This post is from last week, forgot to publish it:
All I can say is, we're warm now! We had one cold night, one cold morning, then back to warm for one night and one day, then cold again, then warm! The joys of winter and furnaces.....but, so grateful for a friend who is in the business who came by and gave us a freebie fix. We just had to pay for the part. That's a miracle in itself as it could have cost a small fortune. We turned the cold night into an adventure and the kids had sleepovers all over the house with their siblings covered in blankets surrounded by heaters. It wasn't so bad. Then on one of the cold days, we just packed up and went to the library for the day and managed to do some school there. That was fun, too! Again, perspective comes in hand.....
I had been reading in Daniel where he found himself "overcome and lay sick for some days" just because of the visions he had seen. He had been shown the end times and it must not have been pretty as he said, "I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it." However, he doesn't stay there, "Then I rose and went about the king's business." (8:27) Though I haven't had any visions come my way that are about the end times, there have been a few trials come my way lately that have had the potential power to overcome me and make me feel "sick for some days". But, like Daniel, you cannot leave yourself there. You have to get up and go "about the king's business", which is, for me, being a mom and all the tasks that go with being a mom.
Then, as Daniel's habit is throughout the book, he prays and prays and prays some more...almost all of chapter 9 is Daniel praying on behalf of Israel, asking for forgiveness for their sins, for mercy, admitting they did not listen to God or obey His ways. I love his prayer right at the end so much, "Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear, O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name."
If ever there was a pattern for prayer, that's it. He's asking God to listen to his pleas for mercy, but not for Daniel's sake, and not because of Daniel's righteousness, but for God's glory. That changes how I pray, a good reminder to make sure if I'm praying for my benefit or for the glory of God. He asks God to incline his ear, to open his eyes, to hear, to forgive, to pay attention and act, to not delay. That's quite a list! But it shows the desperation Daniel is feeling. He wants to God to show up and make Himself known. And He does, at least He sends his top angel, Gabriel. How I wish and pray Gabriel would do that for me, too! But, as I told the kids yesterday, as I read this with them, Gabriel does show up....all the time! He sends angels to me almost daily, through an encouraging email, text, phone call or visit. Gabriel just takes on different forms these days.
When Gabriel arrives, he says to Daniel, "At the beginning of your pleas for mercy, a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved." That is one packed sentence. It seems to me that as soon as Daniel started praying he was heard, "at the beginning of your pleas". Then a "word went out". I take that to mean, a response, an answer to his prayers. He was given Gabriel to personally deliver the message by God, "I have come to tell it to you." Wow. A hand delivered message from God by an angel! How wonderful! And, Gabriel didn't have to say the final phrase, but he must have known Daniel needed to hear it, "you are greatly loved". Our church has that phrase in banners all over the church, in the parking lot, on the screens. It doesn't seem particularly sincere when you see it all the time said by no one in particular to no one in particular, but when you hear it from Gabriel to Daniel personally, suddenly that phrase is so meaningful. And, now that we know the Scriptures are handwritten by God as personal messages to each individual believer, I read it yesterday as a personal message to me, "you are greatly loved". It meant way more than seeing it on a sign in the parking lot. God said it to me, not some impersonal sign, but a personal God. I explained that to the kids and reminded them, when we pray, we are heard, "at the beginning" of our prayers. Such an encouragement to know we are heard and we are loved.
Daniel must have really needed this encouragement, because between chapter 9 and 10 he hears this phrase, "you are greatly loved" three times. He was reminded that his prayers are heard because twice Gabriel mentions this as well, "for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words." Well, it turns out, I also needed to hear those reminders, not only that I am greatly loved, but that my words are heard. It's not that I've doubted that, I haven't. I just needed that reminder and it was such an encouragement to me. And just in case, there is a chance of fear trying to creep back into my life, Gabriel cuts me off at the pass with another reminder of peace, "O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you, be strong and of good courage." So that's where I leave it, today. Gabriel may not have shown up right beside me, but in a sense he did, on the pages of my Bible, reminding me I'm greatly loved, my words are heard, and as always, I need not fear.
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