War In The Heavens Spiritual Warfare and Prayer During times of spiritual warfare you might feel alone, but you’re not. God’s angels are fighting with you! If you could pull back the curtain and see into the realm of the spirit, you would discover there is a war taking place in the heavens. There are many holy angels making up the army of the Lord, but only two mentioned by name in Scripture, Gabriel and Michael. Gabriel is mentioned as one of God’s special messengers bringing understanding of God’s word (Daniel 8:16). Michael is described as “one of the chief princes” (Daniel 10:13), “your prince” (Daniel 10:21), “the great prince” (Daniel 12:1), and “the archangel” (Jude 1:9). He is a leader of God’s armies (Revelation 12:7) and the guardian of Israel (Daniel 12:1). Michael is an archangel, meaning one chief in rank and authority. He can be likened to a general of God’s army. He is a warring archangel and defender of the Kingdom of God. Satan and his angels once attempted a coup détat against God, but Michael and his army of angels cast them out of the third heaven to the earth. The third heaven is the seat of God’s governing authority, the commanding heights (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). This place is “far above all heavens” (Ephesians 4:10). “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:7-10) The Book of Daniel gives insight of spiritual warfare in heavenly places. While Daniel fasted and prayed for 21 days there was a war in the heavens to stop revelation from getting through to him. During this time of prayer he got a visit from Jesus, The Lord of Hosts. “Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.” (Daniel 10:5-9) Some don’t see Jesus as a warrior, yet Scripture describes him as “a man of war” (Exodus 15:3) and “captain of the armies of God” (Joshua 5:14). As Lord of Host, Jesus sent an angel to help Daniel understand the vision. “And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.” (Daniel 10:10-13) As already said, this is a picture of heavenly warfare during Daniel’s prayer. This angel is not named, but is probably Gabriel. He described spiritual opposition from the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” battling against him for 21 days until Michael came and helped. It’s important for the spiritual warrior to understand this heavenly battle was about stopping understanding from getting through to Daniel. You will experience the same. Scripture says, “It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 13:11). The mysteries of the kingdom include revelation or rhema of the Word of God. Jesus said, “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word (rhema) of God” (Luke 4:4). There are two Greek words used when you read word in the Bible. One is logos, and the other rhema. Logos is black ink on white paper. Rhema is life giving revelation. It’s revelation of Christ and His Word that makes all the difference in your life. This is the reason for most of the spiritual warfare you will face. There is a great lesson for you in Daniel. Don’t stop praying, angels are fighting with you, and breakthrough is on the way!
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 21:56:33 +0000
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