Then he said, “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.
Daniel 10:12-13 (NLT)
As children of God, we tend to assume the answers to our prayers are delayed because God wants to teach us patience, stretch our faith, or because the timing isn’t right.
While the above is true, I believe we underestimate the battles happening in the heavenlies. When we pray with the goal of advancing the kingdom of heaven, a battle between the powers of light and darkness is often birthed.
There is nothing the devil wants more than to stop the advancement of God’s kingdom. He sends his minions, fallen angels, to do his bidding. Sometimes the battle is short, sometimes the battle takes twenty-one days or longer.
The one truth we must always cling to is that God always hears our prayers, even before they are voiced. There is no question about that. But sometimes the answer to our prayers is not immediate, not because God can’t or because He wants us to learn trust, but because there is more going on ‘behind the scenes.’ Battles are being waged away from our feeble human sight.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
Are you still lingering in prayer, waiting for an answer? Don’t give up hope. God is still on the throne, and His good purpose will always prevail. So just hold on. He hears your plea. Help is on the way.