Text: Eph 6:10-13; Daniel 10:10-21
Summary: Since we are at war against principalities, against powers, and against rulers of the darkness in high places, ask for the peace and strength of Jesus so that you can fight on your knees in prayer. Fight for your own soul. Fight for the souls of your family. And fight for America.
Ephesians 6 (KJV)
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Daniel 10
10 And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, 14 and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.” 15 When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and was mute. 16 And behold, one in the likeness of the children of man touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke. I said to him who stood before me, “O my lord, by reason of the vision pains have come upon me, and I retain no strength. 17 How can my lord’s servant talk with my lord? For now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me.” 18 Again one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me. 19 And he said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” 20 Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come. 21 But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince.
Father, we come before you humbly as children of God. We ask that you teach us how to pray more fervently. We pray, Lord Jesus, that you would come and meet us and strengthen us so that we can fight on our knees. Lord, we need to fight for ourselves. We need to fight for our families. We need to fight for our nation, and we need to fight for our world. Please help us. Teach us how to fight. Strengthen us in this hour. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen
We are at war. There is an information war. There’s mainstream news versus alternative news, social media, and there’s homeschoolers who have their way of trying to raise up the children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. There is the school system that has a different agenda. Internationally, we’ve been at war already with China. Possible bioweapons deployed, a trade war that is in effect. Evidence of espionage in universities and research labs, among our politicians, big Pharma, medicine, and everything possibly escalating to a full blown military conflict.
There’s a war against our bodies. There is COVID-19, possible forced vaccinations on the horizon that we must fight. There are race wars by Black Lives Matter and other evil organizations trying to bait us into verbal conflicts in the public square. There is a war on our bodies by the LGBTQ group railing against God’s design of man versus woman, and natural relations. At a national level, we have socioeconomic war of business owners trying to pay the bills and keep their businesses afloat amidst governors and mayors who are locking them down, and who do not practice what they preach.
We have a political war with Trump on one side and on the other side is the left, the liberal left, the radical democrats, socialists, communists, Hollywood, media, all of them attacking this one man. And now we have the election results that depending on which news you’re listening to, you’re either aware of the fact that there is a massive fight in our legal system for the election results. Or you may think it’s a shoo-in for Biden. It’s already a done deal. We are at war at many different levels.
But the main war that we’re under is a spiritual war. Ephesians 6 makes it clear. It says we wrestle not against flesh and blood, not against politicians, not against Hollywood, not against doctors and university professors, not against flesh and blood, not against your physical enemy in front of you, not governors, not mayors. Were wrestling against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
I want to read those in reverse. I want to start with rulers in high places. You know that Satan is the ruler of this world. He has access and actually very easy access to human beings and human rulers. They are quite easy to manipulate. And how does he do it? We cover that last week in Ephesians 4.
Ephesians 4
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
When we are angry and because of that anger we don’t pause in our spirit, we lash out in our anger. We fall into sin of being harsh toward someone, by railing against someone, slandering someone, blaspheming against someone. Those types of sins that not only corrupt us, our bodies, but also corrupt those who are listening to us and so that’s the fall. When that happens, we’re not just angry, provoked and irritated in the moment, but actually we’ve crossed over into sin.
When we cross over into sin, it says the devil has an opportunity. When we sin, we’re giving legal rights for Satan to come in and to ruin us. How does Satan manipulate and rule over this world? He manipulates human leaders because they’re so susceptible to sin because they’re nonbelievers. They have no armor. Everything about them is open. Satan comes in because they’ve sinned and all of the doors of their heart, their mind, their their will, their emotions, everything is open. Satan has to just give them a little bait and they fall for it every time. A little trap and they fall into it every time.
Satan can manipulate people in high places so easily because they have no armor. That is how he rules the world. Once he has the people in high places, the rulers, then in v.12, he has power. Power is legal rights. When people sin, and people at the highest level sin, then he has authority and power over them. He has legal rights. Then we go back to the first word, principalities. Principality is a region ruled by a prince.
Every nation in this world has a prince that is ruling over them, and I’m not talking about a human leader. I’m talking about a spiritual fallen angel. A spiritual prince that is ruling over that nation. Daniel 10 fleshes out this principle of a spiritual battle.
We have two princes here and we have a good princes, the holy angels of God. There is Michael and this nameless angel. And we have the Prince of Persia, a fallen angel that is ruling over, manipulating, and controlling the whole nation of Persia. If you read Daniel, you might be caught up with the natural political drama of Daniel’s friends refusing to bow down to the golden image erected by Nebuchadnezzar. They were thrown into the fiery furnace and Jesus met them there and spared them. And it was just an amazing miracle of God.
You may be tempted to look at Daniel when he went against the edict and he continued to pray when he was not allowed for 30 days. No one was allowed to pray to anybody, and Daniel as a consistent prayer warrior, three times a day he prayed. And he was thrown into the lions’ den. But of course he was spared again. We may be caught up with these political dramas, but if you keep reading Daniel beyond the first few chapters, you will see that the main drama is a spiritual drama.
