3 times a day

 3 times a day

 

Daniel 6:10 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.

 

Quick context for this verse for those not familiar.  Men who were jealous of Daniel and his position in the kingdom had tricked king Darius into making a law that for thirty days people could only pray to the king or else be thrown into the lion’s den.  

 

Key points from this verse.  Regardless of the law Daniel stayed devoted to the Lord.  Daniel didn’t start praying 3 times a day because of this law.  This was his custom since his early days.  He prayed 3 times a day in obedience to God’s Word.  Psalm 55:17 “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice.” (this would have been the 9^th, 3^rd and 6^th hours of the day or 3pm, 12pm, 9am).  It is also significant the Daniel, who had been a very busy man since his captivity as a youth, had made a custom since his youth to make the time to come away and pray 3 times a day.  Being busy is not an excuse.  Isn’t it true that we make time for those things that are really, really important to us?

He prayed toward Jerusalem also in obedience to scripture, (Read 1 Kings 8:41-53.). “And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem”, let us not misunderstand this section.  His windows were already opened.  He just didn’t open them to pray or to draw attention to his praying but also, he wasn’t going to hide in fear of being seen. Again, this was his well-established custom that he had been doing for decades at this point.  He was not going to change just because the law had changed. Notice also that he prayed AND gave thanks before God.  In this time Daniel didn’t cease to give the Lord praise. 

 

To sum up the important lessons of Daniel 6:10.

Live the Word of God

We are never too busy to pray and give thanks to the Lord.

It is important for us to set a custom to pray and give thanks to the Lord daily, before trouble hits. Don’t wait till times get rough.

Prayer and praise should be something we do throughout the day.  (Actually, as New Testament believers we should not be just doing it 3 times a day but always without ceasing.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.)

 

 

A thought on communion.

 A thought on communion.

The definition for communion is Fellowship; intercourse between two persons or more; interchange of transactions, or offices; a state of giving and receiving; agreement; concord.

Sadly, like so many things, the church has lost sight of what communion is and instead has been watered it down to a religious tradition that we hurry through like it is an afterthought.

Just from simply looking at the definition of the word this is something that should be serious and not be done in a rush. When Jesus instituted this it was from a part of the passover feast. I picture a lot more time being involved especially after His death and resurrection. The memories and the contemplation of what the elements represented.

There is so much more that can said but I will pause here.

Blessings

120 Years

 120 Years

Genesis 6:3 And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

From Genesis 6:3 we see that God limits the life span of humanity to 120 years. Why do we settle for living for less than this? Deuteronomy 34:7 sums up Moses life as follows: Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished. Why can’t we have the same, especially if we are in Christ?

Could it be that we lack vision for living this long the Bible says in Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he? Is it that we only have vision for a much shorter life and so we succumb to death earlier than we could if we just had a longer vision? We have all heard of people who die shortly after retirement. Many speculate this is because they didn’t have anything left to give them purpose for living.

Could it be the lack of Godly wisdom that limits our life? Proverbs 9:11 says this about wisdom, For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you. Does the lack of this wisdom lead us to having a vision for a shorter life than we should? Does it keep us from doing the practical things we should be doing to have a long and healthy life? Look at what 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says, Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. What if we applied Godly wisdom and took care of our earthly bodies so that we could live to the limit and live that life for the glory of God?

Caleb was 85 when he went after the giants and took his inheritance. Joshua 14:10-11 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in.

How much could we accomplish for the kingdom if we took care of ourselves and had a vision for more than retirement? What if our “golden years” were not wasted on selfishness and self-centeredness that actually subtract years from our lives and instead we had a vision for going out a conquering the giants? Will you have a heart like Caleb and ask for your inheritance, Psalm 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance And the ends of the earth for Your possession., and then go and possess it as he did?

Sadly, I fear that most who read this will not. You will settle for what your parents and grandparents had at best. I do hope though that there will be some of you who will let these words stir you to get a longer-range vision for your life. Who will go and claim the nations you ask for as your inheritance and slay the giants that have held them captive.

All I know for sure is that, barring the rapture or martyrdom, I have 66 years left to 120 and I am going to have a vision for those 66 years. A vision of making disciples and taking nations.