Daniel 10 Devotional

Strength for the Trembling

““Do not be afraid, Daniel,” he said, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.”Daniel 10:12 (BSB)

Daniel spends three weeks mourning and fasting, and then, beside the Tigris, he sees a man dressed in linen, shining with overwhelming glory (10:2-6). The men with Daniel run and hide. Daniel is left alone, drained of strength, and falls face down (10:7-9). Again and again he is overcome, and each time he is touched and lifted: set on his hands and knees, given speech, and finally made strong (10:10, 16, 18).

The messenger tells him not to fear. From the first day Daniel set his heart to understand and humbled himself before God, his words were heard (10:12). The answer was delayed by the prince of the kingdom of Persia, until Michael came to help (10:13). The chapter pulls back a curtain on a conflict no one can see, which Paul also describes as a struggle against spiritual powers rather than flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). A delayed answer is not an unheard prayer. And when the weight is too much, God strengthens the weak to hear what he has to say.

To think about: What prayer have you been tempted to think God has not heard, and how does this chapter speak to that?