Daniel 6:10 - Commitment To Pray.
Daniel 6:10 (NKJV) Now when Daniel knew that
the writing was signed, he went home. And in his
upper room, with his windows open toward
Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that
day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God,
as was his custom since early days.
Daniel 6:10 (NIV) Now when Daniel learned
that the decree had been published, he went home
to his upstairs room where the windows opened
toward 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 (NLT) But when Daniel learned
that the law had been signed, he went home and
knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its
windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times
a day, just as he had always done, giving
thanks to his God.
Daniel 6:10 (MSG) 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.
INTRODUCTORY PEARL
The more I think of and pray about the
religious situation in our country, the deeper my
conviction becomes that Christians do not realize that
the aim of conversion is to bring them into
daily fellowship with the Father in heaven.
For the believer, taking time each day
with God's Word and in prayer is indispensable.
Each day we need to wait upon God for His
presence and His love to be revealed.
It is not enough at conversion to accept
forgiveness of sins or even to surrender to God. That is
only a beginning. We must understand that we have
no power on our own to maintain our spiritual
life. We need to receive daily new grace from
heaven through fellowship with the Lord Jesus. This
cannot be obtained by a hasty prayer or a
superficial reading of a few verses from God's Word. We
must take time to come into God's presence, to
feel our weakness and our need, and to wait on
God through His Holy Spirit to renew our
fellowship with Him. Then we may expect to be kept by
the power of Christ throughout the day.
It is my aim to help Christians to see
the absolute necessity of spending time with the
Lord Jesus. Without this, the joy and power of
God's Holy Spirit in daily life cannot be
experienced. [Andrew Murray 365-Day Devotional Bible]
INTRODUCTION
Daniel stood alone. Although he knew about
the law against praying to anyone except the
king, he continued to pray three times a day as he
always had. Daniel had a disciplined prayer life.
Our prayers are usually interrupted, not by
threats, but simply by the pressure of our schedules.
Don't let threats or pressures cut into your
prayer time. Pray regularly, no matter what, for
prayer is your lifeline to God. [Life Application
SB]
Throughout the Bible and history since then,
people of God are people of prayer. In the space of
two verses, Daniel gives us a model for talking
with God. Daniel prayed regularly, apparently at
least three times a day. Like most believers, he
probably carried on an ongoing conversation with God
at other times, but he had set aside a specific
time and place to devote to prayer every day. His
prayers included giving thanks as well as asking for
help in his circumstances. This time of
conversation with God was clearly more important to him
than a kings decrees - or the painful
consequences of ignoring those decrees. Prayer is a vital
connection with the one who gives us life. [NIV Once A
Day Bible]
COMMENTARY
Christs followers today should guard
against the tendency to lose the spirit of reverence
and godly fear. The Scriptures teach men how
they should approach their Maker"with humility
and awe, through faith in a divine Mediator. The
psalmist has declared:
The Lord is a great God,
And a great King above all gods.
O come, let us worship and bow down:
Let us kneel before the Lord our
Maker.
Psalm 95:3"6.
Both in public and in private worship it
is our privilege to bow on our knees before God
when we offer our petitions to Him. Jesus, our
example, kneeled down, and prayed. Luke 22:41.
Of His disciples it is recorded that they, too,
kneeled down, and prayed. Acts 9:40. Paul
declared, I bow my knees unto the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 3:14. In
confessing before God the sins of Israel, Ezra knelt.
See Ezra 9:5. Daniel kneeled upon his knees
three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks
before his God. Daniel 6:10. PK47-48
Short-term commitment is not too hard. It
is disciplined consistency that comes harder to
us - yet it is a key to 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 have probably
encountered people who are incredibly consistent and
disciplined. 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
complete it.
Daniel was a man who exhibited such
disciplined consistency when it came to prayer. 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 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 god or man other than him for thirty
days (Daniel 6:7), Daniel could have rationalized
obedience to it, 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 link between Daniel's
life of prayer and the bravery he showed in
obeying the God of Israel rather than 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). 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 when we're under pressure, our prayer
lives must be consistent. We must 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. Do you 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. [Truth for Life by
Alistair Begg]
CLOSING PEARL
The more I think of and pray about the
religious situation in our country, the deeper my
conviction becomes that Christians do not realize that
the aim of conversion is to bring them into
daily fellowship with the Father in heaven.
For the believer, taking time each day
with God's Word and in prayer is indispensable.
Each day we need to wait upon God for His
presence and His love to be revealed.
It is not enough at conversion to accept
forgiveness of sins or even to surrender to God. That is
only a beginning. We must understand that we have
no power on our own to maintain our spiritual
life. We need to receive daily new grace from
heaven through fellowship with the Lord Jesus. This
cannot be obtained by a hasty prayer or a
superficial reading of a few verses from God's Word. We
must take time to come into God's presence, to
feel our weakness and our need, and to wait on
God through His Holy Spirit to renew our
fellowship with Him. Then we may expect to be kept by
the power of Christ throughout the day.
It is my aim to help Christians to see
the absolute necessity of spending time with the
Lord Jesus. Without this, the joy and power of
God's Holy Spirit in daily life cannot be
experienced. [Andrew Murray 365-Day Devotional Bible]
REPEATED FOR EMPHASIS
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TOPIC
1 Thessalonians 5:17 - Pray Without Ceasing.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210628-0909.html
Luke 18:1 - Always Pray and Never Give Up.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210814-1032.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible Study
Guides:
https://www.voiceofprophecy.com/study/discover
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug
Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE
