The mornings in October felt different this year. The sunlight seemed softer, as if it too had chosen to bow before prayer. Our home in Dubai had settled into a quiet rhythm with the Daniel fasting prayers on Shalom Television. For twenty-one days, like Daniel the prophet in the Bible, we were learning to seek strength not through indulgence but through surrender. Zac surprised me when he said he wanted to join. I didn't expect that, especially during his busy board exam schedule. Marta, his younger sister, often watched him with curiosity, amused that her usually sleepy brother was now up for morning prayer.

A few days later, at a friend's birthday party, the conversation turned to Daniel fasting. Someone casually asked Zac what it was all about. I listened from across the room as he replied, “Daniel is a great prophet in the Bible.” His tone was confident, but I noticed a flicker in his eyes—a small hesitation, as if he felt there was more to the story. After our evening prayer, Zac lingered in the living room. He wore that look again—the one that came when his heart was reaching for understanding.

“Mum,” he began, “I was reading Daniel chapter 10 today. It says he prayed and fasted for twenty-one days. Why so long? Didn’t God hear him sooner?”

I smiled and motioned for him to sit beside me. “He did, Zac. God heard Daniel’s prayer the very first day he began to fast. But the answer took time to reach him. A spiritual battle was happening that Daniel couldn’t see.”

“Set your heart and mind to understand, and humble yourself before your God. Your words were heard from the first day.” — Daniel 10:12

Zac frowned slightly. “A battle?”

“Yes,” I said softly. “The Bible says the messenger bringing Daniel’s answer was delayed by the prince of Persia—a kind of spiritual opposition. It reminds us that sometimes, even when we pray with all our heart, the answer may be delayed. But that doesn’t mean God is silent. It means something greater is happening in the unseen.”

He sat in silence for a while, staring at the open Bible. Then he nodded slowly. “So… Daniel didn’t give up even when nothing seemed to happen.”

“That’s right,” I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “He kept praying, kept fasting, kept trusting. And at the end of those twenty-one days, God revealed powerful things to him—things about the future and about His faithfulness.”

Something changed in Zac that night. The next morning, over breakfast, he told Marta and me, “I want to understand the Book of Daniel properly this time.”

Marta laughed. “So you’re studying both board exams and prophecy now?” But Zac only smiled and opened his Bible again.

A few evenings later, he approached me, his face glowing with excitement. “Mum, do you know about Daniel’s vision in chapter eight?”

I hesitated. “Not really, Zac.” He pulled up a chair beside me.

“Daniel saw this amazing vision during the reign of King Belshazzar, before Babylon fell. He saw a ram with two horns, one higher than the other, pushing west, north, and south. Then a male goat came from the west, moving so fast that its feet didn’t even touch the ground. The goat had a prominent horn between its eyes. It attacked the ram, shattered its horns, and became very powerful.” “The ram which you saw, having two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia. And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece; the large horn between its eyes is the first king.” — Daniel 8:20–21

I listened, fascinated. He continued,

“Later, an angel interpreted the vision. The ram represented the kings of Media and Persia, and the goat represented Greece. The big horn was the first king of Greece—that's Alexander the Great. When the horn broke, it meant Alexander’s early death, and the four horns that came after were the four generals who divided his empire.”

He paused to let that sink in. “So, Mum, if Daniel really wrote this in the sixth century B.C., his vision about Greece and Alexander was almost two hundred years before it happened. Isn’t that incredible? That’s real prophecy!”

I couldn’t help but smile. “That’s remarkable, Zac. You make the Bible come alive.” He leaned back, thoughtful. “I just don’t understand why no one told me this before. Catechism classes would be so much more interesting if they explained the Book of Daniel like this—linking prophecy with history. Then we’d see how real and powerful God’s Word is.”

I laughed softly. “Maybe your generation—your Gen Z—should start retelling these stories in your own language. You could help others see how alive Scripture really is.” He nodded, still reflecting. I added gently, “Even today, God still warns and guides us, Zac. Haven’t you noticed that sometimes, before a crisis, we sense it in a dream or a sudden thought? We may not have angels like Daniel did, but God still speaks. The question is—are we listening?” “When there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams.” — Numbers 12:6.

Marta, who had been quiet all along, spoke up from across the room. “Maybe that’s what prayer is, Mum. Learning to hear God even when He whispers.” Zac smiled at his sister and nodded. “Exactly. Maybe that’s the real meaning of Daniel fasting—to tune our hearts to God’s voice.” I felt a deep peace settle over the room.

The candle burned low, and the night was silent except for the hum of the city outside. Just as Daniel fasting opened our hearts to God’s revelation, our quiet moments of discipline and surrender can sharpen our spiritual ears. In every sunrise and quiet moment, God is speaking—if only we are willing to hear. In our digital world, the constant noise of news, social media, and notifications can become our “prince of Persia,” distracting us from God’s voice.

Yet, in the stillness, in the whisper, He calls. He waits patiently for us to listen. God has given us free will to choose, but it is up to us to discern and seek His will.