BATTLING DEMONS OF DARKNESS
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… Dan 10:12-13
Daniel had an encounter with an angel while praying about the future of his people. The dominant power ruling the region at the time was Persia. The angel tells Daniel that from the first day of his 21-day fast, God had sent him with answers to his prayer. However, he was delayed because he had to fight his way through the prince of Persia.
The prince of Persia was not a natural prince, he was a demonic prince. Daniel was unaware there was an invisible battle raging over the entire region. The demonic prince that stopped the angel was a territorial spirit assigned to supervise the satanic activities over the Persian empire. His intention was to stop the angel from getting through to Daniel. The angel was coming to announce the overthrow of the Persian empire and to reveal Israel’s future to Daniel.
As the demonic prince of Persia battled the angel, God sends reinforcement in the person of Archangel Michael. Michael withstands the prince of Persia, and the angel escapes. Intense spiritual warfare was raging behind the scenes. The angel arrives at Daniel’s location, delivers his message from God and informs Daniel that on his return, he will still fight the prince of Persia. After that, he will battle another spiritual enemy called the prince of Greece. The prince of Greece was another of Satan’s mighty demonic princes who directed the satanic activities over Greece.
Shortly after, Persia was replaced by Greece as the next dominant world power. We don’t have full understanding of these things, but behind the scenes directing the affairs of nations are demonic spirits. It may be that there are princes that rule over nations and continents. It seems that events that play out in the earth have a corresponding activity in the spiritual realm. It seems like spiritual warfare rages behind the scene at every level of government.
The news we read about on a daily basis is not just a result of the actions of men, but also reflect the battles going on in the spirit. As Daniel prayed, God began to shift things in the realm of the spirit. God was using Daniel to bring about His will on the earth. We need to see that we are not powerless at all and our prayers are part of a great script being played out.
Like Daniel, we are called to be soldiers in the spiritual battle for the soul of the nation. Instability and agitation in the natural are sometimes the result of the intensity of warfare in the spirit. Daniel required 21 days of fasting to get the breakthrough. Warfare over the nation was fought in a real sense by Daniel in the place of prayer. Our prayers are more powerful than we think and resist the spiritual forces opposed to God’s will.
Be encouraged to stay in the place of prayer. As we wrestle in fasting and prayer, we will witness the release of the power of God with increased angelic activity. We will see God’s will unfold in our lives, our families, our church, our nation and our world.
SONG
♬Made A Way by Travis Greene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MimVg0OMGvA
FURTHER STUDY
Dan.10:14-20 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel+10%3A14-20&version=NLT
Psalm 2:1-6 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+2%3A1-6&version=NKJV
Ephe 6:12 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+6%3A12&version=NKJV
