There are times in life when we are crying out to the Lord and we feel like He doesn’t hear us. Sometimes the Lord “feels” distant because He is stretching and deepening our faith to trust Him. Sometimes there are supernatural things at work that we don’t see like in the book of Daniel. Consider Daniel 10:12:
12 Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.
In the context of Daniel 10 we see Daniel has been given visions from the Lord about hardship and difficulty that was coming for Israel. In response, we see Daniel turn to fasting and lamenting through prayer as he imagines how difficult this is going to be for him and his people.But, while Daniel is praying the Lord speaks to Daniel through a vision of an angel and the angels says to Daniel, “Do not be afraid.” This isn’t a rebuke for Daniel about being afraid. This is an encouragement from the Lord so as to say, “Daniel, you don’t have to be afraid.” This is the Lord lifting Daniel’s eyes to look to Him and trust in Him.In addition, the angel says to Daniel, “From the first day that you set your heart and humbled yourself before God, your words were heard?” Take that in for a second. When you read the rest of the passage on your own you will see Daniel has been praying for 21-days, so that in those 21-days of prayer Daniel must have had moments where he was thinking, “Lord, are you listening?” Lord, do you care? Lord, can you hear me? And in verse 12 the Lord reminds Daniel, “From the first day you started praying, I heard you.” Isn’t that good? Look at the next verse:
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing in my way for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.
I want to go slow here, because this might be new for some of us, but verse 13 is teaching us the reason for the delay is demonic activity. Do you see it in verse 13? The Lord heard Daniel’s prayers on the first day (vs. 12) but He was delayed because “the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing in my way for 21-days.” That’s demons!
In verse 13, Gabriel the angel says, “Those demons were giving me some trouble until Michael, the arc angel, comes to help him.” Isn’t that wild to think about? There are a couple things to consider when we think about angels and demons.
First, the angelic / demonic realm can be very exciting for some of us today because of movies and television shows but we must remember that angels are simply messengers. Angels are powerful. Angels are beautiful in appearance, but God’s Word actually teaches us that angels are in awe of humanity as the gospel works in humanity and through humanity, so let us not get too distracted by angels. It is the same with the demonic. People will ask, “How do we know there isn’t a demon behind every rock?” There is! There is a spiritual realm all around us, so that everywhere we go there is spiritual activity at work.
In Christ, we don’t need to be afraid of demons, but we do need to be aware. In Christ, we can’t be possessed, but we can be oppressed / discouraged / distracted by demonic activity, so we don’t need to be afraid, but God’s Word is pulling back the curtain of the heavens so that we see there is spiritual activity at work in our marriages, parenting, church, thoughts, and world at every level at all times.So the next time the Lord doesn’t answer our prayers the way that we want or as fast as we want it’s possible it’s because there is a spiritual war taking place in our lives, so that we can trust the possible delay isn’t because He didn’t hear or doesn’t care, because we know from Daniel 10 He hears every word of every prayer.
There are days when I drive through Austin and I’m reminded what an incredible city this is. New neighborhoods seem to appear overnight. Businesses are growing. People are moving here from all over the world, each carrying hopes, dreams, fears, and questions. Yet underneath all of the energy and opportunity is something we don’t always see: a spiritual battle for the hearts of men and women.
Daniel 10 reminds us that not everything happening in our lives can be explained by what we see. Sometimes God is working in ways that are completely invisible to us. Sometimes the delay isn’t because God is absent. It’s because there is a spiritual war taking place that we don’t yet understand.
That’s one of the reasons I keep praying for Austin. Every conversation about Jesus, every marriage that is restored, every child who comes to faith, every church that faithfully proclaims the gospel is more than just another good story. It is evidence that God is at work in a city where an unseen spiritual battle is taking place every day. So if you’ve been praying and wondering whether God hears you, don’t lose heart. Daniel 10 reminds us that from the very first prayer, God heard every word. He is working even when we cannot see it, and He is worthy of our trust while we wait.
North Village Church
This article was written by Pastor Michael Dennis, Lead Pastor at North Village Church; a non-denominational church in Austin, TX, established in 2009 and built around Jesus and Bible teaching.
Are you looking for a church in Austin? At North Village Church we put Jesus at the center of our church family. We worship together every Sunday at 10:30am, encourage Christ centered fellowship through groups, and host special events such as Bible studies and Theological Training, to ensure that we are rooted in in God’s Word. We also serve our local community in association with several Austin based organizations.
North Village Church is made up of professionals, married couples, singles, and families who are wanting to experience the life-transforming power of Jesus. If you are a family with children or teens, we can support you with either or both our Kids Ministry and Youth Ministry.
Check out our North Village Church calendar highlights.
NVC Online
Unable to attend this Christian Church in Austin? Don’t worry, because, through God’s provision, we have created NVC online, an Online Church streaming a worship service every Sunday from 10:30am Central Time. You can also watch our short, powerful sermons on demand and follow us on Instagram for daily Christ centered content.
Recent Comments