The Best Habit

This episode uncovers a simple, mindful habit—quiet yet powerful—that can steady you through any storm in life, whether it’s a political unrest, a harsh work environment, personal attacks, or even a global crisis.

Tune in to discover this practice that reshapes how you can face life’s toughest moments.

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“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

- Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ ‭NASB1995

Chapters

• 0:13 Setting The Scene In Daniel
• 0:22 Kings And The Timeline Of Power
• 1:34 God’s Gift: Wisdom And Dreams
• 3:21 Nebuchadnezzar’s Forgotten Dream Solved
• 4:53 Promotions And An Excellent Spirit
• 5:53 Pride, A Golden Image, And Warnings
• 6:25 The Beastly Fall Of A King
• 7:21 Belshazzar And The Writing On The Wall
• 8:10 Power Shifts To Darius
• 9:08 Daniel’s Excellence Breeds Jealousy
• 10:39 The 30-Day Decree Against Prayer
• 11:12 Daniel Prays With Windows Open
• 11:52 Into The Lions’ Den
• 13:04 A Sleepless King And A Morning Run
• 14:39 Delivered Without Injury
• 15:23 The Accusers’ Fate
• 15:46 Daniel’s Secret: Three Daily Prayers
• 16:38 Philippians 4:6 And Holy Confidence
• 19:57 Abide In The Vine, Bear Fruit
• 22:01 Favor Across Five Kings
• 24:40 Prayer, Thanksgiving, And Courage
• 27:01 Closing Prayer And Encouragement

