But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” Daniel 6:16.
On account of his praying to God, Daniel was cast into the lions' den.... But Daniel continued to pray, even among the lions. Did God forget His faithful servant and suffer him to be destroyed? Oh, no; Jesus, the mighty Commander of the hosts of heaven, sent His angels to close the mouths of those hungry lions, that they should not hurt the praying man of God; and all was peace in that terrible den. The king witnessed the miraculous preservation of Daniel and brought him out with honors, while those who had plotted his destruction were utterly destroyed, with their wives and children, in the terrible manner in which they had planned to destroy Daniel.
Through the moral courage of this one man who chose, even in the face of death, to take a right course rather than a politic one, Satan was defeated and God honored....
Daniel was a moral and intellectual giant; yet he did not reach this preeminence all at once and without effort. He was continually seeking for greater knowledge, for higher attainments. Other young men had the same advantages, but they did not, like him, bend all their energies to seek wisdom—the knowledge of God as revealed in His Word and in His works. Daniel was but a youth when he was brought into a heathen court in service to the king of Babylon; and because of his extreme youth when he was exposed to all the temptations of an Eastern court, his noble resistance of wrong and his steadfast adherence to the right throughout his long career are the more admirable. His example should be a source of strength to the tried and tempted, even at the present day....
From the history of Daniel we may learn that a strict compliance with the requirements of God will prove a blessing, not only in the future, immortal life, but also in the present life. Through religious principles, we may triumph over the temptations of Satan and the devices of evildoers, even though it costs us a great sacrifice....
We are living in the most solemn period of this world's history, when the last conflict between truth and error is raging; and we need courage and firmness for the right and a prayerful trust in God no less than Daniel did.—Signs of the Times, November 4, 1886.
From From the Heart - Page 280
From the Heart