You Are of Great Value

Faithful Prayers

Have you ever prayed for something for days, weeks, months, or years on end? I want you to take a moment to think of something you have prayed about that has taken a lot of faith to continue praying for. It could be about a relationship with someone in your life, your job/career, starting a business, something for your family, etc. Now, has God answered that prayer for you yet? Maybe He has answered in the way you were hoping. Maybe He answered in a different way than you expected. Maybe His answer to you has been “not yet” or a clear “no.”

For me, the prayer that I have been praying pretty consistently for almost 15 years is the prayer for God to place a godly man in my life to pursue me and become my husband. I started praying that prayer when I was 19 years old. While I don’t know what God will ultimately do with that prayer, I find peace in the fact that His Word says He hears me when I pray. The God of the universe bends His ear to us (Psalm 116:1-2). What an amazing gift we have to communicate with the Creator of all things, our loving and heavenly Father.

Surrendered Prayers

In Daniel 10:11-12, we read a story of an angel appearing to Daniel and telling him, “from the very first day you applied your mind to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard” (Daniel 10:12). Daniel was a man who sought God and humbled himself before God, meaning Daniel acknowledged God as Lord over his life and sought to be one of God’s holy servants on earth. He wanted to live life in a way that honored God, surrendered to however God wanted to use him.

Since I started following Jesus, prayer has been the most practiced part of my faith. Whether it’s spending time with the Lord in the morning, having focused prayer time with Him, or just talking out loud to God while driving around the city, God hears from me a lot. I regularly thank God for listening to me and being patient with me. I’m convinced that only a loving and patient God could hear the same prayer over and over and never cease to value that time with me.

Valued Prayers

When the angel first appeared to Daniel, the first thing he said to him was “Daniel, you are of great value” (Daniel 10:11). The angel didn’t say, “You have been successful in praying,” or “You have worked hard and earned an appearance from God’s messenger.” The angel came to Daniel and before saying anything else said, “You are of great value.” God saw the way Daniel trusted Him, and in God’s perfect timing, the Lord came to answer his prayers.

I want you to put your name into the place of Daniel’s name in Daniel 10:11. For me, it would say, “Haley, you are of great value.” Do you believe that you have great value in God’s eyes? Do you believe that God lovingly bends His ear to listen to what is on your heart and mind? Whether or not your prayers get answered in the way you hope, I want to challenge you to not lose faith in the only One who can answer your prayers. He hears you. He loves you. He protects you. He values you.

May we live like Daniel, applying our minds to understand God’s Word, humbling ourselves before our loving Father, and believing always that we are of great value as children of God.