“So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said, “Long live King Darius! We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions. And now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.” So King Darius signed the law.” Daniel 6:6-9
In effect, the proposal would make Darius “god for a month.” These leaders did what they could to get the king to sign the edict, which according to law, could not be revoked once put in place. The king was considered infallible; once he put a law on the books, not even he could rescind it. In a moment he would come to regret, Darius signed the law.
The exciting thing about Daniel is that he didn’t change when the pressure was on. I believe that is one of the greatest characteristics of godliness in people’s lives—they can move through the life untouched by the circumstances, because of the consistency of their example and the godliness of their walk. “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.” (Psalm 46:1-2) That’s it. No matter what happens, just go forward. Daniel probably had a prayer chamber on the top level of his house where he prayed while he faced Jerusalem. It was an act of faith on the part of an exiled Jew to pray toward the land from which he had been taken captive. It was a way to say by one’s very posture, “God, I believe Your promise that You will someday return us to our land.” In spite of the decree banning all prayer except to Darius, Daniel quietly carried on his activity. We need to ask ourselves the question, what would we do in Daniel’s place? As our nation is going, we may have to make this choose someday.