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Verse: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
Spiritual revival and religious reformation come only through fervent and unceasing prayer. A classic example is Martin Luther, who not only wrote about prayer but also lived a life of powerful prayer. After kneeling in humility before God, he could boldly stand before anyone. Luther realized that only through prayer can we be effectively shielded against the powers of evil, the temptations of the world, and our own sinful nature. In his Large Catechism, published in 1529, he warned, “The devil with all his power, together with the world and our own flesh, resists our efforts [to keep the Ten Commandants]. Therefore, nothing is more necessary than that we should continually turn towards God’s ear, call upon Him, and pray to Him.” In his table talk of November 30, 1531, Luther reflected on his own prayer life: “Whenever I happen to be prevented by the press of duties from observing my hour of prayer, the entire day is bad for me. Prayer helps us very much and gives us a cheerful heart, not on account of any merit in the work [of praying], but because we have spoken with God and found everything to be in order.” Helpful, practical advice on prayer is also found in his book A Simple Way to Pray (published in 1535).
There he recommends that prayer “be the first business of the morning and the last at night. Diligently guard against those false, deluding ideas which tell you, ‘Wait a little while. I will pray in an hour; first I must attend to this or that.’ Such thoughts get you away from prayer into other affairs which so hold your attention and involve you that nothing comes of prayer for that day.”62 All great men and women of God have one characteristic in common: they have always been people of prayer! To live a life of prayer, we do not need great displays of rhetorical flourish or a multitude of unnecessary words.
Our public prayers should be short and succinct.
And our private prayers are the most precious opportunities for us to open our hearts to God and speak to Him as our Best Friend.