It is impossible to live a holy life without spending much time on your knees, seeking God for the power and authority to lead such a life. We see this in Daniel’s life, as well as God’s response to such a seeker.

When Daniel and his three friends were taken captive along with thousands of their countrymen, what they saw when they first arrived in Babylon must have shocked them beyond belief. It was a society so loose, immoral and full of idolatry that these four men’s spiritual sensibilities were assailed.

The church as we know it today began with repentance. When Peter preached the cross at Pentecost, thousands came to Christ. This new church was made up of one body, consisting of all races, filled with love for one another. Its corporate life was marked by evangelism, a spirit of sacrifice and even martyrdom.

Jesus stood in the temple and cried out, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37, NKJV). As I read this, a question arises: In the New Testament, would God cast off a person who rejected his offers of grace, mercy and awakening?

We are living in a time of the greatest gospel revelation in history. There are more preachers, books and gospel-media than ever. Yet there has also never been more distress, affliction and troubled minds among God’s people. Pastors today design their sermons just to pick people up and help them deal with despair.

Over and over, the Psalmist asks, “Why is my soul cast down? I feel useless and forsaken. There’s such a restlessness inside me. Why, Lord? Why do I feel so helpless in my affliction?” (See Psalm 42:11 and Psalm 43:5.) These questions speak for multitudes who have loved and served God.

Sometimes the moments of our lives that seem like they should be our brightest can bring us the greatest tribulation and testing trials. Faith, especially at these times, is very demanding. It demands that once we hear God’s Word, we obey it. It doesn’t matter how big our obstacles may be, how impossible our circumstances. We’re to believe God’s Word and act on it. The Lord says, “My promise is all you need.”

When God says to humankind, “Believe,” he demands something that’s wholly beyond reason. Faith is totally illogical. Its very definition has to do with something unreasonable. Scripture tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1, NKJV). We’re being told in short, “There is no tangible substance, no visible evidence.” Despite this, we’re asked to believe.

In the last days, the church of Jesus Christ will be more glorious and victorious than in its entire history. The Lord’s true body isn’t going to weaken and sputter. No, his church will go out in a blaze of power and glory, and it will enjoy the fullest revelation of Jesus that anyone has ever known.

I don’t think any of us can comprehend the great conflict raging right now in the spiritual realm. Nor do we realize how determined Satan is to destroy all believers who have fixed their hungering hearts firmly on Christ.

In our Christian walk, the moment we cross that line into a life of obedience to God’s Word and dependence on Jesus alone, we become a threat to the kingdom of darkness and a prime target of demonic principalities and powers. The testimony of every believer who turns to the Lord with all his heart includes the sudden onslaught of strange and intense troubles.