The insights in these two episodes from the life of Daniel would seem to suggest that sometimes we think a prayer is going unanswered, when in fact the answer is already on the way.
In Daniel chapter 10, for example, we read that Daniel has been fasting and praying about something for three whole weeks. Then, one day he sees an angel who tells him that God heard his prayer and sent an answer on the very first day that he began to pray. But there was a spiritual battle going on, and the angel who was bringing the answer (see verses 12 - 13) was delayed for 21 days by a spiritual principality that he calls the Prince of Persia. Because Daniel continued to pray, another angel was dispatched to continue the fight, and the first angel was finally able to get through to Daniel with the answer to his prayer.
Wow! Sometimes we are so clueless about what is going on in the spiritual realm! We blame God for the delay, instead of partnering with God in the spiritual warfare that is needed to see victory assured. I often think, what if Daniel had only prayed for a week and then given up? Or what if he had even prayed for 20 days and then thought, "What's the point? This prayer isn't being answered." He would never have known that God had sent an answer on the very first day and that the breakthrough was just around the corner.
I wonder if many of our "unanswered prayers" are simply prayers where we gave up too soon, before the battle was won and the answer had time to happen. We're sometimes so unaware of the spiritual warfare going on around us, and we don't persevere enough. That's why, in the New Testament, Jesus told the parable about the persistent widow.
Similarly, in Daniel 9: 22 - 23, when Daniel has been praying for Jerusalem, he sees a vision where the angel Gabriel comes to give him insight and understanding about why things are taking so long. Gabriel tells him, "The moment you began praying, a command was given...." On this occasion, even though God is already at work, the angel actually explains to Daniel why he won't see the answer immediately.
God is not slow to hear and answer our prayers. Sometimes we don't see the answer because of spiritual warfare, and sometimes it's a question of waiting for the right timing. If we don't have understanding of why things are slow to change, the key is to keep on praying and not give up too soon.
That's not to say that there aren't other factors which affect the outcome of our prayers. The Bible teaches, for example, that sometimes our prayers are not answered because of unconfessed sin or unbelief in our own lives. Or perhaps we're praying for another person, but we don't take into account the fact that God will never force that person or override their free will. So we end up praying for things that God in His wisdom and justice, and in His love for that person, would not do.
But the insights in these two chapters would seem to suggest that sometimes we think a prayer is going unanswered, when in fact the answer is already on the way. I don't want to be the person who throws in the towel on day 20, because I don't know and don't have faith that the answer will arrive on day 21. Let's be people of prayerful persistence, with hearts and minds that are sensitive to the spiritual realities of the world around us.
