13.7- Additional note to Daniel 10 verses 2 and 3

In Daniel 10 verses 2 and 3 it says: “At that time I was mourning for three weeks. I did not eat any rich food or any meat, drink any wine, or comb my hair until the three weeks were past”…. 

Real love never leads to resigned suffering, but to fighting for the life of the beloved. This is what Daniel does for his people. And he does this because of his deep compassion for them, ready to intercede intensely…. This is also what we should do when necessary in order to be able to understand God’s will. His prayers and his fighting go by Daniel together with fasting and great sacrifice.

What is fasting?  It is not to try to “relent” and “persuade” God, but to show Him that His Plan with this world, and with His people are for us of all importance. This fasting is done with great determination and temporary denial of important necessities. 

This prayer and fasting, with all our heart, is the guarantee for God’s promises to become true. See Jeremiah 29 verses 12 to 14: “Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you.  You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart. Yes, I say, you will find me, and I will restore you to your land. I will gather you from every country and from every place to which I have scattered you, and I will bring you back to the land from which I had sent you away into exile. I, the Lord, have spoken”…………. And at the same we are showing Satan that Jesus will be victorious in the life of the person for which we are interceding. This will make the devil withdraw. (See Matthew 17 verses 14 to 21, the story where Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon. At the end this text says: “…..I assure you that if you have faith as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this hill, ‘Go from here to there!’ and it will go. You could do anything”).  When we pray and fast in this way, than God’s answer is coming.  This is also what Daniel experiences after his prayer here in this chapter.