Set Your Heart!

September 13, 2010 Focus Today From the Word: Set Your Heart!

Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.” (Daniel 10:12, NKJV)

Those of you who are cooks find it occasionally necessary to use oven timers to make sure you neither undercook nor overcook certain foods. The term cooks say is they "set the clock." When Daniel "set his heart" to understand, then humbled himself before God, he was told that his words were heard.

In our text we hear an angel talking to Daniel. He says, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day ... your words were heard ..."

To view this in proper perspective we must remember that up to this point Daniel has mourned and fasted for three weeks. For 21 days Daniel has prayed without ceasing. For 21 days Daniel has interceded before the heavenly court on behalf of the people of God because of the "great war" (vs. 1).

What the angel declares is that Daniel's words have been heard in heaven on the very first day already. It didn't take 21 days to get through. There is no busy signal as we sometimes get on the phone. Daniel was not stuck in voice-mail hell, like we sometimes are. Daniel has been heard from the first day already.

We can rest assure my brothers and sisters that our prayers are heard just as quickly as Daniel's. God does not favor certain persons over others. Nor is it that God will eventually hear us if only we keep on praying long enough and loud enough. From the very first instant they are offered – and even before, says the Bible – God hears our prayers.

We can't pass this over lightly. An angel was dispatched because of Daniel's prayer. This is another of many reminders in the Book of Daniel that prayer matters. It isn't merely a therapeutic exercise for the one who prays.

After those 21 days, an angel appears to Daniel. There is a direct connection between Daniel's prayer and the angel's appearance. The angel says, "... your words were heard, and I have come in response to them." Thus, it is Daniel's prayer that brings the angel down from heaven, just as an angel later appeared to release Peter from prison when the church in Jerusalem prayed for him (Acts 12). Imagine that: the power of prayer is so immense that it can even call angels from heaven to earth to help God's people.

Daniel prays for help and an angel appears. What an answer! Though they can't see him, the angel's presence creates such panic among Daniel's companions that they flee and hide themselves. If the angel has this effect on Daniel's friends, just imagine how it would terrify Daniel's enemies.

There is something mysterious about the story in front of us. The armies of angels do come to the assistance of Daniel and his countrymen – but they seem to take their time. Daniel waits for 21 days before the angel appears before him. By that time the battle and war could be lost! Daniel waits for 3 weeks – despite the fact that his cry for help reaches God on the very first day.

Two facts are clear: the prayer is heard the very first day, but Daniel does not know this until the 21st day. Daniel waits 3 weeks before finding out his prayer is answered.

At this point it becomes clear that God sometimes makes us wait for a while before we see an answer to our prayers. We may have to wait for 21 days, which really isn't all that long. We may even have to wait for 21 years. Sometimes we may never see an answer to our prayers with our own eyes. It may well be that the prayer is answered but the answer does not become fully apparent until after our death.

Each of us must set our hearts to understand whatever God is speaking to us, regardless of the time it takes. God will not be rushed or crushed. We have to humble ourselves and wait on God for His ways to be fulfilled. Otherwise we will insert our actions and thoughts with unfavorable results.

Understanding, for me, seems only to occur when I have a "need to know"; often it is at the 11th hour and the 59th minute. My spirit is willing to wait because it trusts the Father to send help according to the words I prayed. My flesh seldom wants to pray and never wants to wait. My flesh believes that it knows all the answers for what's best for me.

Folks, it's not about the number of things you do. It is about how well you do what you undertake. Learn to wait on the Lord. Rather than act rashly without prayer, believe that because He has seen what we've done with our hearts and has observed our humility in approaching Him, He will provide the right help: the help that comes according to the God-inspired words we utter.

One of the most difficult things to do is train ourselves to trust the Lord. We must also train ourselves to speak out only as He inspires us.

Believe me, there will be less mess to clean up when we wait on the word and actions of the Lord every time, all the time.

Let us pray

Heavenly Father, we all must confess there are times we got impatient waiting on our prayers to be answered. We were expecting You to answer our prayers even before we even got on our knees to pray. But we are grateful for Your grace and mercy in overlooking our shortcomings and providing what we need. Lord, we realize now that whenever You answer it is truly right on time! In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

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