Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Dolly Parton singing her song … Hello God … poignantly singing a prayer for God’s intervening grace.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Daniel 10:12 … [NLT] …
12 Then he [the angel] 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.
… An angel arrives to let Daniel know that God has been working on his behalf.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Daniel 10:1-14 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Daniel waits for God to act on behalf of His people.
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : … Romans 8:28 [NLT] …
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
… Yes, … even when it doesn’t feel like it, God works in our lives … for our good.
Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : … 2nd Corinthians 12:8-9 [NLT] …
8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away [the painful thorn]. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”
… Paul didn’t realize that God was always there, in his pain, interceding on his behalf.
Reference Passage #3 [NKJV] : … Philippians 4:19 [NLT] …
19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
… We must have faith that God will ALWAYS take care of our needs.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Kirsten Holmberg, used a personal illustration many have experienced to illustrate how God often works behind the scenes. The ODB author wrote: My daughter sent a text message to a friend, in hopes of having a question answered quickly [see photo]. Her phone’s messaging service showed that the recipient had read the message, so she waited anxiously for a reply. Mere moments passed, yet she grew frustrated, groaning her annoyance at the delay. Irritation eroded into worry; she wondered whether the lack of response meant there was a problem between them. Eventually a reply came and my daughter was relieved to see their relationship was fine. Her friend had simply been sorting out the details needed to answer the question.
I’m sure we’ve all been in situations where we likely prayed for God’s intervention but He seemed far away, and we were waiting for His response. Today’s highlight passage (above) had Daniel, waiting on God concerning a vision Daniel had had; and God finally sent an angelic messenger to let Daniel know He had been intervening for him all along. And Daniel learned that during the delay, God’s angels had been fighting on his behalf. We all probably know the story of Paul experiencing a painful thorn; and praying for God repetitively to rid him of the pain; but then Paul remembered Jesus saying that God had never left Paul and was giving him His enabling grace to handle the pain [see 2Cor. 12:8-9].
Unfortunately now that Jesus has come on our behalf, God seldom, if ever, sends Angels to address our praying and waiting as He did for Daniel. Nor does He speak encouragement directly to us as He did with Paul. No, He expects us to have faith that He’s always there for us and will always provide what we need.
So, if we’re praying for God’s help; and He seems way far away, … be assured that what we’re experiencing is for our good (see Rom. 8:28); and our Lord will ALWAYS provide for our needs in those times of temptation or pain (see Phil. 4:19 and 1st Cor. 10:13) - the latter on you own).
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … LORD, … I know You’re there for me! … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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