As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given,
which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and
understand the vision.
- Daniel
9:23
Can you imagine hearing these words
directly from heaven? “As soon as you began to pray, an answer was
given….. for you are highly esteemed.”
After all Daniel had been through, the angel’s comforting words must
have been extremely welcome!
This was not the first time God heard
Daniel prayed when things were going well for him, not just when he was having
problems. He prayed because he enjoyed
talking with God. Daniel’s faithfulness
and his love for God earned him high regard in heaven. God quickly sent an angel to minister to
Daniel as soon as he began to pray.
Sometimes we neglect to pray for
long periods of time. When everything is
going our way, we forget to thank God.
We get busy and don’t really see the need to spend time talking with
Him. Then a problem pops up and we need
help – now! We pray fervently
and want God’s answer immediately. We
feel frustrated if our prayer isn’t answered promptly! We need to follow Daniel’s example. God responded to Daniel’s need even before
Daniel finished his prayer. Their
relationship was that close. The best
part for Daniel wasn’t even the speediness of God’s answer but the security
Daniel had in knowing he was highly esteemed by God.
How would we characterize our relationship with God? Do we pray because we enjoy talking with God,
or do we just pray when we need something? Let us strive to be like Daniel, and enjoy
spending time with God in prayer no matter what our situation is.
