Spiritual Warfare

Welcome back to another inspirational moment from historical Christian romance novels.

Hebrews 1:14 – Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who inherit salvation?

Have you ever wondered about the spirit world? Or how our prayers impact spiritual battles? We live in the physical world, yet out true home, our eternal home is in the spiritual world. I know this starts to sound a bit crazy but hang with me today. I want to shed some light on spiritual warfare and the power of our prayers.

I also just want to note that much of what I am sharing today comes from Pastor Jim Brown’s sermon, with some of my own thoughts mixed in. You can watch his sermon at the link provided here, which I highly recommend.

Let’s start by digging into Daniel 10. I am going to start with verse 4.

On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up and there before me was the man dressed in linen with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

(Daniel 10: 4-6)

These verses describe the angel Daniel encountered. What an incredible picture of the mighty warrior angels of God’s army. The same angels that he sends to not only minister to you and I, but to fight our spiritual battles. For we know Satan wants to keep us from living up to our redemptive potential and he does this by attacking us with demons in the spiritual world. Check out how God’s angel ministers to Daniel.

I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.

A Hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said, “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.

(Daniel 10:7-11)

Note the sentence: For I have now been sent you. Remember Daniel had spent three weeks praying and fasting prior to this. That is going to be a key detail for later. Let’s keep reading.

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 10:12-14)

Let’s pause and start connecting some dots. God sent this angel to Daniel to answer his prayers, because Daniel’s prayers were heard by God. However, this angel had been detained in battle with the prince of the Persian kingdom. This passage in scripture is so neat because it is giving us a glimpse into the spiritual battles that are taking place all around us. This angel had been battling one of Satan’s demons for twenty-ones days before the angel Michael came and assisted him. We cannot forget that Satan was once a part of God’s angel army and when he fell, he took a third of the angels with him.

During this angel’s detainment, Daniel continued to pray. However, don’t you think at some point he felt like God wasn’t listening to his prayers? We’ve all been there. We’ve been praying about a specific issue and yet nothing has changed. It’s as if God isn’t listening. Have you ever considered that there is a great spiritual battle taking place, delaying God’s answer to your prayer because Satan wants you to believe that God isn’t listening, that God doesn’t care about you.

Our enemy is crafty and desperate. He will use all the forces at his disposal to keep us from God. Yet have no fear for we are not alone in this battle. God’s angels are fighting for us. Not only that Satan’s desperation comes from the fact he knows he cannot defeat our mighty God, but he wants to take as many of us down with him as he can. This is why it is so important to put on our armor of God every day.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this, in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

(Ephesians 6:10-18)

Pastor Jim put it this way. When you do not put on the armor of God, it’s like walking into battle naked because our enemy is always coming after us. So every morning put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit. Because you don’t want to walk onto the battlefield naked.

Now, let’s finish out Daniel 10 and as I read this last part, pay attention to the many ways God used this angel to not only answer Daniel’s prayer to minister to him and renew his strength.

While he was saying to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. Then one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, “I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I am helpless. How can, I your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.”

Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. “Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed,” he said. “Peace! Be strong now; be strong.”

When he spoke to me I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.”

(Daniel 10:15-19)

I have a feeling we can all relate to Daniel in that moment. He was overwhelmed, distraught, weak and felt helpless. We’ve all been there, and we’ve all experienced that glorious moment when God not only answers our prayers but sends His angels to minister to us, but to bring us peace and to renew our strength to continue to fight the good fight.

I love these words of wisdom from Pastor Jim. God loves it when we ask for help. When we pray, He release His angels to do the work. There is no Christian who hasn’t had their name spoken by Jesus to God in Heaven. We must be praying people and battle in the spirit world with Him. Our prayers are weapons of warfare that provide ammunition for angels who battle for us.

I will leave you with this final thought: The God that met Daniel after he prayed can meet you too.