An Invisible World

Sometimes we don’t consider the fact that when we pray, spiritual warfare can be taking place. The prophet Daniel had been in the presence of God. And in Daniel 10, we read, “Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. And the man said to me, ‘Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you’” (verses 10–11).

In the beginning of this chapter, and earlier in chapter 9, we see that Daniel was in prayer. This angel was saying, “When you offered your prayer, it was heard in Heaven.”

Sometimes our prayers may not be answered as quickly as we would like due to spiritual warfare behind the scenes in the supernatural world. Daniel was praying on earth, and God heard him in Heaven and dispatched an angel with the answer. Yet somewhere between Heaven and earth, between the visible and the invisible, this angel was accosted by an evil angel, and a battle took place. After twenty-one days, God dispatched a higher-ranking angel, Michael in this case, to help the other angel.

From this account, we see that supernatural activity can hinder our prayers from being answered. This is especially important to remember when we are praying for the salvation of those who don’t know the Lord. A battle is taking place, and the devil is at work, wanting to keep them from hearing the gospel and from coming to faith.

When you pray and don’t see your prayer answered, it simply means that you should keep praying. The answer might come twenty-one days later, thirty-one days later, or twenty-one years later. But we should not stop praying.