Daniel 6: 10

“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened to Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” (NIV)

Many believers today practice spiritual disciplines. They include, but are not limited to, solitude and silence, prayer, scripture reading and fasting and are intended to draw us closer to the Lord.

In the book of Daniel, the spiritual practice of prayer is modeled by Daniel. He was born into a noble family of faith in Judah, which was the southern half of Israel. His parents were apparently faithful in teaching him God’s ways, including good eating habits and a consistent prayer life. Daniel learned at an early age that prayer was essential. When Daniel was teenager, Babylon conquered Judah. Daniel and his three friends were unfortunately exiled in Babylon. Those Hebrew boys, including Daniel, Hanaiah, Mishael, and Azriah never departed from their upbringing.

When King Nebuchadnezzar put Daniel and his friends in a three-year program designed to strip them of their cultural identity, it didn’t quite work. Daniel first politely refuses the diet and tactfully negotiates a healthier diet of vegetables and water, and the king agrees to this. By chapter three, his friends refuse to worship the huge Babylonian statue and are thrown into a fiery furnace. The Lord saves them from being burned.

Daniel’s circumstances have seemed to look out of control for most of his life, but God placed Daniel exactly where He wanted him to achieve His divine purposes. God used Daniel to draw a pagan nation closer to Him.

After the Medes conquered the Babylonians, King Darious assumed the throne. Now, Darious thought highly of Daniel, but a few of his administrators tricked him into issuing a decree in which all citizens must worship him. Failure to do so would result in a common punishment during these times known as the lion’s den. “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened to Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” (Daniel 6:10)  Daniel went from thanking God in the privacy of his home to asking for strength and protection among hungry lions. Daniel knew what to do and who to call upon in a crisis.

When you have a proven track record of the Lord’s faithfulness in every crisis, in every challenge and in every trial, crazy stuff like being thrown to the lions doesn’t rattle you much.

Someone’s jealousy did not hinder Daniel’s consistency. Someone’s deceitfulness did not interfere with his commitment to the Lord.

If God softened the pagan hearts of Babylonian officials, kept his friends cool in the hot furnace, and closed the mouths of the lions, then he can work miracles in the lives of any believer. When you know the Lord well, like Daniel did, through a lifetime of prayer, you know the Lord is still in control and will either protect you or deliver you.

Spiritual disciplines like prayer don’t earn favor with God. They’re a gift from God in order to draw closer to Him. The long-term payoff of a spiritual practice is peace, joy, and self-control because at some point, a drill will turn into an emergency.

 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of prayer you have given us to commune with you about any issue at any time. Amen