DANIEL 6:10 – When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.
THEME OF THE DAY. BUILDING A LASTING SPIRITUAL LEGACY. All Christians want to leave a rich spiritual legacy to their families, friends, churches, neighborhoods, and communities. We want to be known first and foremost as those who lived for and represented well our Lord Jesus. It is an intense desire God places in His children that causes them to pray like the Apostle Paul – As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:20-21). Yet, desire and prayer alone will not build this legacy. We are called to turn desire to discipline, prayer into godly pursuit. Granted, we cannot do anything spiritual on our own nor make one step forward in building a lasting spiritual legacy. This means any progress must begin with believing and embracing these words of the Lord Jesus – I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5). Once we realize our total spiritual inadequacy, we, ironically, can lean on God’s sufficiency and build a lasting spiritual legacy. And when it comes to an example to model, the godly Daniel in today’s scripture is an excellent one. From his life, we may establish three things necessary for building a lasting spiritual legacy.
First, Daniel lived life by what we may call “God-aware humility” – He got down on his knees three times a day. He shows us all spiritual growth rests on two foundations – living in the awareness of God’s constant presence and its result – humility. He acknowledges who his God is and his relationship to him which produces humility. This is evidenced by his praying posture – on his knees. Now do not think we always have to be literally on our knees in prayer to show reverence to our God, but we should be spiritually. It reveals humility.
Next, we observe Daniel’s consistency in prayer – He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed. Prayer is the most important thing we do in the Christian life. It is the chief means of communing with the Lord and displays not only our desire for His presence but our dependency upon Him. And a consistent prayer life is the chief means of keeping us from sin that would hinder our legacy.
Finally, Daniel stuck with it – He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. Pay attention to the words “as he had done previously.” The key to building a life-long, lasting spiritual legacy is doing so one day at a time. Commit to daily consistency of walking with the Lord in prayer, His Word, and obedience and He will honor the commitment; an honor that will build a lasting spiritual legacy.
PRAYER: “Father, help me build a lasting spiritual legacy one day at a time.”
QUOTE: “Be a Daniel, daily seeking His God which leads to a life living for God.”