The verse anchor
"My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths."
Daniel 6:22 · King James Bible
The story
Daniel was a young man from Israel who had been taken far away to Babylon. He served the king. He was faithful and wise, and everyone knew he loved his God.
There was a new king named Darius. Daniel served him well — so well that the king planned to put Daniel over the whole kingdom.
The other officers were jealous. They wanted to get rid of Daniel. But they could find no fault in him. Then they said to one another, "We shall find no charge against this Daniel, except concerning the law of his God."
So they went to King Darius and flattered him. "O king, live forever! Make a law that no man may pray to any god or man for thirty days, except unto thee. Whoever breaks it shall be cast into the den of lions." King Darius signed the law.
Daniel heard about the law. But when he went home, he did what he had always done: he opened his window toward Jerusalem and kneeled down three times a day and prayed to God, and gave thanks.
The wicked men were watching. They ran to the king. Now the king loved Daniel and did not want him thrown to the lions. He tried all day to find a way to save him. But the law was signed, and even the king could not undo it.
So Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king said to him, "Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee." A great stone was rolled over the mouth of the den.
The king could not eat that night. He could not sleep. Very early in the morning he ran to the den. He cried out, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?"
Then came the voice of Daniel from inside: "O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me."
The king was very glad. He brought Daniel up out of the den. And the Bible says "no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God."
One thing we learn
Daniel did not stop praying, even when a law told him he must. Some of the bravest things a Christian ever does are the quiet things — kneeling by the bed, saying grace at the table, opening the Bible in the morning. God sees.
Memory verse
"My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths."
Daniel 6:22 · KJV
Say it three times before bed. In seven days you will know it forever.
A prayer
Lord, help me to be faithful in the small things —
morning prayer, evening prayer,
and thanks at the meal.
Send your angel to shut the lions' mouths for me.
Amen.
Beneath the story · for grown-ups
To read this whole passage in the King James Bible with your child, or to walk further with the household: