How Comforting It Is to Know That God Hears Our Prayers from the Beginning
A guest post from my brother.
Today’s post is actually from my brother Joshua. With his permission, I decided to share his thoughts about prayer with you.
I believe you will find comfort and encouragement in his thoughts about our prayers to God.
One of my favorite passages in the Bible is found in Daniel chapter 9. Verses 20 through 23 say the following:
“While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.”
How incredibly comforting it is to read these words spoken to Daniel by the angel! “…at the beginning of your pleas for mercy, a word went out…” God began working the very moment Daniel spoke to Him in prayer, and not only that he had dispatched an Angel to answer him before he even finished his prayer!
Later, in Daniel 10:10–12, Daniel has a similar encounter with an Angel:
“And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.”
We find out that in this case Daniel has been in mourning for three weeks. 21 days may not sound very long to us, but as Daniel was mourning and fasting the whole time, it must have felt like an eternity. But the angel tells him “…from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before God, your words have been heard…”
Daniel was probably in agony, waiting for his prayer to be answered. But God had heard him from the very first day, and had set his power in motion!
Many of us have great struggles in our lives, while sometimes it seems like we pray for the same thing over and over again with no evidence of God working. God answered Daniels prayers for forgiveness and understand, one before he even finished praying, and one much later. But in each case he heard and began working immediately. It is so comforting to know if we humble ourselves, and leave it in the hands of God, we can know that He has heard our pleas from the very first day, and that he has begun working from the beginning of our pleas.
See — wasn’t that comforting?
Being reminded that God hears us from the very first is such an encouraging reminder to us as God’s people. Even when we feel alone, He hasn’t left us alone and He still hears us.
Special thanks to Joshua for letting us use his words today!
