“and [Daniel] continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.” Daniel 6:10
Consistency is the missing element in many of our lives. We often let the busyness of everyday life keep us from being consistent in our walk with Christ. Daniel’s faith was strong because he had godly habits. And as we’ll see, the Bible gives other notable examples of how being consistent strengthens our faith and makes us more effective in our service to God.
Remember, there was a group trying to discredit Daniel. So they set him up by appealing to the king’s pride; proposing a law that for thirty days prayers could only be made to the king. These men counted on Daniel to do what he had always done. It was Daniel’s habit to pray, and he didn’t change his habits to suit the changing culture. He remained consistent.
This story is often used to illustrate civil disobedience when the laws of the land contradict biblical truth. While that application is fine, we need to understand that Daniel didn’t pray in protest; He prayed because that was the practice of his life. He was just doing what he had always done.
People who consistently live out their faith have certain habits built into their lives. There’s no better example than Jesus Himself. Luke tells us, “and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read” (4:16). The apostle Paul also had a regular habit of going to the local synagogue to discuss Scripture as soon as he entered a new town (Acts 17:1-2, 17:10). And like Daniel, Jesus had a special place for prayer. “He…proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives” (Luke 22:39).
Please don’t confuse developing these godly habits with merely following religious tradition. Motive is everything! Daniel wasn’t doing what he had to do, but what he wanted to do. You see, Daniel didn’t pray because he was religious; he prayed because he had a desire to know and please God. Jesus was God, yet set aside a time and place to talk with His Father.
You see, there are customs to righteousness. Since it was Jesus’ custom to attend worship, to read Scripture, and to pray—shouldn’t these be our customs too? In which of these areas do you struggle with being consistent? Remember, the difference between living a good Christian life and a great one is consistency.