A Law Against Prayer

By Paul Chappell

"All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree."

Daniel 6:7-9

There are some pretty interesting laws in the California books. For example, it is illegal to shoot any game from a moving vehicle unless that game is a whale! Women are not allowed to drive while wearing housecoats. Peacocks have the right of way when crossing any street. And it is against the law for any car to go more than 60 miles an hour if it does not have a driver.

But strange as our laws may be, there is no law against prayer in our country such as the one that Daniel faced. He was threatened with death in a den of lions if he prayed to anyone except King Darius. Yet even this law did not stop the faithful servant of God. He opened his windows as he always had toward Jerusalem and prayed to the God of Heaven. Daniel continued in his established practice of prayer, and God delivered him from the lions.

While it is true that our society is becoming more hostile to true Christianity, we can freely pray. The tragedy is that even though we are allowed to pray, too often we do not. Prayer is a means for us to communicate with God, and we must be people of prayer if we are to be rooted in our Christian walk.

Today's Rooted Principle:

If prayer is not part of your daily routine, determine not to miss out on this vital communication with God.