“And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.” (Daniel 10:11)
Oh my goodness, how I can relate to Daniel’s response to the word of the Lord in this verse!
Daniel has prayed for God’s intervention on behalf of his people for several weeks now. You can relate. That’s about the time we all give up. If we haven’t seen an answer in a matter of days most of us quit asking. Apparently, we feel, it’s not God’s will or something. But Daniel was of the old stock. He kept on praying even though he didn’t see any change. He kept his faith solid and continued to press in and press through. Until...
Suddenly an angel appeared to him. I must confess I have never prayed that long about a situation. And I’ve HAD some situations – trust me! I’m of the school of thought that you ask once and believe until. If you ask more than that, you don’t have faith (that’s the good old-fashioned Southern Baptist coming out in me). If you ask more than once you are becoming a nuisance (that’s my mom and dad’s training coming out in me). Ah, but the Pentecostals and the Assemblies of God teach that you continue asking, seeking, knocking until God finally opens the door. Daniel would have been an awesome Pentecostal back in the day! He just kept on banging on the door of heaven, pressing in, and holding on. Hallelujah!
But when the answer came, when the angel brought him the request for which he had been asking, look at his response. He stood trembling. The word used in this verse portrays the action of an earthquake – an involuntary, uncontrollable shaking. Apparently he missed the first part of the message (don’t we all usually?). The angel called him a man man greatly beloved. Pretty good message to hear that God loves you greatly.
When the angel told him to stand upright, Daniel rose – but trembling. The message he received was a good one. God had heard his request from the first day, but Satan had withstood the angel from delivering it. God then gave Daniel a message to His people that would come to pass in the future. After hearing the angel’s words, Daniel once again fell on the ground and became speechless. In other words, he meditated on what he had just heard and seen before proceeding any further.
What would happen if we would follow Daniel’s example? First, he was faithful in worshipping God despite his circumstances. Secondly, he was relentless and persistent in presenting his petitions to the Lord – even though it seemed God didn’t hear him. He continued until he got an answer. Thirdly, he was humble before the messenger of God. We don’t see angels so much anymore – at least that has been my experience. Yet God often uses our pastors, our mentors, our friends, our spouses, even total strangers to deliver messages to us if only we will hear with humility and open hearts. Lastly, Daniel meditated and considered in his heart the message he received before he acted upon it. Much like Mary with the message of the angel of the Lord. She kept his words and pondered them in her heart.
Today I would like to challenge you (and myself) to make this a common practice in our lives. We MUST present our needs and wants to our heavenly Father. Not just once but consistently until we hear from heaven. We must hold on until. Then we must let the message settle into our spirits and grow into full stature before we rush off into oblivion. All to often we hear God but we race ahead of Him and His timing. We must learn to discern His timing in our lives. And even though the answer we receive may be good, we may stand trembling while we wait. That’s ok. Just stand.
Be blessed.
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