What does it take to be a Daniel? The people of God were living in perilous times and they needed to know how to conduct themselves. The stories of Daniel showed how, and we can learn from them and the principles that develop character.

Life in Babylon was not easy for Daniel and his friends even though they held privileged positions. They were never far from having to reassert their allegiance to the Lord and demonstrate their distinctives, as the incident of the fiery furnace clearly demonstrates.

Have you ever seen “the handwriting on the wall”? What did you do? Belshazzar knew about Nebuchadnezzar’s experience, but he chose to ignore it. He surpassed his predecessor in the behavior that had led to his downfall. The writing was on the wall for him long before the fingers of a human hand appeared. We should take note!

After the opening stories of Daniel, we come now to the more challenging chapters, which deal with Daniel’s apocalyptic visions. What they mean and how they apply have been the subjects of intense debate for centuries, but they teach us many basic lessons nevertheless.

Daniel was disciplined in prayer and dedicated to the study of “the Word of the Lord.” He knew that in the Word, God speaks to His people, then in prayer we offer our response. The Word should stimulate prayer and prayer should reflect the Word.