Spiritual Battles

Have you ever wondered why certain prayers take so long to be answered?  Well duh, of course you have, who hasn’t?  God has his  reasons, and they are not always understood by us.  As one wise woman once told me, he responds in one of three ways; Yes, No and Not Now.  That is true, but there are other, celestial impediments.

 In talking about the duties of Angels, I mentioned recently that they bring us messages, and answers to our prayers. So why the hold up?  In this uber-technological age, we expect, even demand, that our messages, emails, and texts be sent and replied to immediately.  The words Waiting, Patience and Perseverance are not in most of our vocabularies. Back in the book of Daniel, where the physical description of Angels was detailed, we also read why Daniel’s prayer answer was delayed for 21 days.  As you recall, Daniel had been earnestly seeking God, never faltering, or giving up in frustration, when the angel appeared to him.  When we last saw Daniel he was overcome by the sight of this heavenly being, and had fallen on his face.  Here then is the Angel’s response to this precious man. “Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. And the man said to me, ‘Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.’ When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling. Then he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.’ Daniel 10:10-14.

 Did you catch what happened here?  The angel not only physically comforted Daniel, but he reassured him that his prayer had been heard by God, and acted upon, from day one!   So why the delay?  Look carefully at the text, the angel’s progress was impeded by a demonic force, the spirit prince of Persia.  Only after the archangel, Michael, was called in to do battle with the spirit, did the angel resume his delivery.  Wow!!  Spiritual battles being fought over our prayer requests!!  In Daniel’s case, the answer was going to effect world events, so of course Satan had to employ his henchmen to keep that from occurring.  The knowledge that each and every one of our prayers reaches the throne of God, as we pray them, should encourage us to persevere.  The answer may very well be held up on the battlefield.  Satan knows that each answered prayer lessens his hold on human souls, while reinforcing the absolute authority and presence of God. So, in addition to your request, pray for the responding angel, that he may be victorious against our enemies, in a timely manner.  How awesome is our God!!  Keep on praying…the enemy hates it!!