Resolve Day 1: Rewards

Day 1: Rewards & Resistance     

     Have you ever grown tired of doing the right thing? I remember a single mom used to come to me for counsel and advice when I was ministering in Brownsville. Several times she would ask me what she should do and invariably I would give her counsel that wasn’t really what she wanted to hear, and for that matter, I really did not want to give it. It was not because I didn’t want her to do God’s will, but God’s will is rarely easy.

     Each time, however, she would listen to the counsel not from me but from the Scripture and she knew it was in accordance with God’s word. She would joyfully obey in doing the hard thing.

     In the Old Testament, when you think of a Biblical portrait of someone resolved to prayer, no more vivid picture can come to mind than that of Daniel. Daniel had been delivered by prayer, had received visions by prayer and fasting, and had been elevated in prominence to serve numerous kings in a foreign land.

     It was as though Daniel could say like the old and afflicted martyr Polycarp, who died around 160 A.D., being burned at the stake for refusing to burn incense to the Roman Emperor. He is recorded as saying on the day of his death, “Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior? Bring forth what you will.” 

     Daniel was told to not pray to anyone else other than Darius, king of Persia. Not only did he refuse to pray to Darius, he continued what he had always done, prayed to his Lord, and now he even opened the window and boldly proclaimed his loyalty to the Lord.

¹ It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; ² and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. ³ Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.

⁴ So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. ⁵ Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”

     Reward by God: If we have a lifestyle of prayer, God will bless. Daniel was in the top three of Darius’ governors, and in fact rose to the top of those. Reading earlier in Daniel, from a youth, he had set himself apart for God’s service, even in adverse circumstances. Things were not always easy for Daniel and his reward was after a lifetime of sacrificial service to God. But even then, things did not always go smoothly.

     Result in the Spirit: What happens as a result of a prayerful life? The Bible says that Daniel had an excellent spirit. If you pray and it seems that you are more anxious than before, it may be that you are praying incorrectly. The Bible clearly says that as a result of our prayers, we will be more at peace.  Look at Daniel 5:4 and notice what kind of spirit Daniel had and how his enemies knew they could not attack him except in his source of strength.

     A person who prays is filled with the spirit and led by the spirit. Paul wrote in Eph. 5:18, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.” What a sharp distinction and contrast of a person drunk with wine and its intoxicating results versus a person filled with the Spirit, with God’s glorious results.

     Resistance from the world: Others were against Daniel because his external rewards and internal results from prayer. However, Satan, who is behind the impure and evil deeds in the world, will put resistance to us because of our prayer life. Do not expect the world to applaud you and your stand for the Lord. It is not historical, biblical, logical, spiritual or even practical. God will not strengthen you in acceptance, but only through resistance can we expect to gain our strength and resolve.

     Jesus said our greatest resistance in prayer will not be from outside of ourselves, but our very flesh. “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41