Sermons
December 29th, 2025 by Pastor Solley122825AM How to Prosper in 2026
Sub. Prospering
Theme: How to prosper in the Lord.
Text: Daniel 6:28
“How to Prosper in 2026″ Daniel 6:28
Introduction
We stand once again at the end of another calendar year and about to begin a New Year, one perhaps many thought they would never see, expecting the rapture of the church long before 2026 or even 2001, but here we are. This New Year holds many questions for the child of God. Will the darkness of sin that has deepened continue to engulf this nation? Will the violent divide continue to widen between races, social status, and political parties? What is going to happen to the economy? Will the attacks on Christians and churches continue to increase? What will 2026 hold for the child of God? How can one prosper in this New Year? We do have those questions do we not? The Bible has the answer to the question, how can one prosper in 2026?
I. In Daniel chapter six we find a path that will lead to prosperity: Dan 6:28 The Bible tells us “This Daniel prospered.” Daniel prospered, had success, had good success. – Dan 6:28 – Daniel prospered and it was not that Daniel was free of troubles and trials.
A. In fact Daniel faced many of the same questions that we face today and experienced many of the same trials: We will not review the entire history of Daniel but if you read the book of Daniel beginning to end you find Daniel faced many of the same things we do.
1. Daniel lived in a time of great political unrest: A Jew in Jerusalem he witnessed that kingdom come to an end. In Babylon he witness that kingdom come to an end. Now under the authority of another world power. – Dan 6:28 – Political unrest.
2. Daniel lived through wars and rumors of wars: Jerusalem, Babylon, the Meads and Persians all fell to enemy armies.
3.Daniel lived through religious persecutions: Companions were thrown into a furnace of fire because of their faith, Daniel would be thrown into a den of lions to be torn to pieces and eaten alive because of his faith in the Lord.
4. Daniel lived through great sorrow and loss: When he was taken to Babylon with the others they all would have witnessed their homes being burnt down and their families murdered before their eyes.
5. Daniel was lied about and falsely accused of being the problem in Babylon because he was a man who trusted in the Lord: Daniel had to deal with many of the same problems we have to deal with today and had many of the same questions that we have today.
B. In all of those things and in spite of all of those things the Bible tells us that Daniel propsered: Dan 6:28 How could that be? How could Daniel find prosperity, how could Daniel find success?
II. In Daniel chapter six we find what led to Daniel being able to prosper: I want to look this morning at five things in the life of Daniel that the Lord has laid upon my heart this morning, all of them found in this one chapter recording the walk and life of Daniel.
A. We all have the same questions about 2026, the same worries perhaps, the same fears: And all should desire to prosper in the Lord.
B. The Bible has the answer to the question, how can one prosper in 2026?
PROP: There are certain truths about Daniel that every child of God needs to know and follow. TS. Because they do set before us a path to prosperity in this New Year, in 2026.
Body
I. Daniel kept a testimony: Dan 6:1-6 It wasn’t that Daniel was known as a good bookkeeper, of a good organizer, or a good leader, or a good speaker, or a good second in command, was strong or wise beyond others, or more faithful to the king. Daniel would have been all of those things and more. – Dan 6:3 – All of those things would have been true of Daniel and everyone could see those things in him. But while those are good character traits that all of us should aspire to, they are not what made Daniel stand out.
A. Daniel had a testimony for the Lord: Dan 6:4-5 The only thing those jealous men could find against Daniel was that he loved the Lord too much, that he walked too close to the Lord his God. Daniel had a testimony. – Dan 6:4-5
1. Those ungodly men would have done their research: Dan 6:4 When the Bible says those men sought occasion against Daniel it means they did their research. Babylon kept records. No social media as we have today, but Babylon kept records of everytihng.
a. They would have looked at what took place in Daniel chapter one. – Dan 1:8 – He wouldn’t eat things sacrificed to idols. But they found out that Daniel prospered because of that and was elevated by those that had authority over him.
b. They would have looked into why Daniel did not bow to the idol in Dan 3 and would have found out Daniel was in another part of the kingdom and not in the plain of Dura. – Dan 2:49
c. They would have looked into Daniel and the hand writing on the wall to see of Daniel really understood it. – Dan 5:23-30
d. They would have tried to find errors in Daniel’s bookkeeping. – Dan 6:2-4
2. But they couldn’t find anything to hold against Daniel , they found no fault in Daniel: Dan 6:4 There was not one bit of dirt they could dig up to hold against Daniel, not one.
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B. But could it be that Daniel loved his God, loved the Lord too much? Dan 6:5-6 What a testimony that Daniel had that even those who wanted to do him in, those who wanted to get rid of him, those that wanted to see Daniel dead, this is all they could say against that man they hated so much. – Dan 6:5 – They opened the history books, they did the research, they sought occasion against Daniel and this was the only thing they could come up with. – Dan 6:5
1. This reminds me of Enoch in the days before the flood: Gen 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
It is as if God said, “Enoch, your not like the rest of them down there, your walking so close to me you might as well come up here.” The next person it says that about, that he walked with God, is the great grandson of Enoch and his name was Noah.
