Daniel 9:4
“And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;”
When you list the prayer warriors in the Scriptures, you would be hard pressed to leave Daniel off the list, much less from the top spot on the list. His life epitomized what the Christian’s prayer life should be like. Throughout the Book of Daniel, you find several habits Daniel had in his prayer life that will help you to get answered prayers if you add all of them to your prayer life. Let me show you these six habits.
First, pray with determination. It says in verse 3, “And I set my face…” That, my friend, is a determined man. You will never get your prayers answered unless there is a fire in your heart that gives you the determination to pray with passion. Too many prayers are just a repetition of words and not a prayer with determination and passion. You will quickly stop praying if you are not determined to get your prayers answered.
Second, pray with humility. Daniel prayed with “sackcloth and ashes.” Don’t approach the throne of prayer as if God is privileged to have your presence; rather, approach His throne with humility realizing the honor you have just to talk to an Almighty God. The prayer of the humble will most definitely get the attention of the all-powerful God.
Third, pray again. Daniel said in the verse above, “And I prayed…” He already said he went to God in prayer in the previous verse, but he went again because he didn’t have the answer. You will never get prayers answered until you create the habit to pray again. It is often the prayer that is prayed again that causes God’s to answer the petition.
Fourth, pray alone. There is nothing wrong with praying with others, but most of your prayers need to be alone. Daniel did pray with his friends, but you will find in Daniel 10:7 and in other places that he was a man who regularly prayed alone. The prayer closet is a lonely place, but it will become a place of refuge for sweet fellowship and holy intervention with a mighty God.
Fifth, pray regularly. In Daniel 6:10, when the law was made that Daniel couldn’t pray, he prayed “as he did aforetime.” You must have a regular time of prayer if you want God to answer your prayers. You will never see an abundance of answered prayers without a regular time to pray.
Sixth, pray through. The saints of old encouraged Christians to “pray through.” In other words, they were encouraging Christians to pray until they broke through and God’s presence entered the prayer closet. Daniel prayed for twenty-one days for God to answer his prayer in Daniel 10:13. He prayed through until he got the answer. Friend, one of the greatest encouragements I can give you is to pray through until you hear from God.
Praying is not for the weak. It will take the fortitude to add these six habits to your prayer life if you want to see answered prayer. Your Christian life will be changed when you add these habits to your prayer life.