Prayer

Daniel 10:12 
“Don’t be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers.
 
Since I was a kid, prayer has been hard for me to understand. I’ve learned more about it over the years, but I still wonder. When I was young, I used to always ask my mom the following: “if God already knows what’s going to happen, why should I pray about it?” That’s a question I still ponder from time to time, but a few years ago, I read the above verse (Daniel 10:12) and my view on prayer changed. The fact that God hears and acts on our prayers is humbling. The angel told Daniel that from the first day he purposed himself to understand and humble himself before God his prayers were heard.
 
We don’t always know what God will do with our prayers. We don’t always know when or how they will be acted upon, but we do know this, God hears us. Our Father hears our cries and He knows what is best for us and when it’s best for us. If we could figure God out, He wouldn’t be God. His goal isn’t to always give us what we want. His goal is to further conform us into the image of His Son (Rom. 8:28-30). Regardless of what you are praying for right now, I have one statement for you: Don’t quit, God hears you. I am a product of years of fervent and consistent prayer. My mom poured her heart out to God interceding to the throne of grace on my behalf many years before the seeds of her prayers were harvested. I run into people I don’t even know who tell me they prayed for me years ago and still do. Don’t give up. I’m glad those praying for me didn’t give up. After all, the goal is for God to do His will through us, not for us to try and do our will through God. 
 
Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.