2. That is the testimony of Daniel, he was just too close, just loved his God too much: Dan 6:5 Daniel kept a testimony. Through trials, through the loss of loved ones, through times when he was lied about, times when her was unjustly accused, times he did not understand all that was taking place around him, Daniel kept a testimony. – Dan 6:4-5 – And Daniel prospered. – Dan 6:28
C. What if that were the worst thing somone could say about you, that you love Jesus just too much, that you are just too close to Jesus, that you walk too close to the Lord? What if they opened the books and sought occasion against you? What would they find?
1. There are records being kept of your life as well as mine: God keeps records. The Bible says books will be opened, not just the book of life, books will be opened. The Bible says God records even the idle words we say. – Matt 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. The Bible says that God knows the thoughts and intents of our heart. – Jer 17:10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. God does keep records.
a. Those records are not going to be posted on Facebook, not in the local news paper, but they are there.
b. What type of testimony do they reveal about me?
2. If all those things could be seen today, if all my actuions, thoughts, words, and even the intent of my heart could be posted on the wall behind me, what type of testimony would I have? They would show where I am and have been lacking.
3. But what if I began to pray and ask Jesus to help me keep a testimony for Him, to love Him, to walk close to Him, to have a testimony for Him in 2026? I don’t have to wonder if that would lead me to prosper, that testimony led Daniel to prosperity.
D. Daniel kept a testimony: Dan 6:1-6
II. Daniel kept a practice: Dan 6:7-10 When the law was signed that no man or woman, young or old, that whosoever prayed to any God other than Darius, and he was considered a god because he was king, they knew they had Daniel right where they wanted him.
A. Part of Daniel’s testiomony was that Daniel had a practice: Dan 6:10 Notice “As he did afore time.” – Dan 6:10 – There most likely had been cabinet meetings interrupted by Daniel’s prayer times, meals delayed because of Daniel’s prayer times, decisions made on the results of Daniel’s prayer times, and they did not agree with or like the fact that Daniel practiced prayer.
1. Note that the law did not say Daniel had to pray to king Darius: Dan 6:7-9 Daniel did not have to bow before or pray to Darius.
2. But Daniel would not be permitted to pray to the Lord God: Dan 6:7 All Daniel had to do was stop praying as was his practice.
a. Daniel could have stopped praying for thirty days. Surely God would understand.
b. Daniel could have hid under his bed and prayed. Surely God would have understood.
c. Daniel could have become a secret prayer warrior and kept it all hidden. God would understand.
d. Even if those things would have harmed his testimony God would understand.
3. But Daniel was rooted and grounded in the practice of prayer: Dan 6:10 And Daniel was not going to change his practice. No doubt those men were standing just outside the window of Daniels house, waiting for it to open, waiting to see Daniel knelt, waiting to him Daniel pray, and Daniel did not disappoint them. – Dan 6:10 – Daniel practiced prayer.
a. God had answered so many prayers of Daniel in the past that Daniel was not going to stop praying.
b. I don’t know what Daniel prayed for in that prayer session but I know God heard and answered his prayers.
4. Daniel prospered because Daniel had a practice: Dan 6:10
B. What type of prayer life do we practice today? I wonder if the president would present a bill to congress and it would pass both houses that one could not pray for thirty days, how many professing Christians it would bother? Would it change our practice?
1. Many Christians don’t pray three times a week let alone three times a day: Not unless they need a miracle.
2. Many Christians don’t know what it is like to spend just one hour in prayer: Sweet Hour of Prayer is just a hymn title to most.
3. Many Christians make decisions everyday and never even think to pray about them: They would rather do their own thing.
4. The vast majority sitting here this morning did not pray about this service: Have not been praying for the Spirit to give the preacher what they need to hear, praying for the preacher to be protected, praying for his heart and theirs to be right before God.
5. Most Christians have no idea what it is to practice prayer: And if things don’t go their way they just stop praying.
6. Then the very same ones wonder why they do not prosper and why it seems God is not answering their prayers: If we want God to be in the practice of answering prayer we need to be in the practice of prayer. Daniel practiced prayer.
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C. Daniel does not stand alone in the practice of prayer: Joseph, David, the three with Daniel in Babylon, Elijah, Jesus, there is a need to have a practice of prayer. – John 11:41-42 – Please note here that Jesus wanted to show them the practice of prayer. John 11:41-42
1. Daniel prospered because he kep a practice: Dan 6:10 A practice of prayer.
2. How is your practice of prayer today? Will it lead you to prosper in 2026?
D. Daniel kept a practice: Dan 6:10
III. Daniel kept a stand: Dan 6:11-17 Daniel is found out, the king is notified, and no doubt Daniel is brought before the king.
