A Man of Prayer

This 10th chapter brings the final vision given to Daniel. Verse 1 tells us a matter or word was revealed unto Daniel. The word was stamped by certainty and marked by clarity, but it impacted him deeply as he mourned and fasted (10:2-3). Daniel is an aged man at this point as he has lived through 70 years of the Babylonian captivity. He has remained spiritually strong throughout all this time. He is still the man of prayer that he always was. We have a mighty prayer of Daniel here. Surely we have a message in this that we cannot let up in prayer. In this message, we look at that prayer

1. The moving of Daniel to prayer (10:1)
   We read here the time appointed was long. The implication is that the warfare is long. It is a reference to the long drawn out spiritual battle that rages between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. This is the battle of the ages. That battle has been raging since the fall and will continue till Jesus comes. This is what moved Daniel to prayer.

1a. The answer to prayer (10:4, 12)
Christ comes into the scene. Daniel is moved to pray and Christ is moved to step into the scene. The answer did not come right away but Daniel's prayer was heard right away. The Lord had taken notice of the cry of Daniel.

1b. The resistance to prayer (10:13)
The Lord reveals that there had been resistance to prayer. Hell resists heaven. The devil resists the work of God.

2. The man seen by Daniel in prayer (10:5)
   This certain man is Christ. The man is a priest (clothed in linen). He is also God (gold signifies deity). That is Christ.

3. The mercy shown to Daniel in prayer
   the Lord's touch (10:10, 16, 18)
   the Lord's truth (10:12, 14, 20)