Praying Man

I heard a new southern gospel song this week. The tune of Ronnie Hinson’s “Praying Man” was catchy, the beat was lively, but it was this line that really got my attention:

“Never throw a hungry lion in a den with a praying man.”

We know what happens when you throw a praying man in a den with hungry lions! In Daniel 6:22, the prophet Daniel reported (after a night in close quarters with the king of beasts): “My God sent His angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight!”

But if you stand back and look at the whole story, the real lions were the jealous governors who roared and prowled and plotted to devour the despised Daniel. The real den was Rock to which Daniel had fled through prayer. And when Daniel was finally “lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” But “the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lion’s den…and before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones” (vv.23-24). So much for the enemies of God.

The stories of the Bible are told as examples to us. And the lesson I learn from Daniel’s deliverance is this: Satan still goes about as an envious governor, blind with jealousy, a prowling lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8)…yet I don’t have to cower in fear. No, I don’t mean to downplay our spiritual enemy. I am no match for Satan and his forces. You, too, are unbelievably defenseless, incredibly vulnerable – but Jesus has invited, “Abide in me.” Jesus offers to be our den of safety.

The enemy may intimidate, the situation might go from bad to worse, the hands of others who wish they could help may be tied, the night might be long and dark and unsettling… but ultimately, the enemy can’t survive on God’s turf, nor devour the godly man or woman who, through Jesus’ name, calls and counts on Him.

Satan just can’t survive in the den of a praying man.