Tête-à-tête

Dan. 9:^17-18 “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary. “O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair… We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy.”

Mysteriously, it seems that God Will Not Act Unless We Pray. Mysteriously, even though God knows everything He Still Wants Us To Ask About What He Already Knows. Mysteriously, God wants us to keep asking about The Same Thing, Even Though We Have Asked Him Before. Mysteriously, while He wants us to keep on asking, it seems He Finds Some Repetition Worthless and “Vain”. Mysteriously, it seems that Some Prayers Need To Be Long Whilst Others Need To Be Short. Mysteriously it seems We Can Reason And Negotiate With God. Mysteriously, it seems that God Answers Prayers Immediately. I am certain we have had experiences of situations where God answered our prayers immediately.

In 2 Kings 20:1-5 [please read], God answered Hezekiah immediately. 1 Kings 18:^36-38 “At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.” Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench!” God answered Elijah immediately. Mysteriously, it seems that God Answers Prayers Immediately. It is mysterious.

Mysteriously, it seems there can be a period between when God answers our prayers and When We Receive The Answers To Our Prayers. This is truly a mystery. Daniel 10:^{1-2 & 12} “In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) had another vision. He understood that the vision concerned events certain to happen in the future—times of war and great hardship. When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks… Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer.” Even though Daniel’s request had been heard from the first day, the man was there for twenty-one days, almost dying.

But when did God answer his prayer? The very first day, so why fast for twenty-one days? The truth is, it was because Daniel stayed in the place of prayer that he could get the result on the twenty-first day. If he had stopped praying, what do you think would have happened to the warfare going on in the spirit realm? It would have stopped, and the things would go back to the way they were. To stay in the place of prayer is indispensable. Stay in the place of prayer and get the answer yourself. In Daniel’s case, we see that Daniel was hindered by spiritual forces and that throws some light for us. But even at that, it is not complete because sometimes it is not spiritual forces.

Prayer: Father, give me the grace to tarry in the place of prayer, in Jesus Name. Amen!