The Habits of Faith

Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction. When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, 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. (Daniel 6:6:6-10 ESV).

 

Habit is “automatic response to a specific situation, acquired normally as a result of repetition and learning”. Habits in psychology are also explained as regularly repeated behavior and activities that require no thought and are learned over time. It is not innate in nature. Thus habit can be part of any activity, ranging from eating and sleeping to thinking and reacting which are eventually developed through reinforcement and repetition. Habits are also an essential part of the powerful spiritual life. That is why the great philosopher Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”. 

 

Our reading today illustrates this principle in the story of Daniel. Notice he had the spiritual habit (discipline) of praying three times daily. This habit deepened his relationship with God. Personal devotions may combine one or more disciplines into a daily routine: prayer, Bible reading, and perhaps meditation or journaling. Other spiritual disciplines may include joining together for worship or studying the Bible in a small group. Fasting can help us rediscover what really feeds us.

 

Spiritual disciplines help us to practice finding God during times when we emerge from trial and difficulty. It’s hard to find God in a moment of panic, but it’s much easier if we’ve already developed a daily pattern of centering ourselves in him. It’s easier to release our worries to God at the end of a tough day if we’ve learned to release every other day to him in an evening prayer. And it’s a lot less difficult to remain steadfast to God’s call when you’ve been serving him in a deliberate way for months or years. When you encounter a sudden difficulty, it can be almost impossible to figure out how to find God in the midst of it all. Spiritual disciplines help to reorient us so we can find God’s strength and peace, even in the most trying of times.