Daniel and the Hungry Lions

Daniel was now an old man, but he still loved God with all his heart. He had become very important—the king wanted to put him in charge of the whole kingdom!

But some other leaders were jealous. They didn't like Daniel. They wanted his job! So they tried to find something bad that Daniel did. They watched him and watched him, but they couldn't find ANYTHING wrong! Daniel was honest and good.

'We'll never catch him doing anything bad,' they said, 'unless we make a law about his God!' They had a sneaky plan.

They went to King Darius and said, 'O great king! We think you should make a law: For thirty days, everyone can only pray to YOU. Anyone who prays to any other god should be thrown to the lions!'

The king thought this sounded good. He signed the law. In that kingdom, once a law was signed, it could NEVER be changed.

When Daniel heard about the new law, do you know what he did? He went home, opened his windows toward Jerusalem, got down on his knees, and prayed to God—just like he did THREE TIMES EVERY DAY!

Daniel didn't hide. He didn't stop praying. He knew that obeying God was more important than obeying a bad law.

The jealous men were watching! They ran to the king. 'King Darius! Daniel is breaking your law! He's praying to his God three times a day!'

The king was SO sad! He loved Daniel! He tried ALL day to find a way to save him. But the jealous men said, 'Remember, O king—the law can't be changed!'

So sadly, the king gave the order. Soldiers took Daniel and threw him into a deep, dark pit full of hungry LIONS! They rolled a big stone over the opening and sealed it.

The king whispered to Daniel, 'May your God rescue you!' Then he went back to his palace. He couldn't eat dinner. He couldn't sleep. He was too worried about Daniel.

As soon as the sun came up, the king RAN to the lions' den. 'Daniel!' he called out. 'Did your God save you from the lions?'

And from inside the den came Daniel's voice: 'O king, live forever! My God sent His angel to shut the lions' mouths! They didn't hurt me at all!'

The king was so happy! He ordered his men to pull Daniel out. They looked him all over—not even a scratch! The lions hadn't touched him!

Then the king threw the JEALOUS men into the lions' den. This time, the lions were NOT gentle.

King Darius wrote to the whole kingdom: 'Everyone should respect Daniel's God! He is the living God! He lasts forever! He rescued Daniel from the lions!'

Daniel was safe because he trusted God. And God always protects His faithful people!