Daniel outlived four kings. There was Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus. There were four kings. We may look at these political leaders and think, these guys control all the power. But God is looking at His own people and Daniel’s life is what really counts. His life outlasted all four kings. In Daniel 10, he begins with a fast. He’s famous for his Daniel fast. He has no meat, no delicacies, and no wine for three weeks. And at the end of the three weeks, Jesus meets him.
Some people think it’s an angel, but if you read the opening verses of Daniel 10, I think it’s pretty clear that this is Jesus. Jesus meets him and His face is like lightning, His eyes are like flaming torches. Jesus meets him. Then the the scene shifts to this nameless angel, and we know from the context it’s not Michael. We also know that it’s not Gabriel because Daniel has seen Gabriel before in prior chapters. Daniel doesn’t recognize who this angel is and so this is a nameless angel.
Daniel 10
13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia
Daniel 10
19 And he said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”
The reason why I don’t think the opening verses are talking about this nameless angel but in fact about Jesus is because if Jesus were coming to Daniel and the Prince of Persia opposed them, I don’t think Jesus would be delayed. That’s how I read it. No Prince of Persia, no matter how demonically strong he is, can with withstand Jesus. If Jesus is coming to you, there’s no way that He would be opposed. But this angel is a nameless prince. He says, I came to you as soon as you started praying 21 days earlier. I came to you. The word was given and I was on my way, but as I was going, this Prince of Persia blocked me.
This gives incredible spiritual principles that when we pray, we may think God, where are you? We’re praying for America, where are you? Why is it taking so long? Why is injustice reigning? Why is unrighteousness reigning? Jesus, where are you? We’re looking for godly answers. We’re looking for divine intervention. Where are you? One thing is clear from this passage. As soon as the people of God pray, the answer is deployed.
The angel is on the way but there are times when on the way, the prince of that land is so strong. I’m talking about the fallen angel, the demonic prince, he may be so strong that the answer is delayed. It can be delayed for 21 days. It can be delayed for 21 years. We don’t understand the spiritual realm entirely, but we know from this passage that we’re fighting a spiritual war and there are armies on both sides. God may have an answer for His people but the answer can be delayed.
In v.19, Daniel was strengthened. If you look at the original language, it’s an odd translation. It says peace was given to him and he was strengthened. Then it says, yes, be strong. This is all about strength. This is about strength in our body. This is strength in our mind and strength in our will to fight. This is strength in our soul so that we’re prayerful. This is divine strength that Daniel has received.
Remember, he’s already praying. He’s already fasting. He’s already burdened by the things that he’s seeing and perceiving. He’s so burdened. It’s been 21 days of not eating and steadily getting weaker in his body and maybe even spiritually being worn down. He’s at the end of the 21 days and finally, strength comes through the angel and through the appearing of Jesus Christ.
Daniel 10
20 Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come. 21 But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince.
In these couple verses we see an amazing truth. Not only are there demonic princes assigned to nations. There are heavenly holy princes and angels assigned to each individual. We see this even in Revelation when the messengers come to each of the seven churches. These messengers I believe are angelic beings, angelic messengers, and so churches have angelic beings looking over them. I think as individuals we have divine angels so when we pray we should ask for divine reinforcements. God, send the angels. Put the angel in front of me and let me communicate with him.
This is amazing truth in these verses. But notice the question that he asks, do you know why I’ve come to you, he doesn’t answer. The angel says, do you know why I’ve come? He doesn’t answer but instead all he says is there’s more fighting to do. I’m going to go fight against the Prince of Persia. And then once I fight him, be aware and be on guard. The Prince of Greece is also coming. Another demonic prince is coming. The only one who is by my side is your prince, your angel, Michael.
He doesn’t answer the question. He just says there’s fighting, and I don’t have much reinforcement just Michael, that’s all I have. Why is this whole chapter here? It is to encourage Daniel to fight alongside of this nameless angel, alongside of Michael, alongside the host of heaven, the armies of God. He is strengthened in order to fight in prayer. This angel is inviting Daniel to fight with him. There is a lot of battle to be waged. Fight with me.
Ephesians 6 (KJV)
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Even before we talk about prayer and before we talk about the spiritual armor of God, first we have to know where our power comes from. Where do we get strength? It is not in ourselves. Daniel did not have the strength in himself. He had to be visited by none other than Jesus Himself and then a series of angels throughout the book of Daniel. Each time the main goal was, peace I give you and I give you strength. Now be strengthened.
