INTRODUCTION
Today we will study another of our favorite heroes of the Old Testament. One of the things that is true of every virtually hero story is that he or she has a secret hideout or lair to which they retreat. It is the place where they prepare, recover, train, etc. Think of Batman’s cave, Superman’s fortress of solitude, and on and on. It is a key to their strength because it is where they purpose in their hearts who they are.
That characteristic is ever so true of us as believers. We need a place of solitude where we do the same things: prepare, recover, train, heal, and grow. In this series, we have seen that every one of these Old Testament heroes had a personal experience with was key to their faith and therefore their faith.
Today we will look at Daniel as the next of five favorite heroes. God shows us an example of both the power of this time of solitude with Him and how to develop one for yourself.
Read Daniel 6.
I. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A PERSON WITH A QUALITY QUIET TIME
Chapter 6 highlights what we see throughout the book of Daniel – that he is an unusual man. Notice verse 3 that describes him as having “an excellent spirit in him.” A person who walks with God has just such a spirit. They have a spiritual nature that causes hem to be different. In John 15, Jesus described it this way, “Abide in Me and I in you, and you will bear much fruit.” If you are meeting alone with God regularly, then He is able to work on your mind and heart in such a way that it will change you and make you different. Abiding in Jesus by developing a personal relationship with him alone in private WILL change you.
Who you are in private is who you rally are. Any real inner strength you have is developed in your quiet time alone with God where he teaches you and grows you. It is clear that Daniel is such a man. Look a just a few of his character traits that result from being a man who prioritizes being alone with God.
First, he is a man of INTEGRITY. Verse 1-5 tell the story clearly. He is a governor and along with three others is responsible for auditing and managing the affairs of the government so there is no theft. He is so honest and effective that King Darius considers making him the ruler overall of the government affairs. He also has spiritual integrity. Verse 10 states clearly that he did not go and pray in ignorance of the law. It says “when Daniel knew that the writing had been signed” that he went and prayed. He made a choice of faith to be faithful to the Lord despite the consequences.
Second, he was INSULATED by God’s grace through his relationship with the Lord. When you walk with God and abide in Him, there is an incredible effect of His grace in your life that protects you in life. Note that Daniel still went through this and other struggles, but he did not fail and the worldliness did not affect him. He was victorious in the struggle. He did not lose his integrity. He was not destroyed by the jealous satraps. His influence was protected.
It is sometimes hard to explain and much easier to see. God just covers you in His grace and protects and guides in and out of life’s struggles. This effect is very real and noticeable in the life of a strong believer. Daniel has the insulating grace in his life and it can be yours and mine if we learn that it is a character trait of walking with God.
Thirdly, he was a man of INFLUENCE. His testimony was powerful. He impacted the King. In fact, this would be the fourth king that Daniel would serve. That was impossible in those days. No king would keep around someone loyal to another king. Yet Daniel’s influence was strong that he was placed consistently in places of authority. It was the result of his testimony.
In this event, God used him to influence the king and the entire country for Jesus. After Daniel is saved, King Darius decrees that “in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God…” (26)
In our American culture, we have lost our passion for a deep relationship with God. We are spending our time, energy, and resources running around doing everything else but spending time with God. That is why we are losing influence so profoundly in our culture. It is as simple as that. Our strength is being choked to death by the
wheat and tares” of materialism and worldliness. In our Baptist churches for example, we love the preaching of the Word of God but we do not have a personal love of the Word of God. It is more true now that when Spurgeon said it, “It is easier to find 10 men who will fight for the Bible than to find 1 who will read the Bible diligently.”
All of these things – integrity, insulation, influence- are the result of God’s work in the life of a believer while they are alone with Him. There is no substitute for this process. Let’s take a look now at Daniel’s life and so how he developed a quality time alone with the Lord.
II. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A QUALITY QUIET TIME REQUIRE IT TO BE DONE …
A. Habitually
In looking at Daniel, the Bible makes it clear that he was a man who prayed habitually. Review again verse 10. It begins by saying, “when Daniel knew that the writing was signed…” Daniel’s response to opposition was prayer. It then says “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.” This was a matter of habit and, therefore, character in his life.
Spiritual habits develop spiritual character. Those character traits that we have just discussed do not grow on trees and are not natural to people. They are developed by hours of work on your knees just as Daniel did. This habit was not a new thing or a short term thing. The Bible says clearly that this was his custom “since his early days.” He developed the habit of prayer. You can quickly review the first five chapters of Daniel and see this consistently throughout his life.
You must learn that your prayer life will always be inconsistent and limited in it s power to change lives – yours or anyone else’s – until it is a spiritual dynamo developed by spiritual habit. A habit which develops a character so strong that no one can take it away from you.
Daniel gives us a few examples here of habits which can help to develop a strong, consistent prayer life. These ideas are not commands nor are they doctrine. Instead I would view them as great suggestions from a proven prayer warrior. First, he set aside a place to pray. This can be a real aid to consistency. It helps establish a routine. A routine of this manner can help greatly in creating the habit. It can also help you focus, etc. You can prepare the place to be comfortable, uncluttered, and anything else that you need it to be in order to focus on the Lord Jesus. See how Daniel faced towards Jerusalem. There was nothing in the law about this. It helped Daniel to focus on the Lord God of Israel.
