“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And 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.” (Daniel 6:10, NKJV)

Years ago, we took our junior high students through a Sunday School curriculum called “Dare to be a Daniel.” It was produced by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. I have always liked that title because Daniel is such an excellent person to imitate. He is one of only a few people in Scripture whose sin is never mentioned. While we know that no human is sinless, Daniel took many pains to be blameless and faithful in all his ways.

“Then this 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, NKJV)

Daniel had an excellent spirit in him—that is he was a man who lived after the Spirit, a man in whom the Spirit excelled. People either live to please the Spirit, or else by default they live to please the flesh. Daniel distinguished himself above everyone else because he made every effort to walk in the Spirit.

Daniel’s regular habit was to open his windows toward Jerusalem, kneel down, and pray and give thanks three times each day. This sounds easy until you try to do it consistently! It seems there is always some urgent matter crowding out the time of prayer. We feel that we are too busy to pray. But Daniel was one of 120 satraps over the entire Persian Empire, and King Darius was so impressed with him that he considered placing Daniel over the entire realm! No doubt Daniel was very busy with many administrative responsibilities, and yet he still made and kept his appointments with God three times daily. Rather than thinking that he didn’t have time to pray, Daniel believed that he didn’t have time not to pray. In other words, he knew that he would have wasted his precious time if he didn’t pray.

Daniel’s example is both convicting and humbling. If Daniel could have such a consistent prayer life, then why can’t I? Even when threatened with the king’s decree that anyone who prayed to another god besides King Darius would be cast into the lion’s den, Daniel openly prayed to his God and refused to compromise his spiritual discipline.

Would we dare to be a Daniel?