just as before

Daniel 7:10: “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.”

There once was a man trying to live out his faith in a culture that didn’t honor God. Recognizing that his God would be judged by his actions, he committed himself to being excellent in everything.

Soon, he advanced in his career, and made his non-Christian peers jealous.So they got a law passed that outlawed praying to God, thinking that would trap this man. And they lurked outside his window, waiting. Fully committed to his God, the man went home and continued his daily habits.

Time passed, and nothing happened. You see, this man wasn’t Daniel. For all his devotion to God, he’d fallen out of the habit of prayer. By the time he actually prayed again, the plotters had grown tired of watching him and gone away, so they didn’t see it.

I wonder how many members of my church pray daily? I know it’s a struggle for me, and I’d bet I’m not alone. This story of Daniel challenges me with a twist on the old “if you were on trial for being a Christian” question. If I had people plotting to catch me at prayer, how hard would it be?