Day 12 - Waging War

As I was walking this morning, my knee was bothering me a lot. It has been hurting for a few days now, almost a week. I thought maybe it was a pulled muscle, but it just lingered. Every day when I walk, I pray, and it is a really great time of just the Lord and I. Lily goes with me in her stroller, and this morning she was exceptionally content and quiet so I didn't have to give her any of my attention. I really began to focus my prayer, but my knee was distracting me. I began to claim the healing scripture from 1 Peter 2:24 that says "by His [Jesus's] wounds we are healed". The pain continued. I talked to the Lord for a few minutes, and told Him how I believed He could do anything...ANYTHING! I have so much faith in God, so much faith is His power and His ability. He is all powerful, and I know there is nothing impossible for Him. But I also know that there must be a reason that when I ask Him to heal (or do anything according to his word for that matter), there must be a reason why sometimes it just doesn't happen right then and there. I examined my life, and didn't feel like there was anything for which I needed to repent. So I began to really press into the Lord and pray that he would reveal to me what was holding back the answers to this and many other prayers. Immediately, I heard the words, "prince of Persia". Not completely understanding, but believing I had heard from God, I began to pray and take authority over the prince of Persia, to which I felt was some sort of spirit that was hindering my healing and breakthrough in so many areas. Immediately, the pain left my knee. I mean it was instantaneous. I kept walking and praying until I reached my house. When I got home, I looked up the phrase "prince of Persia". To my surprise, it lead me to Daniel 10. More specifically to verses 12-13 where a messenger angel comes to Daniel and says, "Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia." I have read and heard this passage several times, but I had completely forgotten that it was the demonic realm of the prince of Persia that detained God's message and answer to Daniel's prayer.  It reminded my how there is a constant war in the heavenlies between the angels and demons. It's not just some cartoon with the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other, although that picture is actually not too far fetched either! I felt that there was more that God wanted to teach me, so I went back to Daniel 9 to see what it was that Daniel had prayed for, and that made the demonic realm feel so threatened. It was a prayer of repentance for the city of Jerusalem (God's people) who had rebelled and sinned against God and was in desolation. It was a prayer for mercy and restoration. Daniel, who was upright in the eyes of God, was still effected by the sins, rebellion and consequences of a rebellious, stiff-necked people. He was crying out for God to hear his repentance and forgive the sins of a nation and heal their land and people. Obviously, a restored people of God is a threat to the devil and the demonic realm. Satan loves to keep God's people down and under his thumb-enslaved, really. I believe it gives him that feeling of control that he desired so much when he first turned against God and fell from heaven. Satan also knows that a desolate, sick, weak people can not walk in authority and forgets its' place in the kingdom of God. No wonder there was such a fight to keep the angel from coming to Daniel to answer the cry for freedom for God's people. If we, as people of God realized how much authority has been given to us by God, our lives would be transformed. I am not saying that all sickness and problems of the world are directly related to this idea, but I do believe that some are, and they go unhealed and unsolved because we are unaware of the power that God has given to us as his children. The other lesson I took from this passage is how God hears our prayers, but the war that is waged over gaining victory through that prayer is sometimes a fierce battle in the heavenly realm. Even though God is all powerful, he has delegated his authority and control to his angels and his people on the earth. He has also given satan the name "the prince of the power of the air" which gives him a measure of authority, allbeit temporary, over things on the earth. God gives us the keys to fight against satan's authority in the earth, but unless we use those keys, we stay down and enslaved to satan's power. One of my prayers as I walk is that God reveals Himself more and more to me, so that I can really know Him, move in His power and anointing, and allow Him to use me to touch others. It is a deep desire of my heart, and I believe that He is answering that prayer, step by step.