By the time the godly prophet Daniel reached eighty years of age, he had outlived two Babylonian kings, Nebuchadnezzar and his son Belshazzar, and then served under King Darius. Daniel had always been a praying man and he had no thoughts of slowing down in his old age.
King Darius had promoted Daniel to the highest office in the land, putting him in charge of forming government policy and teaching all the court appointees and intellectuals: “Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm” (Daniel 6:3).
Obviously, Daniel was one busy prophet. But nothing could take this man of God away from his times of prayer. Three times a day, he stole away from all his obligations, burdens and demands as a leader to spend time with the Lord.
Daniel is an example to us of how important it is to have praying leaders. Remember, he had been appointed over every other leader in the land. Consider the immense effort it took for Daniel to devote himself to prayer. After all, he lived in the New York City of his time — great, majestic, wealthy Babylon. And he lived in a time of spiritual apathy — of drunkenness, pleasure-seeking and greed among God’s people.
Prayer does not come naturally to anyone, including Daniel. A disciplined prayer time is easy to start yet hard to maintain — both our flesh and the devil conspire against it. Prayer that is effectual comes from the faithful, diligent servant who sees his nation and the church falling deeper into sin and falls on his knees and cries out to God on their behalf. God strongly desires to bless his people but if our minds are polluted with the spirit of this world, we are in no position to receive his blessings.
Will you be a part of God’s praying people today? If so, cry out to him, “Oh, Lord, whatever it takes, keep me on my knees. I long to see your Spirit moving in the hearts of men and women!”