September 16 - Daniel 10-12
As we finish the book of Daniel, let's think about why Daniel is called "greatly beloved" by God. (9:23; 10:11,19) I hope that we all strive to live in such a way that we would be greatly loved by God. Daniel would not compromise his convictions even in the face of death. He was a man of prayer. He lived out his faith consistently over many years. He did not let changes deter his faith. He sought to know the Lord and His will. Here in this passage we see that he was in mourning for three weeks to know God's will. This shows he had a heart to know the Lord no matter what it took. I think all of these qualities endeared him to the Lord. God loved him even more than others partly because Daniel had consistently loved the Lord over many years, and he had shown the Lord his love by his faithful life.
There is another very special insight in chapter 10. The angel who came to reveal the future to Daniel was hindered by the prince of Persia for 21 days and then, Michael, the prince of God's people came to aid him in this spiritual warfare. What is this about? I believe it is a glimpse into the warfare between God's angels and Satan's demons. I believe the prince of Persia is the strong demon in charge of keeping Persia in spiritual darkness, and Michael is the archangel in charge of protecting the Jews. If this is so, could it be that there is a demon over your town or over your church? I believe there is. I also believe that there is an angel for each believer for each church, each town, and each country like the ranks in the army. I believe that this war is raging around us all the time, and we should pray with that in mind that Satan and his forces would be defeated by the authority of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Why doesn't God always win this battle as in Daniel's case? The fact is that He gives us the choice as to whether we allow the Holy Spirit to give us the victory. There are many people who want to live their own way instead of having God's will. In those cases Satan's forces can win many victories. However, the prayers of God's people when we bind our hearts together in faith are powerful for the pulling down of Satan's strongholds. Then, the eyes of the unbelievers and unfaithful believes can be opened, and they can follow Him.
Put those tow things together and we get a good picture of why God revealed the future to Daniel. He was a faithful prayer warrior, and his powerful prayers prompted God to show him these things even though Satan did not want Daniel to know them. I pray that the same can be said of us. I pray we can have God's wisdom because of having faithful, consistent hearts, and I pray we can have victory over the powers of Satan in our lives because we allow the power of the Spirit to control our lives.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Hosea 1-4.
There is another very special insight in chapter 10. The angel who came to reveal the future to Daniel was hindered by the prince of Persia for 21 days and then, Michael, the prince of God's people came to aid him in this spiritual warfare. What is this about? I believe it is a glimpse into the warfare between God's angels and Satan's demons. I believe the prince of Persia is the strong demon in charge of keeping Persia in spiritual darkness, and Michael is the archangel in charge of protecting the Jews. If this is so, could it be that there is a demon over your town or over your church? I believe there is. I also believe that there is an angel for each believer for each church, each town, and each country like the ranks in the army. I believe that this war is raging around us all the time, and we should pray with that in mind that Satan and his forces would be defeated by the authority of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Why doesn't God always win this battle as in Daniel's case? The fact is that He gives us the choice as to whether we allow the Holy Spirit to give us the victory. There are many people who want to live their own way instead of having God's will. In those cases Satan's forces can win many victories. However, the prayers of God's people when we bind our hearts together in faith are powerful for the pulling down of Satan's strongholds. Then, the eyes of the unbelievers and unfaithful believes can be opened, and they can follow Him.
Put those tow things together and we get a good picture of why God revealed the future to Daniel. He was a faithful prayer warrior, and his powerful prayers prompted God to show him these things even though Satan did not want Daniel to know them. I pray that the same can be said of us. I pray we can have God's wisdom because of having faithful, consistent hearts, and I pray we can have victory over the powers of Satan in our lives because we allow the power of the Spirit to control our lives.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Hosea 1-4.