The image below called Three Hebrews in Fiery Furnace dates back to the 15th century. and it represents Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego after being thrown in the fire by King Nebuchadnezzar.

This story, found in the third chapter of the book of Daniel, always amazed me. Obviously, the miraculous aspect of the story, where the “three amigos” got spared from the fire and hung out with someone that “looked like a son of the gods” according to Nebuchadnezzar is amazing enough, but what really drew me to the story was their attitude in the face of death.

When asked if their God would deliver them from the fire, they said: “… the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Again, the faith in knowing that God would deliver them is amazing. But, the second part of the statement is incredible. The recognition that God was going to use them for His own will, and not for their comfort, is very challenging. The obedience to know that even if things didn’t turn out the way they hoped, God is still in control, and should be exalted, is convicting.

When trying to translate this story to my own life today, I found that I’ve been challenged by the idea that God is always the same, and should always be exalted regardless of how I feel or what my situation is. Sometimes circumstances cause me to be preoccupied and distraught, to a point that I don’t really “feel” like being thankful and full of hope. However, in that moment, God is still in control, and He still deserves my trust and reverence.

This idea of always being thankful and full of life can be especially tough in the area of prayer. My whole life, I felt huge difficulty in always being spontaneous with my prayers. This was most evident in my moments of hopelessness and distress as I mentioned.

Trinity’s recent emphasis in prayer through liturgy and discipline has been life-giving in that regard. At first, I was a little uncomfortable with the whole thing. My first feeling was that I would be a little robot, just repeating things I didn’t really care about. But again, my feelings proved wrong. Resources like the Little Book of Hours and Sacred Space gave me a way to be perseverant in prayer when my life didn’t seem to give me reason to be. They gave me a way to realize that through those prayers I was connecting with a community of believers all over the world and through the centuries. And most surprisingly, I found these prayers to connect my heart with the Father’s heart in a way that my original and spontaneous prayers rarely did.

Kris mentioned recently on a Sunday that in order to pray at all times we need to start praying sometimes. This path of discipline, repetition and liturgy has been a great way to get my foot in the door.

Every night, before putting my daughter to bed, I lay down with her and we talk about all that she did throughout the day. She can tell me about the most insignificant of things, and more often than not, she will tell some of the same things she did the day before. Funny thing is, it doesn’t really matter to me. I just enjoy the fact that she is telling me something, and that she wants to communicate with me. I think that God feels the same about my prayers. I think He is just pleased with the fact that I’m taking time to lie in bed and talk to Him.