Prayer Life Lessons

At the very beginning of the book of Daniel, we see that Daniel started small. He set himself apart from the rest of the unbelieving culture around him by his food choices. By the time we got to the second chapter, we know that Daniel had faced his first major test in Babylon, and passed. Did he have a powerful, dynamic prayer life before the test? The Scriptures do not tell us, but we know for sure that he had one by end of the first test!

For me, every trial and test that I passed with the help of God only served to cement the importance of a living relationship with God into my mind. I can get busy, distracted or even rebellious, but sooner or later I will return to seriously worshipping God, praying to him and seeking him in his Word. This was probably the case with Daniel. After he cleared the first major test he probably realized that he needed to walk close with the LORD in order to survive and thrive in Babylon.

Daniel 6:3 (ESV) - Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

By this time Daniel was no longer merely the royal dream interpreter or the head of the astrology and sorcery department of the Babylonian civil service (the thought of that always tickles me, though I am sure Daniel and the magicians of Babylon did not find it funny). He was actively involved with the day-to-day running of the Persian Empire. And he performed his duties faithfully AND flawlessly (Daniel 6:4).

So his foes sought to make praying illegal, just for the sake of catching Daniel out. Sometimes, I wonder how many other schemes and plots they tried before they figured out that Daniel was only vulnerable through his prayer life. Did they try to tempt him with illicit gain? Did they try to catch him showing partiality to special interest groups? Did they call for audits on his accounts to uncover misuse of government funds? Whatever else they did, nothing worked.

Since I have a lot less responsibilities than Daniel did, that was something for me to really think about!

So the decree was passed. Daniel had just received the news that he could be jailed for his prayer life. What did he do?

Daniel 6:10 – (ESV) … he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

That verse, with core Hebrew words put in, looks like this:

… He kneeled (b^erak, Strongs’s H#1289 to kneel or to bless) upon his knees three times a day, and prayed (ts^elâ', Strong’s H#6739, to bow down), and gave thanks (y^edâ', Strong’s #3029, to throw up the hands) before his God…

So even at Daniel’s advanced age, prayer was a physical activity. He kneeled, he bowed down and he raised his hands to the LORD. He kept to a private place, yes, but if you ever watched him there you will know for sure he was praying.

Daniel 6:11 – Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying (b^e‛â'  b^e‛âh, Strong’s H#1156, to swell, to gush over, to desire) and making supplication (chănan, Strong’s H#2604, to move to favour via petition, to implore a benefactor to bend over to show favour) before his God.

If the earlier verse didn’t convince you of the intensity of Daniel’s prayer life, this one certainly would. He was literally gushing over to God. He was also imploring, beseeching, earnestly begging that God be gracious (show favour) to him. No timid requests from Daniel, he prayed as if his life depended on it.

And later on we would see that it did!

Another point – When speaking to Daniel, King Darius referred to the LORD as “Your God, whom you serve continually…” The word “serve” in both vs 16 and vs 20 is p^elach, which can also be translated as “worship”. Bear in mind, Daniel was not a priest serving at the Temple of Solomon, he was a full-time civil servant involved with the running of a massive empire. He spent the bulk of his time on secular matters. But consistent, intense prayer three times a day caused King Darius to see Daniel’s prayer life as a life of continual worship and service to God.

Would he say the same of OUR prayer lives?

Conclusion:

There is so much for us to learn from Daniel’s prayer life. We can learn from it

1)      Consistency, even in the midst of a busy and productive secular job;

2)      Frequency, three times a day;

3)      Expressiveness; you can see from even his physical posture he was praying;

4)      Variety, he would engage in worship, thanksgiving and supplication; and

5)      Intensity, imploring, beseeching and pleading for God to be gracious.

More importantly, for those of us holding full-time jobs in the secular world, we can see here what it takes to live a life of continually serving and worshipping God. Praying like Daniel will be a challenge for some of us but it can be done. And I believe even trying for it will cause us to walk closer to God.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s get praying!