How to develop a habit of prayer in our life? IV
Greetings to you all, my dear readers, and welcome to our column “Daily Word for Spiritual Strength!” I pray to the Lord for each of you, so that you are always thirsty for the Word of God, His wisdom, and fellowship with Him, since He is the source of life.
Jesus said:
“ … for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
Prayer unites us with our Heavenly Father, helps us to know the depth of His heart, His love, and His plans for our life.
Do you remember Daniel? He was a man of God, similar to David, one whose attitude to prayer and fellowship with God was very serious. In Daniel 6:10 we read:
«When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his chamber toward Jerusalem) and he bowed down on his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before».
We know this story. There was a law recently adopted at that time that, for thirty days, nobody was allowed to pray to any god. The law had been signed by the king, so every person who broke that law could receive a harsh punishment. Even before the law was adopted Daniel had already formed a habit of praying three times a day. Therefore, to stop doing what he had been doing daily for a long time was extremely difficult for him. It was a very useful habit, indeed.
Does any of you have such a habit? You´ve been told to stop, but you continue just because it´s your habit. Daniel had the habit of praying to God three times a day. Whatever the circumstances, he just kept doing it. Neither David nor Daniel ever made an excuse like: “ I stopped practicing prayer because of my many problems, my unpleasant circumstances and severe rules of this country, I am going through a very difficult time now”. Surely they didn´t say that. Why? Because prayer had become their habit, a part of their life.
Remember, your character is the sum total of your habits. Your behavior is a composition of a set of habits. Having prayer as your natural reaction to every little thing in your life, you will pray even when you are forbidden to do so. In such case you simply can´t prevent yourself from doing that. Some Christians bless food each time they have a meal at home, but abstain from doing so outside their home when they are with other respectable people. What does this tell us about them? Such behaviour is a hint to us that praying over their food has not become a habit to them. Habit is something you can´t stop doing. Habit manifests as your natural reaction everywhere – at a party, in a restaurant, in a business meeting. Once praying has become your habit you practice it everywhere, regardless of the people around you and of what they think about it. As we have noticed, David and Daniel both had such a habit; they found the time for it on a daily basis.
According to the culture of the Jewish people, by the time when Jesus came to the Earth they all had formed the habit of praying three times a day. Even though many people, especially Pharisees, turned their prayers into a mere religious ritual, it became a routine for them by that time. That´s why Jesus reprimanded them for such an approach, while teaching the others not to follow the Pharisees’ deeds. Pharisees had a rule of fasting two times a week and a rule of praying three times a day, but those rules were not written in their hearts, nor did they do that with love for God. Once again I want to remind you that praying without love for our Creator is not prayer at all; it is rather a formal and dead ritual that produces no changes in your life. Prayer is a love relationship between man and God
«If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal..» (1 Cor.13:1).
May the Lord bless you today!
See you tomorrow!
Rufus Ajiboye, pastor
