"Since the first day..."

I'm pretty tired right now, this post won't be long or deep or anything like that. I just wanted to drop by and say we had a really neat time of worship at our church today; it's such an honor and privilege to sing on the worship team, and it's something I truly love. Last week at church, I actually got to meet another blogger, Tom, whom I had met through blogging; and he was at our church again this week, so it was nice to see him again. My dad hasn't felt well today, so my sister and I went home after the service to check on him while my mom stayed behind for a meeting. Anyways, we ran some errands later that afternoon, and I finished a book I was reading. This evening my sister and I walked up to Hillside for some Indian food and some good time to talk; I love my sister! And I can't believe my "baby" sister will be 17 in four days! Craziness.

So, that's been my day overall. I do want to say how good the Lord has been. He has begun to consistently teach me some awesome things lately, and it's been incredible to see how as I humble myself and seek him further, even if I may not feel immediate results, I will begin seeing them in my thoughts and attitudes in the days to come. They're almost always the elementary things, and sometimes I despair of learning the same "easy" truth over and over again; I long to be taken deeper in my understanding of Christ. But there's a verse that has encouraged me lately; it's in the Old Testament where God sends an angel to Daniel in response to a prayer Daniel made. The angel tells him, "Don't be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer" (Daniel 10:12, NLT). This encourages me so much, and I can know that whenever I humble myself, seek God's will, and pray for understanding, no matter what area of my life it's in, God will hear and he will answer. Our answer may not always be immediate; in fact, the next verse in Daniel 10 tells us that it took the angel three weeks to make it to Daniel with that message because the spirit prince of Persia blocked his way. But I can know that even "since the first day" I begin to pray and cry out to God, he hears me. And I will see him answer.

Well, this became a little longer than I thought it might, so I guess you can scratch out my claim in the first sentence. :-) I pray that each of you would be blessed by the knowledge that God hears your prayers from the very first day you begin praying in humility and for understanding; even if you don't see results right away, he has heard, and he will answer. We serve such a faithful God! May he bless you and make you a blessing.