Praying Like Daniel

I agree with Chuck Pierce’s recent prophetic word that it is time to
pray like Daniel. It is also time to have Daniel’s heart toward God’s
purpose and God’s covenant people. I am re-releasing this word from a
brochure I first wrote in 1999. May it speak to your heart in a time of
intense spiritual conflict. May God enable us to possess all that Jesus
prayed for from the cross (Ps. 22).


DANIEL IN THE LIONS’ DEN
by Ron Wood

Three days in a row the Lord directed me in my early morning devotions
to the story of Daniel in the lion’s den. I didn’t get it at first. In
my season of life and ministry, I had been experiencing a year of
peculiar and intense attack against me. I felt like I had been chewed
up and spit out by a crafty enemy. The Lord had begun to instruct me
regarding how to pray. Was this another lesson? What was God saying to
me? Then I saw it and a light went off. Daniel never talked to the
lions.

Jesus said we could take up serpents (Mark 16), but he never said what
to do with lions. Lions are often pictured as enemies of prophets. “I
was rescued out of the lion’s mouth,” Paul said. (2 Tim. 4:17) This
referred to his intense spiritual battle with the idolatrous power
behind Diana, a territorial spirit worshiped by the Ephesians (Acts
19). After this experience, Paul wrote about standing against evil
powers in prayer. (Eph. 6:10-18)

The devil prowls about “like a roaring lion, seeking someone to
de­vour,” Peter said. (1 Peter 5:8) Peter knew what it was like for
Satan to desire to sift him and for his faith to be tested. (Luke
22:­31) Have you ever been sifted? Has your faith ever been tested?
These are references to our spiritual warfare. The devil is a roaring,
devouring lion. That is still his fierce nature today.

A clear illustration of this otherwise invisible war occurred when the
prophet Daniel was cast into a lion’s den. The situation was not fair.
He was mistreated simply because he maintained his integrity in praying
to God. But God delivered him. Daniel testified, “My God sent his angel
and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I
was innocent in his sight.” (Daniel 6:22) Then the king put Daniel’s
accusers in with the lions. They were torn apart immediately. The lions
hadn’t lost their appetites. Their nature was still to devour and
destroy. But they couldn’t get to Daniel because of his angelic
protection. Their jaws were kept shut.

A Picture of Prayer
I have had hanging in my place of prayer a lovely sepia print of a
prized painting given me by my wife. It pictures Daniel in the den of
lions. Every time I look at it, the Lord speaks to my heart of Daniel’s
noble character and effective intercession. He was a prophet and a
statesman, a man who was blameless in his walk with God, faithful in
his duties, respectful in his attitudes even toward heathen rulers. He
is a model for me. Daniel was a man who had dreams and visions and
foretold the history of nations. He was a student of the Bible. He
wrote what he saw. He prayed for Israel’s restoration from captivity.
In my painting, Daniel is gaunt from frequent fasting. His back is
turned to the lions. The lions look puzzled and as they pace about
behind him. It is as though when they look toward Daniel they can’t
really see him, but see something else that makes them wary of
attacking. Daniel is oblivious to the lions. His face is turned toward
heaven. He is standing with his hands clasped behind his back. He is in
prayer.
In the Scriptures and in my painting, Daniel does not address the
lions. As far as we are told, he never rebuked them, never confronted
them, never com­manded them, never bound them (except by prayers and
praises to God), never took authority over them. Instead, he ignored
their fearsome growls. He did not acknowledge their power over him. His
attention was on the Lord. He went over the lions’ heads to their
Creator, to the source of all power in the universe.

Daniel was an ambassador of a high er kingdom. He was using weapons of
a higher order, weapons of righteousness. His faith was manifest not in
bravado, but in humility and the fear of God. There is a lesson here
for us concerning spiritual warfare.
Most modern Americans were raised in a culture which disregards
authority. We don’t instantly become re newed in our thinking just
because we are born again. The spirit of this age, from which we have
drunk deeply, still affects our thought life.
This tendency can carry over into our prayer life. God is sometimes
approached as though our will is superior to His, as though our praye
rs can tell Him something He doesn’t already know. Instead of making
supplication, we make suggestions. And sometimes we do things in the
name of the Lord that are unwise, like assuming we–apart from God–can
force Satan to do our bidding.

Some demons have great er power because they are closer to the source
of evil. Jesus said this kind doesn’t go out except by fasting and
prayer (Mt. 17:21). Demonic powers that promote homosexuality,
abortion, idol worship, and false religion have great power to deceive.

