There's a moment in Daniel's life that I keep coming back to. It's found in Daniel 6:10, and it's so simple that we might miss how revolutionary it really is:
"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he kneeled 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, NKJV)
Let me tell you what strikes me most about this verse. Daniel knew the decree was signed. He knew that praying to anyone but King Darius meant being thrown to the lions. He knew his enemies were watching. And what did he do?
He went home and prayed exactly as he always had.
Not in secret. Not in a closet with the door shut. He opened his windows — the same windows he'd always opened — and he prayed toward Jerusalem three times a day, just as he'd done for decades.
When Your Routine Becomes Your Testimony
Here's what moves me about Daniel's faith: it wasn't something he manufactured in a crisis. It was something he'd been building quietly, consistently, day after day, for years. The text says "as was his custom since early days."
Daniel didn't suddenly become a prayer warrior when the lions showed up. He was already one.
Think about what that means for us. When difficulty comes — and it will come — we won't rise to some new level of faith we've never practiced. We'll default to the habits we've already built. Daniel's crisis didn't change his prayer life. His prayer life prepared him for the crisis.
The apostle Paul later wrote, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Daniel was living that truth long before Paul wrote it down.
The God Who Never Changes His Mind About You
Here's what I love most about this story: Daniel trusted God even when he couldn't see the outcome. He didn't know God would shut the mouths of the lions. He didn't know the king would rescue him. He just knew God was faithful, and that was enough.
When morning came and Darius found Daniel alive, the king declared something profound: "He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions" (Daniel 6:27, NKJV).
But here's the thing — God would have been just as faithful if He had allowed Daniel to die. Faith isn't about controlling outcomes. It's about trusting the One who holds all outcomes in His hands.
What About Your Windows?
Let me ask you something: What are the windows in your life? What are the practices, the habits, the routines that keep you connected to God — not just in crisis, but on ordinary Tuesdays?
Maybe it's time in Scripture before the day begins. Maybe it's a quiet walk where you pray. Maybe it's worship music in the car. Whatever it is, I encourage you to build those habits now, while the pressure is off. Because when the decree comes — when the diagnosis arrives, when the job disappears, when the relationship fractures — you'll need something deeper than panic. You'll need a well you've already been drawing from.
Daniel didn't close his windows when trouble came. He trusted the God who had met him there every single day before.
Will you open yours today?
Daniel 6:10, NKJV