A Devotional About Prayer

When we come to Christ and follow Him, one of the many things we learn is that this world is not our home (Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,). Here on Earth, we see decay, death, pain, and hurt, and they remind us that this is not our true home. Our real home is in heaven, where Christ is. That is why we strive to be the salt and light in this world, making it a better place by preaching the Gospel and being life-giving in so many ways. We look forward to the future glory where the new heaven and earth will become one—a place where we will be in physical fellowship with Christ for eternity, far surpassing any present sufferings (Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17).

That is why the Bible teaches us that we are sojourners and exiles on this earth (1 Peter 2:11, ESV). There is a parallelism between when the Israelites were exiled from Israel and our status as sojourners as Christians right now. Just as the Israelites longed to return to their real home, we Christians also long to be in our real home with Christ. As sojourners or exiles on this earth, we are to bear God’s image to others (2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.), glorify Him to others (1 Corinthians 10:31), preach Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), and live in holiness by being set apart and different from this world (1 Peter 1:15–16). In all that we do, we should also be faithful to God.

 

We can look to Daniel and his friends for a good example to follow. They were taken from their homeland to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar’s order, as they were excellent and competent men whom he intended to train and groom to serve in his court (Daniel 1:1–7).

We see that in the duration of Daniel’s life in Babylon, he resolved to walk in faithfulness before the Lord (Daniel 3:16–18; Daniel 6:4). Daniel 3:16–18 tells of how Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were even thrown in the fiery furnace for refusing to worship other gods or idols. Daniel and his group’s dedication to God while they were in Babylon is a shining example of faithfulness.

Daniel was also faithful to God in terms of his prayer life. It was part of Daniel’s routine to pray three times a day out of his reverence and worship to Him (Daniel 6:10). Daniel was so loyal to God and his prayer life towards God that he was even willing to break King Darius’ decree that prohibited praying to any god or man except him for thirty days. Daniel was thrown into the den of lions for continuing to pray to God, but the Lord later rescued him (Daniel 6:22  My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”).

We can emulate Daniel’s dedication, striving to be steadfast in prayer because we want to live faithfully before the Lord. Every Christian desires to honor the Lord, love Him, glorify Him, and be loyal to Him. Like Daniel, who was far away from home, we are also far away. As mentioned before, our real citizenship is in heaven. As we live our ephemeral lives here on earth, like Daniel living temporarily in Babylon, we are to be faithful to God.

As we remain devoted to our convictions and strive to be faithful to God in prayer, such resolve can be applied in many ways. This could look like making time for prayer and sticking to it despite your busyness. It could also mean being committed to your prayer life, no matter how many people ridicule you. As Christians, we do all this because we want to be good and faithful servants of the Lord (Matthew 25:21).

Father in heaven, give me the grace to be faithful to you like Daniel was. Give me the strength, resolve, and grace to be committed and disciplined in my prayer time with You, no matter the obstacles or circumstances. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Just like Daniel, if we want to be faithful to God in every aspect of our lives, including prayer, we must resolve ourselves (Daniel 1:8, ESV). Being committed to God is an unwavering commitment that we make and stick to even when things get tough. The good news is that as we live our Christian lives and seek to live in faithfulness before the Lord, the Holy Spirit helps us (Galatians 5:16). We do it through Christ, who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.).

Application Question:
What are some steps I can take to make sure I can be consistent with my prayer life?