When Heaven Moves

When Heaven Moves

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. Daniel 10:12

ABRAHAM’S SERVANT SAW THE ANSWER to his prayer coming his way before he finished praying. Most of the time, we don’t. That doesn’t mean nothing is happening in the spiritual realm; it just means we haven’t seen anything change in our visible world yet—and sometimes we won’t for a very long time.

That was Daniel’s experience when he prayed and fasted for three weeks for God to deliver his people. Daniel knew the time was right; he had read Jeremiah’s prophecy that the captivity would last seventy years. Like a good intercessor, he confessed the sins of his people—he identified with them even though he was not responsible for their sins—and based his prayers on a promise. As he embarked on his fast, he saw no results. But a messenger from God came with a remarkable explanation of what had been happening in heavenly realms. Daniel’s prayer prompted action, but a spiritual war was going on, and the messenger had been delayed. Only after the assistance of the archangel Michael did Daniel receive a clear answer.

Sometimes we wonder if our prayers have been heard, usually because we’ve seen nothing happen and don’t know what to do with the silence. The testimony of Daniel—and many others through Scripture and history—is that prayer is powerful and effective, even when we see no results. The spiritual realm is busy with responses that will not erupt into the natural world until the time is right. Our prayers are instrumental in battles that we can only begin to imagine but would never discern in the atmosphere around us without supernatural revelation. We are warriors in the spirit, sometimes even when we are bored with our own words.

Enter into prayer with that awareness. Let your understanding of the supernatural realm fuel your faith. Make it a point to persist, even when it takes years for visible answers rather than days. Your requests are being heard in heaven.

God is never defeated. Though he may be opposed, attacked, resisted, still the ultimate outcome can never be in doubt.