Daniel - Conflict in Prayer

Fear not, Daniel ... thy words were heard ... but the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me .... Daniel 10:12-14

 

Elijah was a brilliant meteor in Israel's firmament, whereas Daniel was a fixed star. For over seventy years, and through five reigns as prime minister of mighty Babylon, he wielded a prodigious influence. The divine record compresses his secret into four words:

"He kneeled ... as aforetime" - a thrice daily spiritual exercise.

 

The tyrant king could not compel him to bow the knee to his golden image. The jealous courtiers could not keep him on his feet when the appointed hour for prayer arrived.

 

Ezekiel selected Daniel as one of the great intercessors of Old Testament times (Ezek. 14:14). It was his praying which broke the chains of the Babylonian captivity, setting Israel free to fulfill the divine purpose. But it was no desultory and sporadic prayer. It took seventy years of faithful intercession before he witnessed their emancipation. Nor was his praying uncontested. His visible enemies endeavored to keep him from the act of prayer. His invisible adversaries opposed the answering of his prayer.

 

"The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days" (10:13).

 

Daniel learned that it is invisible forces which rule the world, that the course of global events can be influenced by the persistent praying of one man. Once the angel Gabriel came to him while in the act of prayer (9:21). Now it was Michael who became his ally against his unseen foe (10:13), assuring him that his prayer was heard from the very moment it was uttered, though the answer was delayed for three weeks.

 

Prayer is often a contest between angels who minister and demons who hinder.

 

Prayer unanswered is not always prayer denied. Sometimes it is prayer delayed through invisible spiritual activity.

 

It was Daniel's continued wrestling on earth while the battle raged in the heavenlies, which finalized the victory.