Then King Darius wrote to those of every people, nation, and language who live on the whole earth: “May your prosperity abound. I issue a decree that in all my royal dominion, people must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel:

For he is the living God,

and he endures forever;

his kingdom will never be destroyed,

and his dominion has no end.

 He rescues and delivers;

he performs signs and wonders

in the heavens and on the earth,

for he has rescued Daniel

from the power of the lions.” (Daniel 6:25-27 CSB)

Daniel’s deliverance from the den of lions turned King Darius from playing god to fearing God. What did he learn? God is real. He is alive. In fact, he is self-existent. He is eternal. He ain’t going nowhere like each successive king of the empire in question. His kingdom, spiritual and not geographical (though it covers the earth), is indestructible. His sovereign reign (redundancy intended!) is most certainly not temporary. He is a Savior and Redeemer. He is divine. He is beyond us. As Creator, there is nothing and no one outside his control. Yet he cares enough and pays enough attention that he hears and answers the prayers of an old man named Daniel in Babylon and his earthly king (see 6:11 and 16b).

PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Thank you for hearing my prayer. In Jesus’ name, Amen.