IN DAILY DEVOTION - ON JANUARY 20, 2020 - NO COMMENTS
THE PRAYER HABIT
Scripture Reading: Daniel 6:5-28
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. - Daniel 6:10
A habit is a regular practice or an established pattern of behaviour. When you have a habit, you keep on doing it and struggle to stop it. We are not born with habits. We pick them up along the line and do them repeatedly. 90% of what we do everyday is habitual. They are literally spontaneous and we therefore act without thinking. There are good and bad habits. Good habits are things we do routinely that enable us to live productive lives. Negative Habits are things we find ourselves doing even though they diminish or destroy us.
Daniel had a prayer habit. It was a non-negotiable daily routine everyone knew about. As he kept getting promoted, his enemies sought a way to bring him down. They eventually concluded that the only way was to attack his prayer life. They, therefore, tricked King Darius into signing a law making prayer to any god or man, apart from the king, illegal for 30 days. Daniel was unmoved. Our habits often inform our responses to challenges that confront us. When the decree was announced, Daniel went home, opened his windows and prayed thrice a day as he had always done. He wasn't about to compromise on his prayer habit because of their threats.
Daniel was subsequently arrested and thrown into the lion's den. What, was meant to be a death sentence was reversed because Daniel survived untouched. The prayer habit that landed Daniel in trouble was the same one that preserved him. Your habits will determine the outcome on your life.
Prayer: Father, help me to cultivate good habits that will enrich the quality
my life.
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