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Silence and Spiritual Walk: The Silence of Waiting Silence and Spiritual Walk: The Silence of Waiting

Silence and Spiritual Walk: The Silence of Waiting

In “A Better Resurrection,” Victorian poet Christina Rossetti expressed the pain of waiting in silence before the Lord:

“I have no wit, no words, no tears;
My heart within me like a stone
Is numb’d too much for hopes or fears;
Look right, look left, I dwell alone;
I lift mine eyes, but dimm’d with grief
No everlasting hills I see;
My life is in the falling leaf:
O Jesus, quicken me.”

Today’s passage describes Daniel’s difficult days of waiting for the Lord to answer a prayer. When the angel God sent at last appeared, Daniel fell with his face to the ground and later responded with speechless anguish. Both times the angel touched him to give him renewed strength (vv. 10–11, 15–19).

Being overcome with fear is a common reaction in Scripture to divine phenomena. In the Christmas story, for example, Zechariah, Mary, and the shepherds all had to be told by an angel, “Do not be afraid.” When Christ appeared to John the Apostle in his apocalyptic vision, John fell at His feet as though dead, overcome by God’s glory (Rev. 1:17–18).

The date was 536 B.C., which means Daniel was 84 years old. The first Jews had returned from exile to Jerusalem two years previously, but things were not going well. Daniel had been praying and fasting continually and earnestly for God to come to their aid. God sent an angel with an answer for His “highly esteemed” or “greatly loved” servant, but the angel had been delayed twenty-one days due to warfare with a fallen angel (vv. 12–14). This had been a difficult time for Daniel as he waited on the Lord. Notice that “waiting” here does not mean passively standing around; rather, “waiting” means actively seeking and worshiping the Lord.

Pray With Us

On today’s Father’s Day, as we honor fathers in our lives, let’s thank God for His Father’s love, mercy, and grace. What joy it is to be a child of God and to come to Him with Jesus’ words, “Our Father in heaven”!

BY Brad Baurain

Dr. Bradley Baurain is Professor and Program Head of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at Moody Bible Institute. Bradley has the unique privilege of holding a degree from four different universities (including Moody). He has just published his first book, On Waiting Well. Bradley taught in China, Vietnam, the United States, and Canada. Bradley and his wife, Julia, have four children and reside in Northwest Indiana.

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