“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” Daniel 6:10

Lord God, You love to spend time with me. You love to hear my prayers. You love to speak to me through your Word. I admit when I compare my spiritual life with Daniel’s, I fall short and am ashamed. I feel burdened and weighed down by the idea of spiritual disciplines. I sometimes even chafe under them. Remind me in those moments that spiritual habits do not make me more or less loved. I am fully loved by you totally apart from my habits. I am loved and embraced by you only and fully because of the blood of Jesus, your dear Son. Because of your love for me, inspire me to daily come to you in prayer, to daily listen to you in your Word. Through these disciplines, I pray dear Lord, keep me always faithful to you just as you kept Daniel faithful to you throughout his time in exile. I am a wanderer here and spend many years in this wasteland on my way to my heavenly home. Keep me faithful to you, my only Savior, for all eternity. Amen.

God, the One who has made you his own, loves to spend time with you in prayer. He loves to sit down with you over a cup of coffee or at your kitchen table, hearing the thanks and the praise, the pleas and the petitions that rise up from your heart. There is no guilt or shame for you to bear. There is only a new life of seeking God in his Word and calling out to him in prayer.