Spiritual Conflict - Daniel 10:12-13

Seek God Together

If you appreciate this work, consider supporting it - https://www.patreon.com/seekgodtogether

Today we will read Daniel 10:12-13. Daniel had been praying and seeking God for some time. And only after 3 weeks did he get a response. And what a response it was. He sees a brilliant humanoid spirit-being who says “Don’t be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for 21 days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia.”

Do you believe in a spiritual realm? Your eyes, ears, and skin are perfectly designed to interact with physical matter. It’s all you know. You’d be excused for assuming that’s all there is and skeptical of an invisible spirit dimension. And yet science, not the bible, presently teaches that only 5% of the universe is physical matter. The rest is strange, measureless, mysterious dark matter and dark energy. It exerts itself but we are simply unable to experience it.

String Theory attempts to explain the discrepancies between General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics by mathematically proposing a Universe with 10 or more dimensions. We understand 4. But 10? Or a million? Is it possible? Of course! If science observes such oddities in the universe as it does, why would anyone dismiss the possibility of the spiritual?

And yet Daniel spoke of it thousands of years ago. Notice what happens in this story. Daniel begins praying and an angel is dispatched. It takes time for the angel to get there. Literal time because the angel is battling opposing forces. But good news, reinforcements are sent in - the angel Michael. And so this unnamed angel is able to complete its quest and get to Daniel.

This is a strange and mysterious story. But let’s receive it for what it is and draw a couple takeaways. First, God didn’t immediately answer Daniels prayer. God didn’t seemingly answer it at all. He sent a messenger (the literal word for angel). And it took time because actual invisible spiritual conflict was happening behind the scenes. What if Daniel had just given up after 5 minutes? There’s no way to know.

Second, what prompted the angel in the first place? The answer right there. Daniels prayers. Specifically the fact that Daniel humbled himself, seek God, and understand.

It would be easy to get caught up in the sensational and spiritual. but in this story, the spiritual realm was for the angels. The human realm was for humility, seeking understanding, and prayer. And that is what you are doing now.

“God, I am here and I am at your disposal. Give me understanding for my life, and the lives of those I care about. I need You desperately.”