Albert Mohler has said: Convictions are not merely beliefs we hold; they are those beliefs that hold us.
How to prepare for persecution, we have to have this in mind. We might know what beliefs Daniel held, but what beliefs held Daniel?
Reading Daniel 6:10 we discover that 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.
Daniel didn’t suddenly change his beliefs and his lifestyle because the persecution document had been signed.
In fact, he continued on in his public witness, knowing that everyone would see him.
(When you’re with clients, or with team-mates, or with certain relatives, do you hesitate to pray openly before a meal, even though you always pray before a meal? )
You see Daniel had an ordered life. He had been regularly sharpened day in day out, three times a day, repeatedly, same time, same place— and the order of his life was put to the test at this moment.
If you are worried about the loss of cultural power or influence in society, you can calmly let go of your worry, and instead, prepare for being a Christian witness.
As David French wrote, “We want easy when Christ never promised easy. It’s time to learn to live with (somewhat) hard.”
The ability to be calm and free of anxiety when it’s hard will only come from this kind of orderly discipline of prayer.
Of course no one is calling for rote ritual. Mindless chants and euphoric mantras. This is not what is needed. Rather it is the discipline of the closet (Mat 6:6), that holds true no matter what is going on outside your door.
What you may realize is that the persecution, opposition or social shame isn’t as big of a deal as you initially feared. Or it may be significant and costly, but you will find that God has prepared you for it.
The preparation has nothing to do with political power, but everything to do with the power of the prayer closet.
image: “Praying Hands” by Albrecht Durer, 1508
