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Today's reading
December 18, 2025
Daniel 10:2-3,10-14,19-20
The air was cool as it rustled the leaves of the towering palm trees and drifted down to kiss the surface of the Tigris River before brushing past the haggard man standing like a gargoyle on its shimmering banks. It was the third year of King Cyrus, the new ruler of Persia. Daniel had weathered regime changes, battles won and lost, and a lifetime of uncertainty. His faith had centered him through a meteoric rise and protected him when his reputation came under attack.
And he had gotten exactly what he had prayed for.
The captive Israelites were released.
They were resourced to rebuild Jerusalem.
The exile was over.
But like an injured bird, Israel struggled to fly.
The returning exiles faced discouragement, opposition, and painfully slow progress.
Hope felt fragile. The promises felt far away.
So Daniel did what the faithful always do in uncertain seasons:
“I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks.
I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth,
nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.”
Daniel 10:2–3 (NKJV)
Three weeks of seeking God had passed, and now Daniel’s weary gaze was fixed on the rippling water while his spirit searched for the right words to pray.
Then—suddenly—his stare was broken.
“Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands.”
Daniel 10:10 (NKJV)
The angel lifted him, strengthened him, and then spoke one of the most astonishing assurances in Scripture:
“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 (NKJV)
From the first day.
Long before Daniel saw anything, God had already heard.
As Tremper Longman notes, this is the pastoral heart of Daniel 10—proof that divine silence is not divine neglect.
Then the angel calls Daniel by the name Heaven knows him by:
“O Daniel, man greatly beloved.”
Daniel 10:11 (NKJV)
And again:
“O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!”
Daniel 10:19 (NKJV)
Daniel is not only heard—he is cherished.
But the angel also reveals why the answer took so long. It was not because God delayed, nor because Daniel prayed poorly, but because a war raged behind the veil of history:
“But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days;
and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me…”
Daniel 10:13 (NKJV)
Conservative scholars agree that this “prince” is a demonic being influencing Persia. Heaven was fighting for Daniel long before Daniel even understood there was a battle.
Daniel’s prayers were not simply letters sent heavenward; they were dispatches in a cosmic war zone—messages carried through resistance and darkness. God had not withheld His answer. He had sent His best messenger to break through enemy lines.
The angel continues:
“Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days…”
Daniel 10:14 (NKJV)
And after strengthening Daniel again, he concludes:
“And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia;
and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come.”
Daniel 10:20 (NKJV)
Daniel stands trembling on the edge of a revelation that required angelic warfare just to deliver.
And yet, the message throughout the chapter remains profoundly tender:
God hears your prayer.
God treasures your soul.
God fights for your understanding.
This is Advent in apocalyptic form.
Bethlehem, too, was a battlefield.
The little town where shepherds slept was, in Heaven’s view, ground zero for the soul of humanity.
Satan waited for the arrival of the Promised Child armed with Herod—his puppet king—jaw cocked
like a dragon poised to devour the swaddled Savior.
(Revelation 12 gives us this very picture.)
And all creation waited as well.
The groaning earth longed for the Warrior who would crush the serpent, redeem mankind, and renew a broken world. The invisible war Daniel glimpsed was still raging the night Mary labored under Bethlehem’s stars.
Daniel stood between two promises—
the promise of return, and the promise of full restoration.
He had seen God move, and yet he waited for God to finish what He began.
And we now stand where Daniel once stood:
between the first day God heard our cry,
and the day His answer arrives in fullness.
Between Christ’s first Advent,
and His second.
Daniel collapses several times in this chapter, overwhelmed by glory and truth. Each time, the angel lifts him,
steadies him, strengthens him, until Daniel can finally whisper:
“Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”
Daniel 10:19 (NKJV)
Advent does the same for us.
It steadies the trembling.
It strengthens the weary.
It reminds us that the God who once stepped into our dust as a child
will come again in power and glory.
So we wait—
not in despair, but in assurance.
Not in fear, but in confidence
that Heaven is already at work in battles we cannot see.
And to the waiting heart, Heaven still sings:
God hears every prayer.
God treasures every saint.
God fights for every hope.