A. Take note that the king tried to find a way out of throwing Daniel to the lions: Dan 6:13-14 From morning until evening the king tried to find a way around the law that was signed and the testimony and practice of Daniel. – Dan 6:14
1. What if Daniel said he was not really praying, just reading the Scriptures? But Daniel stood on prayer.
2. What of Daniel said he meant to open his window toward the palace and that one was stuck? But Daniel stood on prayer.
3. What of Daniel said he was praying to the king and he was misunderstood? But Daniel stood on prayer.
B. The stand Daniel took was not a new one: Dan 1:8 That stand on the Lord, that testimony, that practice had not changed in the seventy years between chapters one and six in the book of Daniel and it was not going to change at all, or ever.
1. Daniel was standing on the old landmarks of faith: Prov 22:28 Daniel was not going to change his stand.
2. Daniel was following the old paths that God ahd set: Jer 6:16 Daniel was not going to change his stand.
3. Daniel was going to stand in the gap if he was the only one: Ezek 22:30 Daniel was not going to change his stand.
C. We live in a day when many are changing their stand, changing the landmarks, moving away from the old paths that God set, and few want to stand in the gap for the Lord today: We need those who will not change their stand when standing on the Word of God.
1. Changing standards of music and the Bible: We need not change.
2. Changing standards of marriage: We need not change.
3. Changing standards on right and wrong: We need not change.
4. Changing standards because of circumstances or situations: We need not change.
5. Our Giod never changes and our stand on His Word is not to change:
D. Daniel kept a stand and that lead to Daniel being able to prosper:
IV. Daniel kept a humble spirit: Dan 6:16-22 The last five words of verse twenty two are a statement, not a question. – Dan 6:22 “Have I done no hurt” is not a question, it is a statement and speaks to the humble spirit of Daniel.
A. Daniel could have done a lot of hurt coming out of that den of lions: Humanly speaking Daniel could have done a lot of hurt.
1. Daniel could have railed against the king: Could have screamed at the top of his voice that he was unjustly treated.
2. Daniel could have demanded that his enemies be thrown into the den of lions: They will be but not because Daniel demanded it.
3. Daniel could have began to altar the books: After all the king owed him something.
B. But Daniel kept a humble spirit: Dan 6:21-22
1. O king, live for ever may have been the last words out of my mouth: They were the first uttered by Daniel. -Dan 6:21
2. And Daniel gave all glory to God: Dan 6:22 Daniel knew he didn’t do anything, God did it all.
3. Daniel kept a humble spirit:
C. We need to be humble today, we need to keep a humble spirit: Often we forget this important bible truth. – John 15:5 – In this life we can do noting, absolutely nothing of any value apart from Jesus Christ. Nothing. – John 15:5
1. I cannot draw my next breath, take one more step, see with my eyes, hear with my ears, speak with my mouth without His help: I do understand what the word nothing means. – John 15:5
2. How then could I get a message ready to preach without Him? I have done nothing.
3. How then could I use my energy to build with my hands without Him? I have done nothing.
4. What can I do without Him, apart from Jesus? John 15:5
5. What place then should pride have in my life? What have I done apart from Jesus Christ? – John 15:5
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D. When people begin to tell me all that they have done for the Lord, when they begin to sound like God cannot get along without them, I begin to move away from them: I don’t want caught up in the fall. I know what I am, I am nothing. I know what He is, He is everything. When people begin to sound like God cannot get along without them I begin to move away from them.
1. There is a warning given in the Bible: Prov 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
2. I know what God thinks of those who take pride in self: Luke 18:10-14
3. A great deal has taken place in this church over the past forty one years: I know what I have done, I have hindered what could have been accomplished more than anything else. How many times have I hindered what God wanted to do?
4. We need to keep a humble spirit:
E. Daniel kept a humble spirit: It led to prosperity.
V. Daniel kept being rewarded: Dan 6:23-28 In Daniel’s life the rewards always outweighed the troubles and trials.
A. Daniel was rewarded: Because of his testimony, because of his practice, because of his stand, because of his humility Daniel was rewarded in the moment and then in the future as well.
1. His enemies received what they demanded Daniel to receive: Dan 6:23-24
2. Daniel would not have to be concerned with laws against his God again: Dan 6:25-27
3. Daniel propsered in the moment: Dan 6:28
4. And God’s people would prosper later on because of Cyrus: Dan 6:28
5. Daniel was rewarded:
B. The faithful child of God will be rewarded just as Daniel was: Keep a testimony, keep a practice, keep a stand, keep humble, and God will reward just as God rewarded Daniel. God is no respecter of persons and as God rewarded Daniel we will be rewarded also.
1. I know what is going to happen to our greatest enemy: His end is the Lake of Fire and I am on the winning side.
2. Even those enemies we see we need leave in the hands of God: Rom 12:19-21
3. We are commanded to pray for those who despitefully use us: Matt 5:44 Let God take care of things and God will.
4. Not only will we be rewarded but our loved ones will be as well:
C. Daniel kept being rewarded:
Conclusion
How is it that one can prosper in 2026? Follow the path of Daniel.
I. Daniel kept a testimony:
II. Daniel kept a practice: The practice of prayer.
III. Daniel kept a stand: He did not change.
IV. Daniel kept a humble spirit: He did not have to but he did.
V. Daniel kept being rewarded:
May we be like Daniel today.