The Daniel Differenceনমুনা

Daniel's Prayer Schedule

Yesterday we learned that Daniel was a pray-er. He did not let his circumstances distract or deter him. In fact, his circumstances drove him to his knees. Today let's examine something even more noteworthy and unusual: Daniel had a prayer schedule.

Read Daniel 6:1-11.

Please don't miss the part in verse 10 where it says, "Three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before."

In God's law, given to the Israelite nation, there are many requirements, such as the offering of specific sacrifices, the observation of festivals, and instructions for holy living. But there are no requirements to pray three times a day. There is not another clear example that any other Biblical figure prayed three times a day – not Samuel or David or Isaiah – no one. That doesn't mean they didn't pray. It does mean that there was no law requiring prayer three times a day. Daniel made a personal decision to pray three times a day. Perhaps he felt called by God to follow this schedule, or maybe he felt scheduled prayer was necessary to keep his focus on God. 

The phrase "just as he had done before" makes it clear that this was a long-established habit for Daniel, a habit he was so open about that many people knew exactly where to find him at exactly what time. It was such a priority that he was not about to abandon the habit even for a king's decree! This had become a regular and necessary part of Daniel's day, and nothing and no one was going to get between him and his time with God.

In the next few days we are going to look at some of the ways that Daniel was blessed by God. It's clear that some of those blessings came directly through prayer. Daniel took seriously the commands to "love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, and remain faithful to Him" (Deut. 11:22). Daniel knew that he could not leave such an important priority to chance or circumstances or feelings. He made a decision to build his schedule around his times of prayer because he knew that if he didn't, those times quite possibly wouldn't happen – and that wasn't an option for him.

Should it be an option for you and me? Is it OK for our prayer times to get lost in the shuffle of our busy days, or is it time for us to make a decision like Daniel's?

Listen to one young man’s testimony of the importance of scheduled prayer: 

https://youtu.be/B7i3B8OBAcU