INTEGRITY IS DEVOTED TO PRAYER . . . “Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house ( n his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); & he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying & giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. Then these men came by agreement & found Daniel making petition & supplication before his God.” - Daniel 6:10-11 There is a direct link between prayer & integrity. It is no coincidence that those whom God uses most effectively are those who are most fervent in prayer. David, for example, called upon the Lord in the morning, at noon, & at night, & the Lord heard his prayers (Ps. 55:17). Daniel followed the same pattern, praying three times a day from his roof chamber, where he could look out above the rooftops of Babylon toward Jerusalem. Houses in Babylon often had latticework over their windows to allow ventilation, & Daniel would be visible through that latticework as he faced Jerusalem, prayed for its restoration, & gave thanks to God. He knew that Darius had issued a decree making it illegal to pray & that violating the decree would give his enemies opportunity to accuse him, but he would not forsake prayer or compromise his convictions. He would continue to call upon the Lord & leave any consequences to Him. That was a bold decision for Daniel to make, especially in light of the punishment he would face. Would we be as bold if we knew that our prayers would lead to persecution & possible death? Perhaps more important, are we that committed to prayer even when we aren’t facing persecution? The seriousness of the spiritual battles we face requires faithfulness in prayer. That’s why Paul said, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2).
Posted on: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 10:29:03 +0000
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