Prayer of Consistency

We must draw courage from a well of consistency in prayer.

Daniel's life was not easy, steady, or consistent. He had disruption, serving different kings. But what did remain consistent was his rhythm of prayer. That rhythm allowed him to face the lion’s den and established his confidence and identity in Yahweh which remained firm no matter what happened around him.

After listing the prayer practices he had put in place, Tim Keller said,

“The changes took some time to bear fruit, but after sustaining these practices for about two years, I began to have some breakthroughs. Despite ups and downs since then, I have found new sweetness in Christ and new bitterness too, because I could now see my heart more clearly in the new light of vital prayer. In other words, there were more restful experiences of love as well as more wrestling to see God triumph over evil, both in my own heart and in the world. These two experiences of prayer we discussed in the introduction grew together like twin trees. I now believe that is how it should be. One stimulates the other.” - Prayer, page. 17.

We have now learned that we need to find a consistent rhythm, and there are a couple more things we need to look at to help make our prayer consistent.

Find a place.

The place where you pray will significantly impact how you pray, and how intimately you can focus on God. Daniel and Jesus both had a place where they would pray and both were very different places. Daniel prayed in the upper chamber of his house, while Jesus often withdrew to “lonely places” and “wilderness” to pray (Luke 5:16, Matthew 14:23). Both are starkly different environments. Yet, both are with minimal distraction, and alone.

Jesus taught his disciples to go away by themselves when they prayed (Matthew 6:6). Imagine trying to have intimate prayer time on the train or during soccer training. Focus and isolation are two essential criteria for finding your best place of prayer.

Find a time.

Scripture speaks about praying at all times of the day. Most notably, scripture talks about devotional prayer being in the morning and evening, which builds a foundation for other prayer throughout the day. This helps us to begin and end our day with God in reflection, thankfulness, and repentance. Psalm 5:3 and 63:6 both speak of different times of prayer, one in the morning and one at night. Whatever works best for you. The most important thing is that we can carve out a time that we can commit to. No matter what time of day, communion with God deserves to be top priority in our lives.

Prayer for today

Lord, I ask that you again help me to find the right place and time to pray. So that I can spend time with you that allows me to not be distracted or rushed.