(Greg Laurie) Have you ever prayed and asked God to do something for you, but it isn’t happening as quickly as you would like it to? I have learned that delays are not necessarily denials. We don’t know what is going on in the supernatural realm. We don’t know what is going on behind the scenes on our behalf. In the Old Testament there is a fascinating story about Daniel’s prayer being heard in heaven. An angel was dispatched with a special message but was engaged in combat with a demon power for 21 days (see Daniel 10).
The prayer of Daniel went to heaven, his prayer was heard, and an angel was dispatched with the answer. But the angel was unable to get through to Daniel because of this apparently higher-ranking demon power that stopped him. In Ephesians 6 we are told, “For 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” (verse 12 NIV).
The Bible refers to Michael, the archangel. We know from the Scriptures that he plays a unique role in God’s plan and appears to be a high-ranking angel. Then we have Gabriel, who also must have been a high-ranking angel, sent with a specific message for Joseph and Mary concerning the arrival of the Messiah. READ MORE
