Committed or complacent?

Daniel 6.1-28

This note was originally published on Tuesday 9 April 2019.

Three times a day Daniel got down on his knees and prayed ...

Prepare

Make a list of the five most important things you think Christians should do to be faithful and grow as disciples of Jesus. How much of yourself do you put into each of these?

Read

Daniel 6.1-28

Explore

Like Joseph in Genesis, Daniel was a model of good leadership (v 4), a blessing to his pagan masters, and promoted to the very top (v 3).

The other satraps hated Daniel. It may have been anti-Semitism, general xenophobia (he was an immigrant after all), or simply petty jealousy – is their attitude to Daniel something you ever recognise in yourself?

Whether by coincidence or design, Daniel’s windows opened towards Jerusalem, and there he prayed three times a day (v 10). I find this verse the most challenging of the whole book.

Were we in Daniel’s shoes, could we be trapped through our faithful prayer life? Or are we complacent, rather than committed in prayer? Distracted from, rather than disciplined in prayer? Fitting prayer around our life, rather than our life around prayer?

As with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the real miracle here isn’t Daniel’s deliverance from the lions’ den, but his obedience, his faithful prayer, despite the pressure and temptation to stop. It’s so easy to give up, to allow prayer to fall down our list of priorities. But we mustn’t let that happen.

Respond

What might it look like for you to be as faithful in prayer as Daniel? You’ll never find the time unless you make the time.