The timing of this assurance was important and reassuring, but known only to God. It was not something that could be caused by Nephi’s prayer, because the events leading to this date had been set in motion nine months before, and a world away. The coming of the assurance also gave comfort to Nephi, but it was a comfort that he could not have shared fast enough to comfort so many fears before the ultimate sign was given. We do not know when in the day Nephi prayed, but it was that very day that there was no night.
Nevertheless, this announcement to Nephi places Nephi in a particular position as a witness to Jehovah coming to earth. He will become one of the special witnesses to the actual appearance of his people’s God to those gathered near the temple in Bountiful thirty-four years later (3 Nephi 8:5).