Good Morning Friends,
“‘Daniel, you who are highly esteemed,
consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I
have now been sent to you.’ And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling. Then
he continued, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind
to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were
heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian
kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes,
came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I
have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for
the vision concerns a time yet to come.’” (Daniel 10:11-14)
Why doesn’t God answer our cries for help
right away?
There could be many reasons. Some have to do
with what is best for us -- and at times that is to persevere through troubles
rather than have them immediately removed. Some have to do with what God wants
to accomplish in others -- our troubles can accomplish important things in the lives
of others. Some have to do with sin in our own lives -- God may be waiting for
our repentance before He acts in our behalf.
An angel came in response to Daniel’s prayer.
But the angel did not come immediately. Over three weeks of fasting and praying
passed before the angel finally came. He provides another reason God’s response
is sometimes delayed. This angel was delayed by a battle that raged in the
spiritual realm. The prince of the Persian kingdom resisted him – that’s not
the human prince, for no human can delay the work of an angel -- but some kind
of demonic being with authority over Persia.
There is a battle raging that we cannot see
and know little about. It is going on in the spiritual realm between the Lord’s
forces and the forces of wickedness commanded by Satan. For a time, God has
given Satan power to wage this war and influence what happens on earth.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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