Principalities and evil spirits were created by God with authority,
albeit now perverted, misused, and doom­ed to hell. Even thou gh Jesus
has triumphed over them, th ey should be dealt with carefully. Angels
know this. “But Michael the archangel when he disputed with the devil
and argued about the body of Mos es, did not dare pronounce against him
a railing judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’” (Jude 9)

Addressing the Father
To whom do you pray? Do you praise and entreat the Lord? Or do you
spend your time rebuking the devil? It is a subtle but serious heresy
to treat Satan as equal in power with God, to give him more attention
than he de serves. God alone is Creator and Re­deemer. Satan and his
fallen angels, though vested with authority until the final judgment,
are trapped in this space-time world with mankind. We have a way of
escape; the devil does not. Only the Lord God stands outside of and
above time. He alone is Deity, worthy of worship. Gaze at God but only
glance at the devil. Don’t become distracted!

Focus your prayer time on God, not on your enemy. The more you see God
on the throne, the more authority you will have to pray. God owns all
authority. We have none, apart from Christ in us. We only have God’s
authority when He delegates it to us with a specific command that
commissions us. U sing authority casually can produce casualties.

There is a story in the Old Testament of a prophet sent to rebuke an
idolatrous altar. This was a high-level power encounter. When the
prophet rebuked the altar, it split in two. Yet that young proph et was
now on dangerous ground. An older prophet tricked him into disobeying
God. The young prophet, although successful in his mission, was eaten
by a lion on his trip home. Why did he lose his protection?
Disobedience!

There is a better way to do warfare. And it is not by shaking our fist
at the devil. That’s just shadow-boxing. It la nds no body blows. When
Jesus was tempt ed by the devil in the wilderness, he did not rail at
him. (Luke 4) Instead, he quot ed the written Word. He used the sword
of the Spirit against his foe. Jesus went on to accomplish complete
obedience to the Father and therefore was given all authority. (Phil.
2) Jesus succeeded by radical obedience. He stayed submitted­ to God,
declared the gospel, drove out demons, and gave his life on the cross.
His resurrection was the grand finale which prov ed he has all
authority in every realm.

Based on Jesus’ victory, we can petition God and win the battle, too.
We can pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven.” We can be anointed to set captives free. This is the miracle
of grace based on our union with Christ.
Daniel modeled intercessory prayer by repenting on behalf of his
people. He prayed to God, not to principalities or demons. He stood his
ground when the battle got fierce. Another model for this kind of
prayer was Queen Esther.

A Queen Saves a Nation
Esther became Queen to King Ahasuer us in Persia about 460 BC. Esth­er
was a Jew. A wicked plot was hatched by Haman to murder all the Jews.
Moredec ai enlisted Esther to entreat the King to abort the plot. After
a 3-day fast and by God’s divine intervention, the plot was thwart ed
and Haman was hang­ed on the very gallows intended for Morde­cai.
In this episode, Esther never addressed Haman. She never rebuked him or
accused him. She did not get angry and shake her fist at Ham an.
Instead, she humbled her soul, show ed great respect for those in
authority (even Haman) then entreated the King with her petition.

She ap­proached him with prop er protocol, trusting in his love,
despite the danger inherent in her mission. The lesson here is: Who has
the authority? If that person or that situation has power over your
life, where did they get it? Who do you appeal to for help? Do you
negotiate with the enemy? Or do you stand in your authority under God?
The Bible says we should turn to God’s throne for help. (see Hebrews
4:16)

When Jesus stood before Pilate awaiting sentencing, he said, “You would
have no authority over me if it were not given you from above.” (John
19:11) He entrusted himself to his Father. He didn’t panic and wonder
how Pilate had gotten the upper hand.
(In my recent posting, “Interview with an Apostle,” recall that the
apostle Paul never admitted to being a prisoner of Rome, but only of
Jesus!)

Do you have faith to believe that God knows what you are facing? What
disaster are you staring at? What evil or what trial has attracted your
gaze? Fight to win by fixing your gaze on the author of your faith,
Jesus Christ! Matthew 28 says Jesus has “all authority.” There is none
higher!

True spiritual warfare is best accomplished when we lift up our eyes to
Jesus and see the majesty of his kingdom, his power, and his glory.
From that place of humble worship, God’s word in our mouth can make
demons tremble, activate holy angels, move heaven and earth, and shape
the destiny of nations.

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© 1999 by Ron Wood, President of Touch­ed By Grace Inc. For information
write P.O. Box 12749, Wilmington, NC 28405. For resources visit
www.touchedbygrace.org. Permission to copy or share provided content
and byline remains unchanged. We are touched by grace to touch the
world!