Recently I've been thinking about Daniel 9 and 10. They're fascinating chapters to me.
In chapter 9, Gabriel came to Daniel and said, "Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision." (9:22-23)
In chapter 10, Daniel saw a vision, where an angel came to speak to him. “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, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.” (10:12-14)
Wow! The moment we start praying, God is able to act if He so chooses. And maybe it's not something visible, but something invisible. Maybe it's a change in someone's heart or attitude. Maybe it's something that God speaks to someone that you may never know about. Maybe it's something small that has to start in order for something big to eventually happen.
And then it shows that there was also a battle in the heavens. I have no idea what the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia is. Commentaries only say he is a spiritual enemy. This is spiritual warfare. It confuses me because why couldn't God just push the bad guy out of the way and send the angel on faster? For 21 days they fought! And I'm sure 3 weeks is relatively short. But what a weird concept. It makes me wonder if when I'm in heaven I will get to see how my prayers were taken, what happened because of them, and what spiritual battles were fought.
