#1372. A practice of prayer (24/10/25)
- Matt Beaney
- Oct 24
- 4 min read
This week, through this week of prayer, we’re taking a short break from Ephesians to think about The Power of Prayer.
Recently, we looked at how Daniel prayed — and today, we revisit his very helpful example.
You can listen to this devotional below
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. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”’ (Daniel 6:10-12)
1. Daniel obeyed God over everything else
We read that “Daniel learned that the decree had been published…” (Daniel 6:10).He discovered that it was now illegal to pray!
In places like North Korea today, prayer is still considered a political crime — yet the underground church continues to gather and pray in secret. A few years ago, when I visited Yemen, it was illegal to convert to Christianity, and yet people still come to faith and meet quietly to pray.
Daniel knew that his devotion could cost him everything. He faced the real threat of death in the lions’ den, yet he refused to give up his fellowship with God. For Daniel, communion with God mattered more than comfort, safety, reputation, or position.
Many of us struggle to pray even without such pressures.
Daniel’s example challenges us to ask: How much do we value prayer? Is it something we protect and prioritise, or something we neglect when it’s inconvenient?
2. Daniel’s manner of prayer
If we are going to be faithful in prayer, we need a practice. We need a time, a place, and a method that we work with and work on. Of course, we are to pray throughout the day — but, like Jesus and like Daniel, we also need time in the ‘secret place.’ You need a plan. D. A. Carson wisely wrote:
Much praying is not done because we do not plan to pray. We do not drift into spiritual life; we do not drift into disciplined prayer. We will not grow in prayer unless we plan to pray. That means we must self-consciously set aside time to do nothing but pray. (D. A. Carson, A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Baker, 1992)
Find a place
John Mark Comer, in his book on spiritual formation, Practicing the Way, wrote:
‘Find your secret place. Go there as often as you can. Prioritise it. Fall in love with it, with God. Without quiet prayer, your life with God will wither; with it, you will come alive to the greatest joy of life: a familiar friendship to Jesus.’ (John Mark Comer. Practicing the Way)
Like Daniel going to his ‘upstairs room’ where do you go to pray?
Find a time
Daniel’s prayer life was intentional and disciplined — he prayed three times a day.It helps to create a rhythm of prayer: daily, weekly, and even seasonal times that anchor us in God’s presence.
It’s especially important to set aside time in the morning, to align our hearts and be filled with the Spirit before we face the day. David practiced this rhythm:
’In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.’ (Psalm 5:3)
Find a practice
As well as a place and time, it’s important to have a practice - a chosen approach that you will use and review. So, we read that Daniel:
‘Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God… praying and asking God for help.’ (Daniel 6:10–11)
Some practical helps:
Adopt a posture that helps. Kneeling can be good — though not everyone finds it comfortable.
Include praise and petitions. Beginning with worship is indispensable.
Pray with Scripture. Use the Bible to shape your prayers — let it give you words of praise, confession, and petition.
Of Daniel, we read:
‘…I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.’ (Daniel 9:2-3)
Response
Daniel sets us a beautiful example:Despite great pressures, he knelt down, gave thanks, and asked God for help.
So:
What is your plan for prayer?
What is your practice?
Like Daniel, in the pressures of life, may we learn to find peace, strength, and help from God in prayer.
Focus of prayer for today
This week, at CCP, is a week of prayer, today, our focus for prayer:
Seek God and, maybe, write down how you intend to practice prayer each day.
Select a portion of the Bible and pray from it - beginning with praise and then moving on to petitions.
Daniel was in an influential role in Babylon - pray for your places of work and influence and for the government.
Pray for people and places where serving Jesus is a challenge.
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