Written by Betty B. Robertson
Daniel 6:1-28
Instructions: Every time the children hear the word "pray" or "prayed", they stand, fold their hands, bow their heads, and then sat back in their seats. Each time the word "Daniel" is said, they are to respond: "God will help me."
God blessed Daniel. He made Daniel wise. The king of Babylon was a good king and soon put Daniel in charge of the whole kingdom.
The officials of the king became jealous. They tried to find something bad about Daniel. But Daniel was a good man. He always prayed to God. He always obeyed God. The men could not find anything bad.
So the officials got together and said, "We've got to come up with an idea. We've got to find a way to get rid of Daniel." They thought and thought and thought and finally came up with a plan.
The officials went to the king. "Let's make a new law," they said. "Let's say that for the next thirty days, no one is to pray to any god except you. Anyone who disobeys will be thrown into the lions' den."
That sounded good to the king, so he made a new law. But he had forgotten about Daniel and how he always prayed three times a day to his god.
Daniel heard about the new law. He knew this would be hard, but he was going to do what was right. He went to his window in the morning and prayed to God like he always had. All the people saw Daniel.
At noon, he went to his window and prayed to God like he always had. All the people saw Daniel.
In the evening, he went to his window and prayed to God like he always had. All the people saw Daniel.
The king didn't know what to do. He was so upset. He wanted to get Daniel out of the mess he had gotten him into, but the king knew he couldn't change the law he had just made. He said to Daniel: "Your God, to whom you are so loyal, will get you out of this."
The soldiers grabbed Daniel and put him into the lions' den. Daniel watched as a stone slab was placed over the opening of the den.
The lions were hungry! They walked around and around Daniel. They were thinking what a great meal they were going to have! The lions got closer and closer to Daniel.
Suddenly Daniel realized none of the lions were opening their mouths. God had sent an angel to close their mouths, so they could not eat Daniel. All night long Daniel stayed with the lions, but never once did a mouth open!
The next morning, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. As he came near, he called out: "Has your God, whom you serve so loyally, saved you from the lions?"
"Yes, He has!" Daniel replied and he told the king about God sending the angel who shut the lions' mouths.
The king was so excited! He ordered the soldiers to remove Daniel from the den. Everyone noticed that Daniel didn't even have a scratch on him. Daniel had trusted God and God had saved him.
Then the king issued another order: "Everyone is to pray and worship Daniel's God. He is the living God!"
