1

A Life or Death Thankful Prayer

2

<Daniel 6:10>

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

3

Today is the Feast of Harvest.
God ordered to celebrate three festivals.
The Feast of Harvest is one of those three festivals.

4

The Feast of Harvest has two other names.
They are called the Feast of Weeks and Pentecost.

5

When the day of Pentecost comes, the Israelites prepared a huge thankful service to God for allowing them to harvest. The Israelites thanked God for His grace and for restoring their own faith throughout each day.

6

A long time ago, the ancestors raised barley. At that time they offered thanksgiving offerings to God for making their barley farming go well. But now, we offer thanksgiving services with thinking about the grace of God providing for us for the past 6 months.

7

The reason why we are keeping the Feast of Harvest is to offer a thanksgiving service to God for providing His grace of giving us good health, protection and care for us not to encounter hardships.

8

In the Bible one man is introduced and he thanked God even in front of death.
That person is Daniel who went to Babylon as a captured slave.

9

By the great grace of God, Daniel became a great politician. King Darius sat Daniel on the highest position which is to be the Prime Minister. But there were people who were not content with Daniel becoming the best Prime Minister.

10

They made a terrible conspiracy to terminate Daniel. They went to King Darius and said, "O King, for one month, let the people become one by praying only to you and not allowing them to pray to other gods. To make all the people follow your order, if someone prays to another god, put that person into the den of lions."

11

King Darius thought that they were trying to do a thing which would lift him very high but he did not know that it was actually a conspiracy to terminate the Prime Minister Daniel. So King Darius issued the decree and put it in writing so that it could not be altered.

12

Why did they make such a weird decree? It is because they knew that Prime Minister Daniel was kneeling down and offering thanksgiving prayers to God three times a day without skipping a single day. They used this fact to terminate Daniel.

13

Daniel knew that the King issued the decree. Daniel also knew that he would be put into the lion's den if he kept praying to God like he always did. However, what do you think Daniel did then?

14

Even that day, Daniel knelt down and offered thanksgiving prayers to God three times a day as if nothing had happened. Daniel was so thankful to God for protecting him in that foreign country and God even made him a Prime Minister yet even knowing the danger, Daniel was not able to live without thanking God.

15

Because of offering thanksgiving prayers, Daniel was put into the lion's den.
But God did not let Daniel, who prayed to God everyday, be the lions' prey.
Like a miracle, God protected Daniel when he was put into the lion's den.

16

Just like how Daniel did, people who live thanking God for the grace that He provides, God will protect those people until the end. Just like Daniel's life, to live a great life accompanied by God, we should not forget to offer thanksgiving prayers for His grace.

17

As we keep this Feast of Harvest, we should remember the grace that God provides for us everyday and we should promise ourselves to become people like Daniel, kneeling down and offering thanksgiving prayers to God. Just like how God lifted up and protected Daniel, God will also give the same great grace to you.