Daniel 6:10 The Message
10 When Daniel learned that the decree had been signed and posted, he continued to pray just as he had always done. His house had windows in the upstairs that opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he knelt there in prayer, thanking and praising his God.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Habits of Faith
Spiritual disciplines can be an important part of our finding God through the fog of our lives.
That’s what helped sustain Daniel in his faith.
A spiritual discipline is a habit that people develop to deepen their relationship with God.
Personal devotions may combine one or more disciplines into a daily routine: praise, worship, prayer, Bible reading, and perhaps meditation or journaling.
Other spiritual disciplines may include joining together for worship or studying the Bible in a small group.
The discipline of fasting can help us rediscover what really feeds us, and the discipline of tithing our share can help us all recall who really pays our bills.
Spiritual disciplines help us to practice finding God during times when the fog has cleared.
It’s hard to find God in a moment of panic, but it’s much easier if we’ve already developed a daily pattern of centering ourselves in Him.
It’s easier to release our worries to God at the end of a tough day if we have learned to release every other day to him in an evening prayer.
And it’s a lot less difficult to remain steadfast to God’s call when you have been serving Him in a deliberate and intentional way for months or even for years.
When you encounter a sudden fog bank in life, it can be almost impossible to figure out how to find God in the midst of it all.
Spiritual disciplines help us to reorient us so we can find God’s strength and peace, even in the thickest fog.
What Does Daniel 6:10 Teach Us?
What does Daniel 6 10 teach us?
One of the things it teaches us is that Daniel was committed to serve God even if he was going to suffer for it.
For Daniel, a daily habit of his humbling himself, giving thanks to God was not something that was dispensable.
Daniel is committed to give God thanks even if it was going to cost him his life.
He considered it the single greatest commitment, the single greatest discipline to serve His great God.
Habit of Faith: A Commitment to Prayer
Daniel 6:10 Amplified Bible
10 Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he went into his house (now in his roof chamber his windows were open toward Jerusalem); he continued to get down on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.
Making that short-termed commitment is not too hard.
It is moving that short termed commitment into that disciplined consistency that comes harder to us—yet it is an essential key to mature spiritual growth.
The often sporadic nature of our commitment is seen in short-lived exercise programs, Bible memorization, reading plans, and New Year’s resolutions.
How many of us start something well, only to later abandon it!
But equally, you and I have probably encountered people who are incredibly consistent and disciplined.
They arrive at work, they walk their dog at the exact same time every day or collect their mail with such precise timing that you could set your watch by it; and when they set themselves to undertake a task or learn a new skill, they do so with a diligence that leaves you in no doubt that they will surely complete it.
“he continued to get down on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.” Daniel was a man who had exhibited such disciplined consistency when it came to his prayer life.
His life was not marked by bursts of enthusiasm followed by chronic inertia.
He clearly prayed whether he felt like it or not.
There were probably times when he got up from his knees feeling really blessed and other times when he left feeling really flat, but in spite of it all, he kept on.
He prayed and he prayed and he prayed, no matter the circumstances.
That’s discipline!
When a crisis hit, it didn’t create Daniel’s disciplined lifestyle; it revealed it.
After King Darius issued an edict that made it illegal to pray to any god or man other than him for thirty days (Daniel 6:7), Daniel could have rationalized his obedience to the king rather than to the Lord.
He could have reasoned that because he’d stored up such phenomenal credit on the strength of all his years of prayer, he could be let off for a month.
Apparently, though, such a thought never even crossed his mind.
Instead, he continued in prayer just “as he had done previously.”
Surely there was a definite and direct and indelible link between Daniel’s life of prayer and the bravery he showed in obeying the God of Israel rather than the “do it now or die” commands of the most powerful king in the known world.
Our Lord told us, too, that we “ought always to pray and not lose heart.”
Luke 18:1 Amplified Bible
Parables on Prayer
18 Now Jesus was telling the disciples a parable to make the point that at all times they ought to pray and not give up and lose heart,
We are not to close prayer down for a while if we don’t feel like it or have little spare time for a season.
If we want to live for Jesus, minister in His name, participate in His Kingdom work even when we are under pressure, our prayer lives must be consistent.
We must come to regard prayer as a fundamental element of our faith, not merely a nice supplement.
The door is wide open for you to demonstrate the same kind of consistent commitment to prayer as Daniel did.
Through regular discipline, prayer can become your natural reaction to every situation in your life.
Be it still resolved, do you still need to set aside a time each day when you will pray and give thanks to your God, come what may?
Wherever God takes us, whatever we do, however His plan unfolds, may our prayers be unceasing.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
God of truth, sometimes I not sure if I’m actually hearing your voice, or if it’s just my own thoughts or even another spirit. Sharpen my spiritual hearing, Lord, so I can recognize your words when you are speaking to me. Help me know it’s really you, with no doubt or second-guessing. When I’m asking for your guidance in important decisions, give me your peace that surpasses understanding with your answer. Help me remember that your words to me will never go against your written word in the Bible. Give me a clear mind and push out all my confusion. God, help us to practice finding you, help us to discipline our life, may our day begin and end with you. Amen.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 