Additional Thoughts about Daniel in the Lions' Den
By the time of this story Daniel had been in Babylon almost 70 years. He was an old man. Yet he is still faithfully serving both God and man. In this story we can again see Satan stirring up an attack on God's faithful overcomer. Satan is no longer trying to seduce him with the world, nor is he trying to force Daniel to worship him. These issues were already settled many years earlier. This time Satan was attacking Daniel's prayer life.
Daniel prayed with his window open toward Jerusalem three times a day. This was according to Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple. In 1 Kings 8:46-51 Solomon had specifically prayed concerning a time when the children of Israel were carried away captive into the land of the enemy. He asked God to hear and forgive if they repented and prayed towards the Lord's house in Jerusalem. This is exactly what Daniel was doing. He had not forgotten God's house even though he had been a royal official in Babylon for almost 70 years. Daniel 9:1-21 records in detail his repenting, confessing the sins of the nation as his own, and petitions to the Lord. Chapter 10 records another occasion when he struggled in prayer for 3 weeks before receiving an answer from the Lord.
God needs men and women like this who will stand with Him for his purpose. The time had come for God to release His people from their captivity (Jer. 25:11-12; Dan. 9:2). But God will not move without the prayer of His people. Here we see God and His overcomer cooperating together for the carrying out of His purpose. Once again Satan was defeated.
Around this time Daniel also received a number of visions concerning the future of the world. But unlike Nebuchadnezzar, he did not view the kingdoms of the world as something glorious. Rather he saw them as wild beasts causing much destruction. In the end he saw the Lord coming to judge the world and establish His kingdom. At Daniel's time those visions were for a long time in the future. Surely now their fulfillment is at hand.