Demons Cannot Stop You
Demons Cannot Stop You
There comes a time when it seems that nothing is working and heaven seem silent. When you try many things and they don’t work and you pray and fast and it seems nothing is happening. Well, there are sometimes oppositions by spiritual forces “demons” that sometimes oppose our efforts. There is always a reason behind everything. Please note that every delay is not the same and we cannot make a theology that every delay or unanswered prayer is caused by opposition of the devil. Some delays are due to our own stupid mistakes or ignorance or lack of obedience in what God has already revealed to us. Some of us are facing so many trials at these times that you may be ready to give up hope. Please hang in there. It is not over. Help is on the way.
Today, in our study, we see help on the way for Daniel who had been praying and fasting for three weeks. Concerned for his people and the restoration of Israel, Daniel had “mourned” and cried to the Lord. The “Prince of Persia”, a demon was standing in the way. The armies of heaven were marshaled out to fight for Daniel. The armies of God are also backing you and me. We are more than conquerors (Romans 8:28-39) and we are in a spiritual warfare. We must fight on our knees and in prayer.
Daniel 10: 1-21
1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war. [a] The understanding of the message came to him in a vision. 2 At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. 3 I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.
4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. 6 His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
7 I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. 8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. 9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.
10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
12 Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."
15 While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. 16 Then one who looked like a man [b] touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, "I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I am helpless. 17 How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe." 18 Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. 19 "Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed," he said. "Peace! Be strong now; be strong." When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, "Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength."
20 So he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come; 21 but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. Daniel did not go seeking for vision, it was given to him by God as result of his crying out and mourning for the his sins and sins of his people. The vision was about “a great war” vs. 1 in the future which we will study in chapter 11.
2. Three weeks without “choice food, meat or wine”? Vs.3. Many of us can’t even stand half a day without food. There are times for fasting and there are problems that require fasting so that we can empty our heart and cry to God without inhibition. Let’s fast as the circumstances call for and as we listen to the Holy Spirit who helps us “groan” beyond words.
3. Guess who Daniel saw in the vision. Many believe he saw the pre-incarnate Son of God. See vs. 6. This is similar to John’s vision in the Book of Revelation 1:13-15.
4. Listen to the words to Daniel when there was no strength left in him. “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed” vs. 11. "Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed," he said. "Peace! Be strong now; be strong." Vs. 19. Jesus is still saying the same to us today. He has loved us with everlasting love. Have you lost all strength in your crisis at moment? Know that you are highly favored by God.
5. Notice the spiritual warfare that was going on vs. 12-13. “The prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me”. Satan has assigned his demons in regions and territories. Notice that there was also “a prince of Greece”, another demon assigned over that principality. Let’s not be ignorant of Satan’s devices and methods.
6. We must stand in prayer and fight on our knees. 3”For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” 1 Corinthians 10:3-5. Our fight is real and we must pray without ceasing. People are not our real enemies. Your husband, wife children or etc are not the real enemies. These are part of Satan’s “arguments” in our heads to convince us that our spouse is the enemy. We must demolish this argument. God opened my eyes to this falsehood years ago.
7. Who have you been fighting lately instead of the real enemy of your soul? When we take our case to God in prayer, we always win because God’s Will gets done. When you fight people directly, you may win but God’s will may not come to pass and you will miss out on what God is trying to show you. Our problems and “supposed people enemies” must draw us to God. Our egos need occasionally to be offended so that we can draw near to God. Have you been offended lately? Then draw near to God.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:10-18.
Brothers and sisters, let’s stand and let God fight for us. May the Grace of God be sufficient for you! Amen.
There comes a time when it seems that nothing is working and heaven seem silent. When you try many things and they don’t work and you pray and fast and it seems nothing is happening. Well, there are sometimes oppositions by spiritual forces “demons” that sometimes oppose our efforts. There is always a reason behind everything. Please note that every delay is not the same and we cannot make a theology that every delay or unanswered prayer is caused by opposition of the devil. Some delays are due to our own stupid mistakes or ignorance or lack of obedience in what God has already revealed to us. Some of us are facing so many trials at these times that you may be ready to give up hope. Please hang in there. It is not over. Help is on the way.
Today, in our study, we see help on the way for Daniel who had been praying and fasting for three weeks. Concerned for his people and the restoration of Israel, Daniel had “mourned” and cried to the Lord. The “Prince of Persia”, a demon was standing in the way. The armies of heaven were marshaled out to fight for Daniel. The armies of God are also backing you and me. We are more than conquerors (Romans 8:28-39) and we are in a spiritual warfare. We must fight on our knees and in prayer.
Daniel 10: 1-21
1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war. [a] The understanding of the message came to him in a vision. 2 At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. 3 I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.
4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. 6 His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
7 I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. 8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. 9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.
10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
12 Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."
15 While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. 16 Then one who looked like a man [b] touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, "I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I am helpless. 17 How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe." 18 Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. 19 "Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed," he said. "Peace! Be strong now; be strong." When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, "Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength."
20 So he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come; 21 but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. Daniel did not go seeking for vision, it was given to him by God as result of his crying out and mourning for the his sins and sins of his people. The vision was about “a great war” vs. 1 in the future which we will study in chapter 11.
2. Three weeks without “choice food, meat or wine”? Vs.3. Many of us can’t even stand half a day without food. There are times for fasting and there are problems that require fasting so that we can empty our heart and cry to God without inhibition. Let’s fast as the circumstances call for and as we listen to the Holy Spirit who helps us “groan” beyond words.
3. Guess who Daniel saw in the vision. Many believe he saw the pre-incarnate Son of God. See vs. 6. This is similar to John’s vision in the Book of Revelation 1:13-15.
4. Listen to the words to Daniel when there was no strength left in him. “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed” vs. 11. "Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed," he said. "Peace! Be strong now; be strong." Vs. 19. Jesus is still saying the same to us today. He has loved us with everlasting love. Have you lost all strength in your crisis at moment? Know that you are highly favored by God.
5. Notice the spiritual warfare that was going on vs. 12-13. “The prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me”. Satan has assigned his demons in regions and territories. Notice that there was also “a prince of Greece”, another demon assigned over that principality. Let’s not be ignorant of Satan’s devices and methods.
6. We must stand in prayer and fight on our knees. 3”For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” 1 Corinthians 10:3-5. Our fight is real and we must pray without ceasing. People are not our real enemies. Your husband, wife children or etc are not the real enemies. These are part of Satan’s “arguments” in our heads to convince us that our spouse is the enemy. We must demolish this argument. God opened my eyes to this falsehood years ago.
7. Who have you been fighting lately instead of the real enemy of your soul? When we take our case to God in prayer, we always win because God’s Will gets done. When you fight people directly, you may win but God’s will may not come to pass and you will miss out on what God is trying to show you. Our problems and “supposed people enemies” must draw us to God. Our egos need occasionally to be offended so that we can draw near to God. Have you been offended lately? Then draw near to God.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:10-18.
Brothers and sisters, let’s stand and let God fight for us. May the Grace of God be sufficient for you! Amen.
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