).

LET'S PRAY

****************************************************
Dear Yahweh, thank You for being with me through
all situations. Please help me to remember to
trust in You and give me the courage to stand up
for what is right. In Yah'shua's Name. Amen.
****************************************************

CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?
Daniel 6

You can view this Bible story in full color with pictures and resources
to go along with the story at
http://www.childrenschapel.org/biblestories/daniellion.html

Purchase the WHOLE Website by clicking here