“Don’t be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers.” (Daniel 10:12)
Daniel was serious and earnest about his faith. Realizing all the obstacles that has arisen against his people who had returned to Jerusalem (see Ezra 1-2), he acted. What did he do? In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks. I didn’t eat any rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I didn’t put any oil on my body until the three weeks were over. (Daniel 10:2-3) He humbled himself before God in fasting and in prayer. Was his approach to God and his entreaty effectual? Indeed. He was visited in a vision by an angelic being! God sent him in response to Daniel’s prayers and his character of humility.
Daniel just acted like Daniel. He was a faithful believer in Yahweh, the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was not trying to twist God’s arm. He was not seeking to manipulate God. He had a relationship with a holy and righteous covenant LORD and so he acted like one in service to his King. God sees everything and knows everything. He knows what you and I are thinking right this moment. He knows what we each need. He has provided both precept and example in his word, the Bible, to guide us through any circumstance we may face. He will not turn away any who come to him in faith.
Jesus said it clearly: “Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me: that I should lose none of those he has given me but should raise them up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:37-40)
Amen and amen!