A regular habit of prayer shapes you. Let me explain.

In the sixth century B.C., Darius passed a law that no one could “petition” any man or god except himself for 30 days. It was most likely an act designed to consolidate political loyalty across the new empire. If anyone broke the law, he would be thrown to blood-thirsty lions.

However, Daniel refused. After learning about the law 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” (Daniel 6:10).

Today, I would simply like to point out two details. 

First, this tells us that Daniel was a man of prayer. He didn’t just start praying because of this dangerous situation. He simply did something he was already in the habit of doing—pray. 

Second, this tells us that he didn’t pray occasionally, but consistently. The text tells us very specifically that he prayed “three times a day.” This wasn’t a new practice. It was something “he had done previously.”

My point is this. Regular, consistent prayer shapes you—day by day by day. Just how regular exercise makes you physically fit, so do regular spiritual practices make you spiritually fit. They fortify you and give you a certain kind of God-honouring strength. Neither one happens overnight. When you encounter serious difficulty, stress or hardship, you are better positioned to trust God, act wisely, and persevere because you will be operating from a position of spiritual strength.

If you’re not there yet, that’s okay. Start today. 

Tyler Stanton explains that a regular rhythm of daily prayer is “a quiet rebellion, a free choice to live our lives by a different order of loves, marching to a different beat in the procession of another King.”*

Our true King is Christ. A regular habit of prayer is one of the ways you march to a different beat in the procession of another King. It shapes you. And it fortifies you. 

All of this begins—or continues—today.

Notes:

-“Daniel, The Lion’s Den, and True Bravery Today.” Click here. Sermon.

-Tyler Stanton, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer (Thomas Nelson, 2022), 200.

-The Up Devotional is published 5 days a week (Monday-Friday) and returns on February 23, 2026.

-Bible quotes are from the ESV.