In Daniel 10, we walk alongside a man burdened by questions of destiny and longing for understanding, as the prophet prepares to receive one of the most vivid revelations of the Old Testament. It is the third year of Cyrus’s reign, and Daniel has been fasting and mourning for three weeks, abstaining from rich food, meat, wine, and even oil. In his humility and earnest devotion, he seeks insight into why his people have suffered and what the future holds for Jerusalem and the exiles. We can sense his physical weakness—and yet within that frailty, a spirit ready to encounter the divine.
On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, Daniel stands by the great river Hiddekel, eyes turned toward the horizon, when he sees a figure clothed in linen, whose waist is girded with fine gold. His face glows like lightning, his eyes blaze like torches, and his arms and feet gleam like burnished bronze. As we imagine Daniel’s awe, the ground shakes beneath him, and he collapses in terror, face down. He hears a voice of a man, calling him “O Daniel, man greatly beloved,” and is strengthened by touch and words of reassurance. In that moment, we feel the tenderness of God’s welcome: even when we are overwhelmed by His majesty, we are never abandoned to our fears.
Daniel’s visitor explains that he has come in response to Daniel’s prayers from the first day, yet was delayed for twenty-one days by the “prince of the kingdom of Persia,” a spiritual force opposed to God’s purposes. Here we glimpse the reality of a cosmic conflict—an unseen battle waging behind the scenes of history. Gabriel, identifying himself as the one sent to make Daniel understand, shares how Michael, one of the chief princes, came to assist him, for the forces resisting the message are powerful. As we reflect, we recognize how our own petitions often engage in a struggle beyond what our eyes can see, reminding us that our prayers matter in the heavenly realms even when answers seem slow.
Gabriel unfolds part of the vision’s meaning: he has been sent to make Daniel understand what will befall his people in the latter days. Daniel, faint and trembling, finds his strength renewed as Gabriel lays out the outline of future events, spanning empires and conflicts that will shape the destiny of Israel. Although Gabriel does not reveal every detail, he assures Daniel that what he has seen belongs to times yet to come, and that after his own death, Michael will stand again for Israel. We sense in Daniel’s heart both comfort and continued responsibility: the knowledge he gains is not simply for his own benefit but for the encouragement of all who long for God’s promises to be fulfilled.
As the vision draws to a close, Daniel confesses his own distress and inability to endure the weight of what has been shown. Gabriel places Daniel’s words on record, instructing him to seal the book until the time of the end. This act of sealing speaks to the tension between revelation and mystery: we are given enough to trust God’s sovereign plan, yet some meanings remain hidden until the appointed hour. Like Daniel, we may not grasp every detail of God’s timetable, but we can live faithfully in the present, confident that divine wisdom transcends our limited understanding.
Daniel’s encounter in chapter 10 deepens our sense of wonder at how intimately God attends to our earnest seeking. We see that prayer is not a mere formality but a force that sets angels in motion and engages the very throne of heaven. This truth echoes in the New Testament when we are reminded that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities” in spiritual places. Our prayers join that cosmic wrestling, and God equips us through His messengers and His own presence, inviting us to persist even when answers seem delayed.
Moreover, Daniel’s experience invites us to embrace both awe and comfort in God’s presence. When the prophet trembles before the radiant figure, we recognize our own tendency to shrink from God’s glory. At the same time, Gabriel’s gentle words—calling Daniel beloved and strengthening him—reveal that the same deity who shakes the heavens with thunder also draws close to sustain us. In our own journeys, we may face seasons of spiritual battle or unanswered longing, yet we can trust that God hears our petitions from the moment we lift them up, works behind the scenes, and sends help when the time is right.
In reflecting on Daniel 10, we learn that seeking God with humility and perseverance opens us to revelations that shape our hope and courage. Though we may not see every battle or understand every word of prophecy, we stand assured that God’s purposes will prevail. As Daniel trembles and then stands strengthened, so we, too, can walk forward in faith—knowing that the Ancient of Days and His angelic hosts accompany us in every season, from our times of waiting to the fulfillment of all things in His perfect timing.