Faster Than the Speed of Prayer

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Transcript

Welcome And Today’s Big Question

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Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in the Word. I'm Ronnie Cookes. Have you ever been so overwhelmed and troubled by something that it clouded everything you did all day long? Me too. I want to share with you one of my favorite Bible stories about how responsive God is to our prayers.

Daniel’s Prayer And Gabriel Arrives

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In Daniel chapter 9, verses 20 through 23 it says this. Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, while I was still speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. At the beginning of your supplications, the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed, so give heed to the message and gain understanding of

The Disturbing Vision That Broke Daniel

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the vision. Now in the previous chapter, chapter eight, we learn that Daniel saw a vision or a dream sent by God, and in this dream Daniel saw massive, world-affecting events that would happen in the future. The dream was so disturbing that Daniel was left exhausted and sick for days. Now remember, he had never seen a video, he had never seen a movie, and he didn't know the end of the story. And so it overwhelmed him and he couldn't think about anything else. And he remained that way because there was no one to explain the dream. He didn't know what to think. Now I've never experienced the same thing as Daniel here in this story, but there are certainly times in my life when I don't know what to do, and it can be distracting and it can completely overtake your thoughts. And I imagine you know exactly what I mean.

God Answers Before The Ask

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Well, what did Daniel do? He turned to God. Chapter nine says that he turned to God in prayer, repenting for his sin, for the sin of Israel, and asking God from that humble heart to have mercy on them and to bless them. Now here comes my favorite part. Twice the text says, while he was still speaking, while he was still praying to God, the angel Gabriel showed up. What did God's angel say? He said that when Daniel began his prayer, God dispatched Gabriel to take the answer to Daniel. Now I don't know about you, but I don't mind if God doesn't wait for me to finish my prayer and he wants to go ahead and send the answer immediately. The answer was a very encouraging explanation about how God was going to save Israel in that time period, and it even included a promise about the Lord's glorious work to come in the future end times. When he started praying, before he even got to the asking part, before he even made his case, God already knew what he would pray, and God issued the command for Gabriel to go in haste. And Gabriel arrived before his prayer was finished. What a humorous and wonderful sight to see Gabriel just show up and interrupt Daniel to say, Hey Daniel, God hears and God is answering.

Practical Call To Pray Now

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God knows what you will do every moment, and I believe he waits with open arms for you to turn to him in humility and for you to admit to God just how badly you need his wisdom, his guidance, forgiveness, strength, and much, much more. So what are you waiting for? Have you spent time in prayer yet today? Are there things on your heart about which you wish someone could help you? Someone could listen. Go now. Turn your heart to God in humility and repentance. Pour out your heart to Him. He is listening every moment. He can listen to all seven billion people around the earth simultaneously. Before you say Hey Siri, say O dear Father in heaven, and then pour it all out to Him, you'll be amazed how great it feels to give all of those things to God and keep doing that every day and even multiple times each day. He will hear, He will move, and even if the results aren't as visible, He will move in His timing and in His

Blessing And Share With A Friend

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way. Well, God bless you. Thank you again for being with us. Tell a friend if you think this content is helpful, and I look forward to seeing you back here next time.