Daniel prayed, as he had done before.
A new law made his prayers illegal. He prayed anyway, by an open window.
The episode in a glance.
- 01A royal decree banned prayer to anyone but the king.
- 02Daniel didn't hide — he prayed at his open window like always.
- 03Consistency under threat is more powerful than heroics in safety.
- 04'As he had done before' is the most important phrase in the verse.
Read along.
Daniel's enemies have tricked the king into signing a law that no one can pray to any god or man except the king for thirty days. Penalty: the lions' den.
Daniel hears about the law. Then this: '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.'
Three things. He didn't close the windows. He didn't change his schedule. He didn't hide. He just kept doing what he'd always done.
'As he had done previously' is the key. The reason he could be brave under threat is because he'd been faithful when nothing was at stake. Crisis revealed the habit; it didn't create it.
Build the habit now. The day will come when you need it.