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:13

This beautiful day. I want to get straight into the word of God, and I'm going to uh share with you from the book of Daniel this morning. And I want to tell you that uh the book of Daniel starts with talking about Daniel and his three friends, who you might know by the name of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And I want to tell you that the book actually starts with uh they all have different names, by the way, and the names were changed by the king. And I won't get into that because that's not uh the crux of the matter today. So it's Daniel and his three friends that the book Daniel starts with, and it starts with the reign of a king called Jehoiakim. So the book of Daniel basically starts with the reign of a king called Jehoiakim, it moves on to another king by the name of Nebuchadnezzar, and then to another king who's Nebuchadnezzar Nazar's son, who's called Belshazzar, and then the kingdom moves completely to a king Darius or Darius, and then to King Cyrus, who's from a different lineage altogether. But that's the chronological events of the book of Daniel. And I'm going straight into the first uh verse where it says in the 17th, the first chapter of the 17th verse, it's uh verse, it says, as for these four youth, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom. Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. Hallelujah. So I told you it starts with the the book of Daniel starts with Daniel and his four friends, and it talks about as an I'm just letting you know that it starts with a king and then it moves, the kingdom moves from one king to another. And in the very beginning, it talks about Daniel and these four youths and his friends basically. God gave them knowledge and intelligence and every branch of literature and wisdom. Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. Hallelujah. And then it so goes on to talk about Daniel having favor with all the kings, and that's how this entire book is about Daniel, and then that's and of course his friends. And you know that I love his the story of him and his three friends, but that's not the story I'm going to share with you today. So Daniel, anyway, finds favor with all the kings that he starts working with, and the Bible says in all matters of wisdom and understanding, Daniel was found found to be ten times better than everyone in the realm. Hallelujah. And there isn't much mentioned about King Jehoakim and his time as king, but Daniel basically comes into the forefront when King Nebuchadnezzar comes in and he has a vision. He has a dream actually. And he wanted someone to tell him about his dream that he had. He wanted somebody to interpret the dream and what it meant. And there was pandemonium in the kingdom because how can you interpret something that somebody themselves doesn't know about? How can you interpret a dream of someone who doesn't even remember what they saw? The Bible says Daniel is called upon. And Daniel explains the dream to King Nebuchadnezzar Nazar. He tells him about the dream, he explains what it means. Hallelujah. And he could interpret the dream to every little detail the Bible says. And Daniel gets a promotion and becomes the head of Babylon and of all the chiefs. And he was made chief of the magicians, chief of the conjurers, chief of the Chaldeans and the Divinas. Hallelujah. And this was because of an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, and interpretation of dreams, explanation of the enigmas, and solving of difficult problems that Daniel had in his spirit. And I'll read it again. This was bic because of the spirit of extra, because of an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, the interpretation of dreams, the explanation of enigmas and solving of difficult problems. Oh, hallelujah! How powerful is that? And then as the chronological events go, you know about the king who sets up this statue, an image rather of gold, and he sets a mandate that everyone has to bow before it. And Daniel's friends this time come into the focus, Shadrag, Meshach, and Abednego, who refuse to bow down. But as I said, that's not the story I'm going into today. And then yet again, King Nebuchadnezzar has another another vision and it worries him. And just to cut a very long story short, he gives himself more importance than God. And believe it or not, God tells him he will become a beast and he turns him into a beast. That's a very scary story. But I won't get into that because yet again Daniel is there to tell him about the dream and to interpret the dream and to even tell him how it's going to end up, and it ended up exactly the way Daniel interpreted. And just to let you know, King Nebuchadnezzar ran out of his kingdom. He went into the forest and he became something like a beast. The Bible even says the feathers of the eagle came upon him. And after that, of course, his son takes over, whose name is King Belshazzar. And I want to tell you that at the time of King Belshazzar and his rule, Daniel, the Bible says, becomes the third ruler of the land as decreed by the king. And just to give you another time of the story of Belshazzar, he also, like his father, decides that he is greater than God. And when that happens, there is a time when he's having a feast, and there is a hand that comes into the room where they're having a feast. A hand writes on the wall, something that no one can read, except, of course, Daniel. And he calls upon Daniel and he reads it, and it basically says that his kingdom is going to be handed over to someone else because he thinks he's greater than God. And as the book of Daniel goes, his kingdom is handed over to a king from another lineage whose name is King Darius or Darius. And I want to read to you from the sixth chapter here. The line that God gets so unhappy with Nebuchadnezzar and his friend and his son Belshazzar is that he takes his entire kingdom and hands it over to a third person who's not even from the same lineage. And as I said, that's King Darius. And then the Bible goes on to say that even though King Darius is from a different lineage and a different belief system, let's call it that, Daniel yet again finds favor in King Darius. And the Bible says in the sixth chapter, Daniel had an excellent spirit in him, and hence King Darius set him at the highest position above all in the realm. Oh, hallelujah. So you see, I've already spoken about three kings coming and going, and in all the three kings, Daniel was right at the top. And then in the story that I'm going to share with you today