Daniel 10
vs. 2 - "In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks."
vs. 5 - "I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man."
vs. 2 - "In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks."
vs. 5 - "I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man."
vs. 12-13 - "Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the
first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling
yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to
your words. But the prince of the kingdom
of Persia was withstanding me for
twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help
me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.""
vs. 20-21 - "Then he said, "Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come. "However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.""
In this passage Daniel had been disturbed by a vision that he had seen, and he was mourning and fasting for three weeks. At the end of these three weeks an angel appeared to him and told him that God had heard his prayer twenty one days (three weeks) earlier and had sent a messenger, but the messenger was hindered by the prince of Persia. The story of this angel interests me. You would think that since God had sent him the first day he would have come to Daniel on that first day, but he was hindered by a demon. He was battling with that demon for three whole weeks and then Michael the archangel came to help him, and then he was able to finish his mission.
Spiritual warfare is a very real thing. This angel and this demon fought for twenty one days straight. Angels do experience resistance. They can't lose because God is on their side, but they do fight. In revelation 12:7 it says - "And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war." God could have at any moment completely destroyed the demon. In fact God didn't even need to use the angel to deliver the message at all, but He did use him. And God has a purpose for everything. I don't know why the angel was hindered from getting to Daniel. Maybe it was to test his prayer life. Maybe He was allowing Daniel to sacrifice himself by mourning. Psalm 51:17 says - "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." Again, I don't know the reason, but nevertheless it happened.
It's an interesting fact though. Whenever I think about angels and demons warring I think of the demons having absolutely no power at all and the angels completely wiping them out with one blow. But the fact is that demons do have strength. Incredible strength. And they actually fight. This angel couldn't beat the demon for three whole weeks. It could be that as a result of Daniels prayers that Michael was sent to help him. Our prayers influence what goes on in the spiritual realm. It could be that right now there's an angel out there that has been sent by God to comfort someone that I know who is struggling, or heal someone I know who's sick, or strengthen someone I know who is weak, or give someone I know guidance, and that if I would only pray fervently that angel would not be hindered any more by the forces of darkness. Our prayers really do make a difference.
Ephesians 6:12 says - "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."
We don't wrestle flesh and blood. We fight our battles on our knees. It's our job to call in the reinforcements. God hears our prayers the first time we say them, just like Daniel. And the messenger was sent right away. But because of spiritual warfare it didn't arrive for 3 weeks. God does answer. Maybe it's not always as soon as we would like, but the timing is in His hands. He knows what He's doing. It's our responsibility to pray and not lose faith.
James 5:16 - The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
vs. 20-21 - "Then he said, "Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come. "However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.""
In this passage Daniel had been disturbed by a vision that he had seen, and he was mourning and fasting for three weeks. At the end of these three weeks an angel appeared to him and told him that God had heard his prayer twenty one days (three weeks) earlier and had sent a messenger, but the messenger was hindered by the prince of Persia. The story of this angel interests me. You would think that since God had sent him the first day he would have come to Daniel on that first day, but he was hindered by a demon. He was battling with that demon for three whole weeks and then Michael the archangel came to help him, and then he was able to finish his mission.
Spiritual warfare is a very real thing. This angel and this demon fought for twenty one days straight. Angels do experience resistance. They can't lose because God is on their side, but they do fight. In revelation 12:7 it says - "And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war." God could have at any moment completely destroyed the demon. In fact God didn't even need to use the angel to deliver the message at all, but He did use him. And God has a purpose for everything. I don't know why the angel was hindered from getting to Daniel. Maybe it was to test his prayer life. Maybe He was allowing Daniel to sacrifice himself by mourning. Psalm 51:17 says - "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." Again, I don't know the reason, but nevertheless it happened.
It's an interesting fact though. Whenever I think about angels and demons warring I think of the demons having absolutely no power at all and the angels completely wiping them out with one blow. But the fact is that demons do have strength. Incredible strength. And they actually fight. This angel couldn't beat the demon for three whole weeks. It could be that as a result of Daniels prayers that Michael was sent to help him. Our prayers influence what goes on in the spiritual realm. It could be that right now there's an angel out there that has been sent by God to comfort someone that I know who is struggling, or heal someone I know who's sick, or strengthen someone I know who is weak, or give someone I know guidance, and that if I would only pray fervently that angel would not be hindered any more by the forces of darkness. Our prayers really do make a difference.
Ephesians 6:12 says - "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."
We don't wrestle flesh and blood. We fight our battles on our knees. It's our job to call in the reinforcements. God hears our prayers the first time we say them, just like Daniel. And the messenger was sent right away. But because of spiritual warfare it didn't arrive for 3 weeks. God does answer. Maybe it's not always as soon as we would like, but the timing is in His hands. He knows what He's doing. It's our responsibility to pray and not lose faith.
James 5:16 - The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
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