Daniel 10:12 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, the archangel, came to help me.
In a recent reading, this story caught my attention because, like everyone, there have been times I have prayed for something and felt as if I was not getting an answer. In the scripture above, Daniel had faithfully fasted and prayed for weeks and had seen no response. After 21 days, an angel comes to him in a vision and tells him that he had been sent on the first day Daniel started to pray, but that the Prince of Persian (Satan) had detained him. He told Daniel that when he was persistent with his prayers, help was sent in the form of archangel Michael so the message from God could reach Daniel.
This story is a good reminder that our prayers do not fall on deaf ears. We don't always know all of the work that is going on behind the scenes when we are praying. God likes us to be persistent, and our prayers are powerful and can fight off the evil that surrounds us. We also live in a different time frame than God. What we think we need right now, is maybe not what God wants for us at the moment. The answer might be yes, but the timing is off.
I pray with my family every night that God will heal me of the cancer that is all over my bones. My girls pray, Jon prays, and I know my parents and many great prayer warriors pray for that same thing. It has been over three years, and our prayers have not been answered in the way we want, and in the timing we want. Yet, God sees a bigger picture, and He has not ignored our prayers. I look back and think that I would have missed out on some great moments if God had answered our prayers two or three years ago. We can be persistent and know that when his time is right, He will answer.
If you have prayed for a child, relationship, etc... and have not received an answer, don't give up. Keep praying! The prayers of a righteous man or woman are powerful and effective (James 5:16).
Heavenly Father,
Increase my faith so that when I pray for answers I can be certain that you hear and will answer in your timing. Help me to be patient and to not give up on the things that matter in my life. Give me the strength to battle the enemy when he throws things my way, and to not grow weary in my prayers.
Sandy