He also had a routine of kneeling and looking toward Jerusalem. There isn’t any deep meaning in this particular aspect. It was cultural then and there is not any doctrinal need to kneel or whatever when you pray. It is far more what is in your heart that matters. I believe God was more importantly here showing us a “how to.” He was illustrating how Daniel utilized a routine to help him focus. Let me give you an example. I have a routine o Sunday mornings. I set the coffee maker on a timer and get up at 6:00 am or so every Sunday morning. I have my Bible and my notes and arrange them a certain way. I pour my coffee and a bowl of raisin bran and set it a certain way. As I bless the breakfast and start to read, I can eat and read at the same time. The orderliness of it, especially in the morning like this, helps me to establish a connection with God.
I hope this example is helpful and doesn’t simply scare you. I am certain many of you are thinking, “I knew there was something strange about the pastor.” It would really frighten you to now that I even use a particular coffee cup on Sunday morning. The routine simply has a way of reducing mental and emotional clutter which allows me to focus on the Lord Jesus and nothing else.
Second, he did not just wail before God. He did no just hand wring before God about the evils of the society. He did not just go before God and fret about the law and what he would do. He was purposeful and focused in his approach to prayer. See how the Bible says that he prayed, he praised, and he made supplication. These are specific Bible words describing aspects of prayer. In verse 22, it says Daniel gave a testimony to King Darius that he was innocent before God. I believe that this means he spent some time in self-examination and repentance to insure that he was clean before God. In other words, Daniel had a plan for his prayers. He covered all four biblical aspects of a powerful prayer life.
In a few weeks, we will do a series on prayer. In it, we will learn the four major types of prayer: Praise. Repent, Ask, Yield. Suffice it say that because we see Daniel, even in crisis, steadfastly going through all of the basic fundamentals of prayer, we know that he had developed a disciplined prayer life.
Developing a routine pattern to your prayer life will aid you also. Utilize the “PRAY” outline, or some other pattern such as the “ACTS” pattern. Make a prayer journal and use that. Find some way to create and habit of prayer which guides you through a focused time with God.
B. Fiercely
It is also important to note that Daniel was a fiercely determined prayer warrior. Why did I choose this word “fiercely?” Because he would not let anything come between him and the Lord. He would rather die in the lions’ den than to go a day and miss praying to the Lord. Are we all convicted yet?
He was fiercely committed to his prayer time. While he was not afraid of the lions, many of us are still afraid of the alarm clock. You have got to realize that praying is a battle. You must grit your teeth and fight with all that is in you to develop a habitual and powerful prayer time. That does not sound very spiritual, but I promise you that is the case. Determination is the first trait of a prayer warrior.
Daniel is not only fierce in his determination TO pray, but is also HOW he prays. He does not quit. Verse 11 says they found him still making supplication before God. He is fierce in praying. He is truly a prayer warrior. James 5:16 says that he effectual, FERVENT prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Daniel understood this.
Consider the next few chapters as an example. In chapter 9:3 we see Daniel begin to pray for Israel and her restoration. Verse 3 says that he “set his face toward the Lord.” When was the last time that you “set your face toward the Lord.” He even fasted in sackcloth and ashes. Are we convicted yet? Just wait. Look now at 10:10-21. We see that he is praying through 21 days of a spiritual warfare battle between the messenger of God and Satan’s demons. He was faithful through this battle. It was because he “set his face” to pray – he was fierce in his prayers.
It is certain that he was praying this way when facing the lions. Do you and I pray as if we are facing the lions? Do you pray that way for your children, spouse, church family, Sunday school teacher? Do you pray that way during the invitation? Some good old fashion fervency is needed in our church these days.
C. Intimately
Finally, it is clear that Daniel prayed intimately. In fact, in those passages in chapters 9 and 10 we saw that the angel/messenger called Daniel “beloved.” Beloved by who? The Lord. Daniel was intimate before God.
Look again at when Darius discovered Daniel, Daniel explained clearly that God rescued him because he was “innocent.” How do you know that? Because you are so clean before God and comfortable in His presence that you have the spiritual confidence in Jesus of your righteousness. That is intimacy before God.
Every Christian is righteous after they are saved because of what Jesus accomplished at Calvary. Hebrews explains that we are free to come boldly before the presence of God. Yet most do not even though it is their spiritual right by virtue of salvation. Why? Because they are not willing to be open and intimate with God. We are afraid of what He will see. We do not realize that He already sees it. Or if we know that, we are ashamed for Him to see us in the same way Adam was in the Garden of Eden. Yet we do not know Him well enough to trust His love and grace. His person is not familiar enough to us to trust even His forgiveness.
Daniel was intimate enough with God to know God’s heart and love for Him. Daniel knew God’s faithfulness. He was free to pray regardless of what happened because of his confidence in the Lord. That is intimacy. That is what creates a hero of the faith.
