Our Prayers are Precious to God!

 

Right in the middle of the prophetic visions of Daniel is a simple verse that means the world to Daniel and should mean the same to you and me. 

"The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of the vision." (Daniel 9:23)

Daniel was pleading for Israel as the future was being revealed to him. He wasn't claiming innocence. He wasn't claiming God was not right. He admitted we deserve all that we get. (I know that is true!) Even so, the future of destruction, the battle between good and evil weighed heavy on Daniel. He needed this special message sent from above. The message was so special, that God sent his chief messenger to deliver it. Gabriel, yes, the same Gabriel that announces the coming of the baby in the manger, he comes to speak to Daniel.

So what does this verse have to do with us?

I can assure you each time we pray, God answers. A command is given and those that follow him will receive!

I can't tell you how many times I have heard that we are in the end times. Over the past few weeks with all the evil war going on in Israel, we are nearing the end. It is so easy to get depressed and to give up hope during that time. But, for those who earnestly call upon the Lord, he will answer your prayers. Those of us who fall on our knees begging for mercy, he will answer. He did not remove the war and turmoil facing Daniel and his people. But his promises still held.

Something better is about to happen. After the war, death, and destruction, God will restore us to peace and joy. We have an ETERNITY filled with it. We just have to endure while God defeats evil one last time. As God defeats the sin that WE unleashed in the world, we can be assured he still thinks we are precious. 

When you pray, God is glorified. When you pray, all of heaven is at your fingertips. When we turn to the Lord, we can endure all the hardships of this life because "YOU ARE PRECIOUS TO GOD!"

"How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!" (Psalm 139:17-18)