"Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your
heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard;
and I have come because of your words" (Daniel 10:12).
Dear Victoria,
In the year 1930 a revival swept through a school for boys in Ootacamund, a
district of South India. It led to the immediate conversion of most of the
students - 100 out of 130 boys. Teachers at the school were amazed. In one day
the students were transformed from mischievous schoolboys to Spirit-filled
believers, singing hymns, and entirely devoted to Christ! Many of the boys
wanted to be baptized and began to take part in Bible study and communion.
What brought about this amazing revival? Teachers later discovered that 3
Christian boys, all under the age of twelve, had been rising early each morning
to pray for their school. The Lord heard their prayers and poured out His
Spirit.
When we Christians pray for revival in our churches, we should always do so
with expectant hearts. The Lord delights in answering our prayers. When Daniel
prayed for his people Israel and mourned and "ate no pleasant food"
for three weeks, his prayer was answered. An angel was sent to him with a
message from heaven.
"Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and
on the palms of my hands. And he said to me, "O Daniel, man greatly
beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I
have now been sent to you." While he was speaking this word to me, I stood
trembling. Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first
day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your
God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words" (Daniel
10:10-12).
Notice the exact moment when God answered Daniel's prayer; It was from the
FIRST DAY that he began to humble himself and pray (v12). The angel who was
sent by the Lord told Daniel, "I have come because of your words."
Very often the devil tries to discourage us when we come before the Lord like
Daniel with our requests and petitions. He makes us think that our prayers are
weak and ineffective and that God is not hearing. But 1John 5:14-15 says: "Now
this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according
to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we
know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him." As you
pray in the name of Christ, know for certain that God does hear your prayers.
This week why not follow the example of those three Indian schoolboys and join
with a few other believers to pray for revival? Christ said: "And
whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified
in the Son" (John 14:13).
In His strong love,
Demitri
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