Pray and Wait Expectantly
Daniel 10:10-14
God had sent this messenger to Daniel, but on his way to give Daniel his message, the messenger had been detained by "the prince of Persia", a powerful spiritual being - undoubtedly a demon. The messenger's confrontation with this demon had delayed his reaching Daniel for three weeks. Instead of giving up when his prayers weren't answered immediately, Daniel faithfully continued to pray and to wait for God's answer. Finally, the messenger arrived after getting help from Michael, the archangel. Daniel's faithful prayers had been answered.
Picture this. We live in a world we can see. It's full of people and trees and cars and buildings and bugs and animals and clouds and everything else we can see. What we don't see is the spiritual world that surrounds each of us. It's filled with angels and demons who are in constant battle - a battle that will never end until Satan and all his evil, slimy buddies are thrown into the pit. Sometimes there are minor skirmishes. Sometimes there are all-out battles. But the war is constantly going on all around us, even though we can't see what's going on.
Now, think about what happened here with Daniel. He prayed. God sent a messenger to answer his prayer. On the way to Daniel, that messenger got tangled up in a fight with a demon so powerful that the fight detained the messenger for three entire weeks. It was only when Michael stepped in and helped that the messenger was freed up to go and speak with Daniel.
The next time you pray and don't receive an immediate response, remember the spiritual war that is being waged all around you. Your answer may be on the way. Perhaps it's just been detained by a demon who doesn't want you to be blessed. Like Daniel, continue to pray faithfully and wait expectantly for your answer. It will arrive in God's perfect time.
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