Monday, March 09, 2009

Fervent Prayer that Empowers God's Forces

The apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 6: 12 that "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

There is a spiritual battle being faught in our midst in another realm - an invisible realm hidden from senses. When we pray it is wise to remember this and to pray for God to move in this invisible realm and to get through to accomplish his will.

In the tenth chapter of Daniel we find that nations have angels and that these angels represent their nation in the heavenly court. These angels or beings may make up the ethos of the nation or city or corporation. So, we are not just dealing with a nation, a city, a government, a corporation, a church, a movement but also the inner spirit of the organization.

When a nation, a city or an organization is not fulfilling its Godly calling then it has lost its way. It has become diseased and disconnected from its divine vocation. It needs to be brought back to its divine vocation. Here is where prayer plays a great role. When we pray for our nation, a city or an organization or a person we are asking that whatever spiritual forces have turned them away from their divine calling would be stumped, and that the wind of God would breathe on them and bring them back to their calling. We may pray for restoration.

Regardless of the situation we do well to realize the spiritual battle and its huge proportions. What we we see in Daniel chapter 10 is that God works in this realm and tries to advance his purposes despite the opposition from the other side.

In Daniel 10:12 we see that Daniel has prayed and is waiting for God to answer his prayer. The text tells us that an angel appears after 21 days. The angel says, "Daniel, don't be afraid. God has heard your prayers ever since the first day you decided to humble yourself in order to gain understanding. I have come in answer to your prayers" (Daniel 10:12, TEV).

Why does the angel come and appear to Daniel 21 days after his prayer was made? If the prayer was heard on the first day what took this angel so long? In verse 13 we find out that the angel got caught in a battle. The angel explains, "the angel prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days."

He could not even have managed to get through to Daniel at all, except that "Michael one of the chief angels, came to help me, because I had been left there alone" to contend with the angel of Persia. Now while Michael occupies the angel of Persia, the messenger angel has slipped through and is able to deliver to Daniel a vision of the future of exiled Israel. 1

To read of the battle that ensues when the angel goes back read Daniel 10:20-21. What we find in this text is the importance of prayer and of the obstacles that stand in the way of the prayer being answered. May we be reminded that when our prayers appear to go unanswered that they are heard on the first day and that God is working to answer our prayers from that day. May we, knowing this knowledge of the spiritual realm, pray fervently for God's forces to break through and bring his peace, truth and light to the situation. And may we remember that our God is working all things for good for those who love him (Romans 8:28).

1. Walter Wink, The Powers that Be, Doubleday, New York, New York, 1998.

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