Day 9 – Overcoming Opposition To Your Prayers

(Daniel 10:10-21)

In this prophetic vision of Daniel which pertained to the kingdoms of Persia and Greece, we can get some insights into spiritual warfare and opposition to prayers.

The moment Daniel began to pray, his prayers were heard by God and an answer was given to an Angelic being to deliver to Daniel. But this Angelic being was detained by the prince of the kingdom of Persia (a spiritual force of darkness). This resulted in Daniel’s answers being delayed for 21 days.

Without spiritual insight, Daniel may have concluded that God had not answered him. Or that it was not God’s will to answer that particular prayer. We are prone to make such conclusions when our prayers are not answered. But as we can see here, there may be other forces at work.

The dynamics of spiritual matters

The biblical accounts are written for our insight and understanding of the dynamics of spiritual matters. Prayer engages the realm of the spirit and attracts spiritual conflicts. God’s disposition is to answer our prayer. But sometimes His answers are intercepted by spiritual forces opposed to the counsel of God.

This is one of the reasons Jesus Christ taught us in Luke 18:1 about the need to pray continuously and not to lose heart. By persisting in prayer, we can overcome the opposition of the forces of darkness working to frustrate God’s purposes for our lives.

When we pray according to His will

We must learn here that when we pray according to His will, God hears our prayers the moment we start praying. But sometimes our answers are delayed because of spiritual opposition in the heavenly realms. Just as Daniel continued praying until help was sent to assist the Angelic host to release his answers, we must continue in prayer, and not give up.

Our continued prayers could encourage our messenger to fight off the opposition to our answers. When we give up praying because of delayed answers, we lose out on the victory we could have obtained. Persisting in prayer also strengthens our faith and results in greater intimacy with God.

“ For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm“

Ephesians 6:12-13