is actually from the king, uh, from the time of King Darius. And it says that he placed him above the chief administrators and the sutraps, and these people were all jealous of him because Daniel just kept finding favor in all the kings. And the Bible says that they try to find fault in his work, they try to find gaps in government affairs, they try to find ways to accuse him, they try to find corruption or negligence in his work. These are exactly the words that I'm reading to you from the Bible. Accusation and corruption, negligence in work, in government affairs, but they could find nothing on Daniel. Hallelujah. So they decide that they're gonna trick the king and get Daniel into trouble. So they they know a little secret about Daniel, that Daniel prays to the most high. So they go to the king and they tell him, pass a decree that no one should petition any god for 30 days. And if so, they be thrown into the lion's den, O great king. And similar to how Nebuchadnezzar was fooled, here too, King Darius is fooled by his, let's say, his advisors, and he passes a decree that no one in the land can petition any God for 30 days. And the Bible says that Daniel, knowing what had happened, continued as he always did to pray to God. In fact, the Bible says the time when Daniel knew the petition was signed, he went home to his upper room and knelt down and prayed to God. Hallelujah. And just as that was what the administrators and the chiefs and the governors had planned, that's exactly what Daniel did. And they went to the king and they filled his ears. And the king was unhappy, the Bible says. But since he had passed a decree and he had signed it, he had to put Daniel into the lion's den. And the Bible says he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver Daniel, but he could not because he had put his signature on a decree. And now there was nothing to save Daniel. And in Daniel, the sixth chapter, the 16th verse, I'm reading to you directly from the Bible, and then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought and cast into the lion's den. And the king spoke to Daniel, your God, whom you constantly serve, will himself deliver you. Oh, hallelujah. I told you King Darius was from a different lineage. He did not even know the living God. And he tells Daniel, Daniel, your God, whom you serve continually, he will deliver you. And the Bible says they put a stone over the mouth of the den and they seal it. Wow. And I want to tell you that the king goes back to his palace and he spends the night fasting. It's the king. And this is just another man. Daniel is just a man. And the king fasts. And he the Bible even says no musicians were brought before him. And his sleep went from him. Wow, hallelujah. And then the king arose early next morning and he ran to the den of the lion. He's the Bible says he went in haste to the lion's den and he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. And he said, Daniel, servant of the most high, servant of the living God, as your God, who you serve continually, being able to deliver you from the lions. So you see, he runs, he doesn't sleep all night, he doesn't call for the musicians. The Bible says he doesn't even have wine that night. And he gets up in the morning and he's a king, people. And let me just tell you this this region that we are talking about was one of the largest regions reigned by one single king. So Daniel was an important person in a large kingdom. And this king gets up and he runs in haste to the den and he's asking in a lamenting voice, he's he's worried and he's calling out, Daniel, as your God saved you. O king, live forever, Daniel said from inside. And the king was exceedingly glad for him and commanded that they should take Daniel out. And Daniel was taken out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him. Hallelujah. Amen. Because he believed in his God. The Bible says no injury of any kind was found on Daniel because he trusted in God. And let me tell you as the story ends, King Darius calls for Daniel's accusers, the chiefs, the governors, the sutraps, with their kids and their family, which is their wives. He takes them and he puts them in the same den and he seals the den. That's scary. But today I want to give you a secret. I'm here to give you good news. I want to give you Daniel's secret. From Jehoim, from King Jehoiakim, of course, and finding favor in the rulers, to King Nebuchadnezzar, where Daniel interprets dreams and becomes the chief leader, to King Belshazzar, where Daniel interprets the writing on the wall from God, to King Darius, where he becomes the most powerful man in the region, and to his days in King Cyrus, which I'm not getting into this morning. Daniel only and only looked to God for everything. And here's the secret, I mean I'm giving it to you from the book of Daniel, the sixth chapter, the tenth verse. And believe me, this is beautiful. And it's going back to the time when King Darius signed the decree that if anyone petitions any God in 30 days will be put into the lion's den. Daniel 6 then says, Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, hallelujah, the moment he knew the document was signed, he entered his house in an upper room or in his roof chamber, he had his windows open to Jerusalem and he continued kneeling three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God as he had been doing previously. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The moment Daniel got to know that the decree was signed, he went home, he went up to his upper room, he opened his windows, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, the Bible says, and prayed and gave thanks before his God. As was his custom, another version of the Bible says, since early days. Hallelujah. Daniel went and prayed three times a day to the most high. He gave thanks to the most high. Hallelujah. Three times a day, as was his custom since earlier days. And in case you're wondering where that is, that's in the NKJV, the version of the Bible, he gave thanks three times a day, as was his custom since early days. Hallelujah. There is no mention of Daniel before the book of Daniel. There is a mention of Daniel in this book over five kings. And if it says in early days, that means from the very beginning, Daniel would have been praying three times a day, giving thanks to God. And no wonder he had the favor of all the kings of the land. