I have been thinking about Daniel and how much we can learn from him, from his undivided life, his character, the way he stood firmly on his convictions on the face of frightful threads (by a tyrant government), and also about how great example of a praying life he set before us.
And that brought me to consider that it was precisely his prayer life, his devotion to God that, in a way, was the cause that led him to the lions’ den.
Think about it for a minute. Daniel had a fervent prayer life, even with fixed times to pray through the day before he was thrown into the lions’ den. Daniel didn’t start seeing the need to have a solid prayer life when he was about to be thrown into the lions’ den, no, he already was a man of prayer. And his strong prayer life didn’t spare him from that horrible trial, but prepared him for it. Because Daniel was a man of prayer, he knew that God hears the cries of His people even in the midst the most horrible and frightful circumstances. Because Daniel was a man of prayer, he knew what to do when the lions were roaming around ready to devour him and so he prayed.
Sisters, let’s strive to become women who pray, women who know how to pray on our knees with thanksgiving not only when the trials come, but even before the “big” trials come. Being in the Word and persevering in fervent in prayer are necessary to prepare us for the next trial, the next temptation we´ll face, and the next deliverance we’ll see. Let us strive to become women who pray at all times.
Like Daniel, the only way to live without fretting over the evildoers and the apparent victories they have over the righteous is to live by faith, with our eyes fixed on God’s promises and on His commandments and praying with our hearts and Bibles open.
It is true that the lie of a “perfect quiet time” has kept many away from the Word and the prayer closet for years, but let us remember that there is always another side we want to avoid, and that is being too casual about our relationship with the Lord. Always running around and never setting apart time to pray and meditate on the Word.
In the 1800’s James Alexander wrote to his younger brother a letter about the importance of having the habit of prayer; he wrote: “There is a great advantage in having a set time for secret prayer. You have often heard it said, that what is left to be done at any time, is commonly done at no time. This is true. If you rise in the morning, and put off your devotions until you feel more in the spirit for them, it is likely that you will be less and less in the right temper. When you become hurried with your studies, your work, or your play—you will be less disposed to pray than when you first arose. Besides, if you have a fixed hour for your private devotions, whenever the hour comes, you will be put in mind of your duty. You know that in a family where the meals are served up at regular hours, everyone is reminded of breakfast or dinner whenever the hour arrives.”
We don’t want to waste our trials, friends. Who can afford doing that? This is not a time to be spiritually slothful, it is a time to get on our knees (literally) and become women of prayer., women of the Word, women who in the face of hard Providences know where to run for help. We want to be women who seek God in prayer, who abound in thanksgiving, and read the Word to know God and His ways.
Let us learn from Daniel and pray to God wherever God has us today.
J.C. Ryle wrote, “Fear not because you sometimes walk in darkness and have no light. Remember that you cannot understand the mind of the Lord, nor the meaning of His dealings. But when the clouds compass you about, believe in God as Daniel did; trust in the Lord Jesus at all times; sing to Him in the dungeon, as Paul and Silas; sing to Him even in the fire, as the three Hebrew children did; be sure, be very sure, he who believes shall never be ashamed.”
Under His sun and by His grace,
Becky P.
The phrase “but God” in the Scriptures is always the preamble to a life changing situation. The most important is found in Ephesians 2. We all, by nature, have no hope. We are born children of wrath, deserving hell, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…” (2:4-5). Because of that “But God” we can be reconciled with God. We can be made children of God and can come boldly to the throne of Grace to find mercy and help in time of need. Amazing grace!
“Dear reader, in the time of your trouble, do not roam; do not send out your sighs into vacancy; do not let your thoughts wander, as though they were looking for some one on whom to fix; for some one to whom you could tell the story of your heart’s need, and desolation. Fix your heart, as the Psalmist did, and say, ‘Unto Thee will I cry.'”
Here is a very simple, but important distinction that might change your life.
Daily On My Way to Heaven 