Angels and Prayer
“Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.” Daniel 10.12
“Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.” Daniel 10.12
There are times, it seems, in all of our lives when we pray and we feel like our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling – when God seems so distant that we have no sense of His presence.
After experiencing great victory of the prophets of Baal, Elijah felt so alone he desired death. After preaching to a vile and heathen people which repented even down to the house pets, Jonah sulked asking God to take his life. After having been called by God to deliver Israel from alien oppression, Gideon hid himself in a winepress.
Daniel 10 brings us face-to-face with a despondent man of God – a man who had served heathen kings in a foreign land for most of his life. Daniel desired to be home – to be in his home land as his life drew to a close. He despaired over the condition of his people and what he believed to be tardiness on the part of the Almighty.
As this chapter begins, Daniel prepares himself by fasting and praying – throwing himself on the altar of God’s mercy, but God was silent. Or, at least Daniel thought He was.
One of the great battles believers fight is the wide chasm between our feelings and reality – between what we sense and what God is doing.
For twenty-one days, Daniel mourned and chastened (humbled) himself as he pleaded with God for an answer. He fasted. He prayed. He wept. He felt no relief.
Finally, the answer came. The messenger informed Daniel that his prayer had been heard and answered the same day he had prayed. What Daniel had not seen was the Throne of Grace from which God sends answers. Ezekiel saw it and was amazed.
In Ezekiel’s vision, God revealed Himself in His fullness (Ezekiel 1.4) surrounded by the Cherubim (Ezekiel 1.5-13) and Seraphim (Ezekiel 1.15-25) as well as the messenger angels who sped like lightning in obedience to God’s commands. “And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.” (Ezekiel 1.14)
Following the immediate and prompt dispatch of the messenger angel, that angel found itself in spiritual conflict. For twenty-one days, this angel fought the powers of evil in its attempts to get the message to Daniel. Leading these spiritual forces was a powerful adversary, the Prince of the kingdom of Persia. While Daniel fought on his knees, this holy messenger fought behind the scenes. While Daniel agonized, help was sent from the throne. “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.” (Daniel 10.13)
Feelings are never a good barometer for the believer seeking to know the will of God, nor are feelings an accurate indicator of knowing whether God has heard our prayer.
While there may be personal, spiritual problems in our lives that hinder our prayers, there is nothing on God’s part that hinders Him from sending the answer. (I Thessalonians 2.18; I Peter 3.7) When struggling on our knees, we should never give in to our feelings, but should always pray persistently. (I Thessalonians 5.17) The answer is on the way.
The battle is on! Never give up! Have faith in God! (Mark 11.22)
After experiencing great victory of the prophets of Baal, Elijah felt so alone he desired death. After preaching to a vile and heathen people which repented even down to the house pets, Jonah sulked asking God to take his life. After having been called by God to deliver Israel from alien oppression, Gideon hid himself in a winepress.
Daniel 10 brings us face-to-face with a despondent man of God – a man who had served heathen kings in a foreign land for most of his life. Daniel desired to be home – to be in his home land as his life drew to a close. He despaired over the condition of his people and what he believed to be tardiness on the part of the Almighty.
As this chapter begins, Daniel prepares himself by fasting and praying – throwing himself on the altar of God’s mercy, but God was silent. Or, at least Daniel thought He was.
One of the great battles believers fight is the wide chasm between our feelings and reality – between what we sense and what God is doing.
For twenty-one days, Daniel mourned and chastened (humbled) himself as he pleaded with God for an answer. He fasted. He prayed. He wept. He felt no relief.
Finally, the answer came. The messenger informed Daniel that his prayer had been heard and answered the same day he had prayed. What Daniel had not seen was the Throne of Grace from which God sends answers. Ezekiel saw it and was amazed.
In Ezekiel’s vision, God revealed Himself in His fullness (Ezekiel 1.4) surrounded by the Cherubim (Ezekiel 1.5-13) and Seraphim (Ezekiel 1.15-25) as well as the messenger angels who sped like lightning in obedience to God’s commands. “And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.” (Ezekiel 1.14)
Following the immediate and prompt dispatch of the messenger angel, that angel found itself in spiritual conflict. For twenty-one days, this angel fought the powers of evil in its attempts to get the message to Daniel. Leading these spiritual forces was a powerful adversary, the Prince of the kingdom of Persia. While Daniel fought on his knees, this holy messenger fought behind the scenes. While Daniel agonized, help was sent from the throne. “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.” (Daniel 10.13)
Feelings are never a good barometer for the believer seeking to know the will of God, nor are feelings an accurate indicator of knowing whether God has heard our prayer.
While there may be personal, spiritual problems in our lives that hinder our prayers, there is nothing on God’s part that hinders Him from sending the answer. (I Thessalonians 2.18; I Peter 3.7) When struggling on our knees, we should never give in to our feelings, but should always pray persistently. (I Thessalonians 5.17) The answer is on the way.
The battle is on! Never give up! Have faith in God! (Mark 11.22)
Thank you for your prayer support. I’m getting stronger. At present, I’m working through six weeks of IV infusions and a pile of new doctors. I was able to preach Sunday morning and evening, but was exhausted at the end of day.
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