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And today I want to leave you with two passages of scripture that will bind Daniel's beautiful story together. Philippians 4.6. And mark these scriptures down and meditate on it in your own time and understand why Daniel had the favor of God upon him. Philippians 4.6 says, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. Let your request be known to God. Oh hallelujah. Hallelujah. Be anxious for nothing but in everything in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known to God. You can always go back to Daniel 6:10 and read what it says. He bow down to God three times a day, praying and giving thanks. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. With prayer and supplication. And the last piece that I want to give you, that's the glue that will bind all of this together from the words of Jesus, from the book of John, the 15th chapter, the fifth verse. Jesus is talking to his disciples, trying to give them a little secret. Jesus didn't give secrets in the open, he spoke in parables and he gave examples. And he expected his disciples to get it. And at times when they didn't, he explained it. And here's a beautiful one from the time when he was on this planet. John the 15th, chapter, the fifth verse says, I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. Hallelujah. I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. Hallelujah. Daniel knew it before Jesus even came on this planet. He abided in God, he abided in Jesus all the time. And let me tell you, he bore much fruit. He bore a lot of fruit. He bore fruit for each and every king that came and went in that kingdom. For apart from God, I think he understood that he could do nothing. Since his custom from early days, he would pray to God three times a day. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I think maybe he prayed even more. If no one in the entire land, and by the way, you can go back and read history and find out the region of how big these kings' region was. It started with King Jehoa Kim. You can read it. It was a huge kingdom, huge kingdom. And he was the only guy in that kingdom who could interpret dreams and visions. Imagine interpreting a dream where somebody doesn't even know what they dreamt of. And then having the meaning to it. He doesn't do it once, by the way, he does it more than three times to three different kings. Hallelujah. And I'm reading to you from the Bible and understand these words. Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief. That's Daniel the first chapter. Daniel, the fifth chapter, there is a man in your kingdom in whom the spirit of the holy God, in whom is the spirit of the holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him. Hallelujah. And Daniel the sixth chapter, Daniel had the favor of God, and he had the spirit of God in him. Oh, hallelujah. That's just a few words that I'm sharing with you about Daniel. And I've given you the secret. Abide in me and I in him, as Jesus said. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. And be anxious for nothing. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to me. I think every time Daniel knelt down on his knees and he prayed to God, he started with thanksgiving. He was anxious for nothing. Even though he knew he was going to be put into a lion's den. The moment the decree was signed, he went home to pray. You think he didn't know what was going on? Of course he knew what was going on. He knew he's going to get caught. And he went straight and he did that. I want to tell you this beautiful day. The Bible says Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. It's in the book of Hebrews. What he did for Daniel, he will do for you and me. He's not a respecter of man. But if you understand these two passages of scripture that bind this entire story of Daniel together, you will know very clearly that you can go to God as many times as you want. The more you do, the more you are attached to the vine. The more you reach out to him with thanksgiving and supplication, the more he is in you. Because the more you go to him, you're letting go of all the things of the world and you're clutching onto him, you're seeking the hem of his garment, you're looking for that touch. And then he takes over. Hallelujah. I'd like to pray. Dear Lord, I thank you for this beautiful time, Lord. I thank you for your double-edged sword that does not go back until it has achieved what it has been set out for, Lord. I thank you for your word that cuts through bone, marrow, and spirit. I thank you, Lord, that you are the vine. We are the branches. And we abide in you and you and us. We will bear great fruit. I thank you for your beautiful word this morning, Lord. I thank you for people who are changing their mind, deciding to turn towards you. I thank you, Lord, this beautiful day. That your people will come to you with prayer and supplication, Lord, with thanksgiving. And as a line to your word, I thank you this beautiful morning. I give you thanks for being faithful when we are faithless, Lord. I thank you, Lord, for your word that says, You will go ahead and make every crooked path straight for us. I thank you, Lord, for your word that says, change our heart. Make it ever true, change our heart, O Lord. Let us be like you. Most of all, Lord. I thank you for some people who are asking you to take complete control. You are the stone of the boat, Lord, and we live our lives, our situations, our problems. Into your hands, you take control. Thank you, Lord, that everything that we ask. Your word says is yea and amen in your name. And I thank you, Lord, this beautiful day that you have turned. For some of your sheep and your personally looking into those situations, Lord. Thank you, Lord, your word says you will beside still waters, Lord. Oh, hallelujah. Someone he's taking you to a broad place. Like butter, the Bible says. Oh, hallelujah, he's making it happen for you. Hallelujah. Some wonderful things are happening for someone. He's decided that he will go ahead of you. He will only take you to places that he wants you to go. His word says he knows the plans he has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans with the hope and a future. And your situation right now might look dark, but it's not. Just as Daniel did right now, as the decree has been plotted, or if the plot has happened against you, go right now. Get down on your knees. Through prayer and supplication. Give thanks. And you will see the salvation of the Lord come through. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful time. Thank you for changing people's fate. Thank you for entering people's situations and turning them around. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.