We need to fight, not only for ourselves and for our families, but for our nation. Our strength comes from the Lord Jesus Christ. It says be strong in the Lord. Maybe that’s the beginning of our prayer. It is, Jesus, we just want to meet you. Jesus, I am so weakened. I want to pray and my spirit is willing, but my body is weak. Lord Jesus, just get me fit in my body, get me fit in my mind. Help me to remove all these distractions. Give me peace in my soul so that I can be strengthened in order to fight on my knees. That is in Ephesians 6 and I think the corollary is Daniel 10.
Find strength in the Lord Jesus Christ in order to fight. If you go with your human strength, you’re going to be like the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemene. Within one hour you’re going to lose steam. How many of us can even pray for 10 minutes intensely? Don’t we lose steam? We need divine power, strength from Jesus Himself and His host of heaven, the divine angels, who will come to give us peace and give us strength.
If you lack peace and if you lack strength, you cannot fight on your knees effectively. You will give up. Your mind will wander. You’ll start thinking about your problems that you’re facing. You will not be able to focus, and if you don’t have strength, within a few minutes, you’ll be falling asleep. You’ll be distracted and you’ll want to give up. So we need peace from the Lord Jesus. We need the strength from the Lord Jesus. Isn’t that what Jesus said often? Peace I give to you. Be of courage. Be strong. Don’t be afraid. Isn’t that what He gave to His disciples? Peace and strength. And for us, when we have these two things, then we can fight in prayer.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Jesus’s might. His strength. He wants to give it to you. The same way that the angel said, do you know why I’m coming to you? There’s only one reason, I have a lot of fighting to do. I see that you’re a little weak. Now I’m going to strengthen you. Fight with me.
Ephesians 6 (KJV)
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
I read from the King James version today because the other translations do not show the differences of the words. It’s not stand so that you can stand. It’s withstand so that you can stand. The withstand here is a military term. It is like Saving Private Ryan, it is holding the line. We’re not going to let the enemy take this bridge. I’m going to hold the line. It’s a military term of, I’m going to lean in, I’m going to hold this line. I’m going to be aggressive. Satan is not going to take this territory. And after you’ve taken some heat and some artillery and you’ve been pushed back a little bit, but still you’re standing. And so you withstand in order to stand.
Shouldn’t we pray this? For peace of Jesus Christ. For the strength of Jesus Christ. Shouldn’t we pray for ourselves so that Satan does not have legal right into our lives? Shouldn’t we kick him out once and for all, saying we’re not going to be angry anymore? We’re not going to give Satan any opportunity to come into my heart, into my home, into my nation. Shouldn’t we kick out the princes that have come upon this land? Trump is not our savior. There’s no politician, there’s no CEO, there’s no human individual that is our savior. Jesus Christ is it. We find our strength in Him. We ask for His peace and His strength so that we can fight and reclaim your life, reclaim your family, and reclaim this nation for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why did the angels come to Daniel and why are the angels visiting the body of Christ now? They’re asking, do you know why we’ve come? There’s a lot of battle that is being waged around you. Do you know why I’ve come? I’ve come to give you strength. I’m giving you peace. We know that the source of the peace and the strength is Jesus Christ. Let’s pray.
Father, we admit that we are weak. We lack strength. We see it most clearly in our prayers. Our prayers are so short and not the way Jesus was fervent in prayer. There are a lot of soft whispers instead of loud cries. There is meditative quiet prayer, there’s not a fighting spirit in our prayer. We lack peace. Our mind wanders. We are so burdened. So Lord Jesus, we come to you. There is no one else to turn to. We come to you, Lord Jesus in this time. We ask, Jesus, for your peace. We ask for your peace that transcends understanding.
Lord, this year has been a difficult year, and we are so burden, so worn down, so defeated, so discouraged. But Lord, we pray for your peace. We pray for your peace to wash over every brother and sister in this place and online. We pray for your peace, Lord. Lord, we also ask for your strength. We hide ourselves in Christ. We go behind the shield of faith, we go behind you, Lord Jesus. We’re in Christ. Jesus, we pray for your strength. And you give us strength for one purpose, namely it is for prayer. This is the hour of prayer.
We are at war. And there are many political wars, socioeconomic wars, cultural wars, but we know the main war is a spiritual war. We want to commit from this day forward, to ask each day for your peace and your strength so that we can fight. The same way that angels and Jesus, you yourself visited Daniel in the Old Testament. Now you’re coming to your people now. We pray for strength to fight. We pray that we would fight for our own souls. We pray that we would fight for our own families. We pray that we would fight for America. We fight for the world.
We pray that you’ll save as many people as possible until the end because Jesus, we see you’re coming soon. You’re coming soon. May your people be prayerful. May we be fighting on our knees. Train us. Teach us how to fight more fervently. Give us strength and peace, Lord. We pray that you meet us as we partake in your Lord’s Supper. Thank you for dying on a cross and proclaiming your absolute and final victory on the cross. We are victors because of what you did at Calvary. And so Lord, help us to receive your victory through the partaking of your Lord’s Supper. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen
