By
Greg Laurie
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. Daniel 10:12
An interesting
story in the Old Testament book of Daniel offers us a rare, behind-the scenes
look at what happens when we pray. The Bible tells us that Daniel was praying
and that his prayer reached heaven. God heard Daniel's prayer and dispatched an
angel with a special message for Daniel. But the angel who was sent from heaven
was held up for twenty-one days because he was engaged in spiritual warfare
with a powerful demon spirit. As a result, God dispatched Michael the archangel.
(You might say that Michael is a head honcho among angels.) Michael was sent,
who overruled the demon power, and the answer eventually was brought to Daniel.
But it took twenty-one days for the answer to get there.
Sometimes when God doesn't answer our prayers as quickly as we would like Him to, we think that He is letting us down. We need to understand that delays aren't necessarily denials.
When we pray and don't see an answer as quickly as we would like, it may be a result of circumstances that we can't see. There might even be a spiritual battle raging behind the scenes. Maybe you've been praying for someone to come to know the Lord. Maybe you've been asking God to heal you. Perhaps you've been asking the Lord to open doors of opportunity for you to serve Him. Don't give up. Don't be discouraged. Keep praying. Jesus said to keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, and the door would be opened. So be persistent. And watch what God will do.
Sometimes when God doesn't answer our prayers as quickly as we would like Him to, we think that He is letting us down. We need to understand that delays aren't necessarily denials.
When we pray and don't see an answer as quickly as we would like, it may be a result of circumstances that we can't see. There might even be a spiritual battle raging behind the scenes. Maybe you've been praying for someone to come to know the Lord. Maybe you've been asking God to heal you. Perhaps you've been asking the Lord to open doors of opportunity for you to serve Him. Don't give up. Don't be discouraged. Keep praying. Jesus said to keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, and the door would be opened. So be persistent. And watch what God will do.
