Have you ever prayed & wondered if God had even heard your prayer? I know most of us wouldn't mind an instant response from God when we pray. As human beings, we are extremely impatient. But an instant response is not always how God works. At least, it doesn't always seem instant from our point of view. A chapel speaker came to my school a couple of weeks ago & spoke on a passage from the book of Daniel. (Now, I have read through the entire Bible before, but I don't remember this passage ever sticking out to me. That's just one more reason why I love God's Word. Something new ALWAYS jumps out at you that didn't before. God enlightens us at the right moment in time for us to hear His message.) Anyways, the message was on the following passage:
"In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war. The understanding of the message came to him in a vision. At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground. A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come." (Daniel 10:1-14)
Now, according to verse 2, Daniel had been praying and fasting for three weeks. THREE WEEKS! Finally, on the 21st day, an angel appears to Daniel in a vision. He tells Daniel in verse 12, "Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard." God heard Daniel's prayer on that very first day. It didn't take until the second, the tenth, or the twentieth day for God to hear his prayer. His prayer was immediately heard. How often we quickly forget or fall into disbelief of that!!!! The same verse also tells us that an angelic being was sent in response that first day to answer Daniel's prayer. However, we are told that in verse 13 that the prince of the Persian kingdom (supposedly a high ranking demon) resisted the angelic messenger for twenty-one days... the same length of time as Daniel's prayer. Finally, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help the angelic messenger in the fight so that he could deliver God's response to Daniel.
What I find so profound is the mention of this spiritual battle while Daniel is praying. We often have NO idea what is going on in the spiritual realm around us. Sure, God could have immediately won & ended the battle. He had and has the power to do that. But it seems that the battle was allowed to continue so that Daniel would be turned into a man of persistant prayer. Prayer is necessary to train us. The victory of the angels happens on the 21st day... the end of Daniel's three weeks of prayer. It makes me wonder what may have happened had he just given up? Would there have been a victory? I don't know. This passage is just something that I have been pondering over the past few weeks. So the next time you are praying and wondering why it seems like God is not hearing you, remember Daniel & this passage. God hears us but we often have no idea what battles are being fought over us and our prayers in the spiritual realm. Do not give up...
Remember the power of persistent prayer and keep praying!!!!
