From the Very First Day
by: Darrell G.
Young
Oftentimes it can seem that God is
very far away, and that he does not even hear our petitions unto him. This can
especially appear to be the case in these perilous last days when it seems that
the unrighteous forces in the world are gaining so much momentum on every
battlefront. But God’s word plainly reveals that prayer is one of the mightiest
weapons in the arsenal of every Christian, when utilized properly. Every
Christian needs to realize that the forces of Hell cringe at the mere thought of
a persistent “praying with the spirit” Christian, humbly down on his
knees beseeching his God, and reaching conformity in the spirit with the
providential will of God. (I Thessalonians 1:17; I Corinthians 14:15; Romans
8:25-28)
James 5:16
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
I John 5:14-15 And this
is the confidence that we have in him, (Jesus) that, if we ask any thing
according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us,
whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
The words “effectual fervent”
as they are relative to prayer are significant in their meaning. They correspond
to the Greek term, “energeo” which means to become actively
efficient so that one can be mighty in a work. We utilize the word
“energy” from this term. Thus, prayer basically produces the energizing force
within a Christian that in turn empowers him to yoke himself in unison with the
spirit of God, and thereupon to become a valued tool in the ongoing designs of
the Lord for this world. This is the method behind Jesus teachings for us to
pray, “thy will be done in earth as in Heaven,” and by example in his own prayer
in the Garden, “nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.” (see Luke 11:2 and
Luke 22:42)
By
its very nature, prayer is foreign to the human nature and always involves a
type of spiritual battle between the supernatural forces of good and evil. Thus
the reason so many Christians are slothful in developing an effective weapon in
the prayer domain. The dark forces of the “powers of the air” are always alert
to try to confound the efforts of any Christian that strives to contend in the
arena of his personal faith. Nevertheless, believers still play a central role
in the ages-long drama of God’s restorative plans for our world. A grand example
of the effectual fervent power of the prayer of a righteous man, and his role in
effecting God’s will in the world is Daniel. Daniel prayed three times every
single day unto God, even though it often was at the risk of death. (Daniel
6:10-13) Daniel played a very significant role in the transmittance of the
prophetic record. We today owe Daniel a great debt for his faithfulness and his
powerful prayer life. We also can learn from Daniel’s faith in prayer and be
encouraged as we face the perilous times of our day.
Daniel 10:1-21
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel,
whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time
appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the
vision. In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no
pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint
myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. And in the four and
twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which
is Hiddekel; 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 color 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. 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. Now I
am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days:
for yet the vision is for many days.
Daniel’s visions and recordings
concerning the future of Israel and the course of events in world history
established the foundation for the later (600 years apart) conveyance of the
Revelation record by John. In Revelation 1:10 and 4:2; John imparts that he was
“in-the-spirit” on the Lord’s day, (which denotes that he was a praying man) as
he received the Revelations of Jesus Christ. Likewise, Daniel was a man greatly
beloved by the Lord because of his steadfast faith and effective prayer life.
In the record of Daniel
chapter ten, we observe that Daniel was languishing in a state of great mourning
and lamentation because of a vision he had received concerning his beloved
nation of Israel. Daniel, who already knew that 70 years were decreed by God for
Israel’s sins, (and soon would be expired) now was in great distress because of
a “true prophetic vision” concerning a “long appointed time” before Israel would
come to realize its grand kingdom. Daniel then embarked upon a mission of
fasting and praying three times a day for three whole weeks. That means that he
prayed over this single issue sixty-four (64) times during this brief period.
I am struck not by the fact
that Daniel prayed 64 times in 21 days, but by the fact that he kept on praying
until his prayer was answered! He would have prayed for an even longer period of
time on this matter had it been necessary for him to do so. Daniel knew his
prayers would ultimately gain a response from the Lord. Being a fervently
praying man, Daniel was probably also familiar with the array of supernatural
forces that entangle in combat when people engage themselves in fervent
effectual prayer. Undoubtedly, Daniel endured the same kind of fleshly and
mental despairs that we today face when we attempt to pray. But Daniel never
wavered and he never faltered, nor would he give into seducing spirits, but
rather Daniel kept on praying! It is very easy to imagine that Daniel might
have become discouraged, and that the forces of Hell made numerous attempts to
trick him into giving up on utilizing his prayer weapon.
The dark and sinister forces from the dark world regularly penetrate the
earth’s time/space continuum to carry out their evil work. In many ways and on
many levels, they seek to defeat or obstruct the redemptive work of God, whether
that involves people or nations. Like the angels, their natural domain is the
dimensional realm just beyond our perspective. But as a matter of fact they
routinely depart from that domain and enter into the natural physical world of
human enterprise and geo-political intrigue. Paul’s famous declaration of this
fact is more than a simple warning. It is, in fact, an explanation of the
enemy’s function: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12). How
can we be said to wrestle against something we cannot even see? Whether we as
Christians realize it or not we wrestle in the realm of the Spirit world with
both heavenly and hellish powers. The "principalities" mentioned
by the apostle Paul are archons, from the Greek word,
arche, meaning "ancient, primal powers." They are the remnant of the
fallen angels (1/3 of hosts) that followed Luicifer in his rebellion, and they
are still free to do battle with the angelic forces of God. In Romans 8,
they are mentioned in the same context with the holy angels: "For I am
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, "Nor height, nor
depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love
of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38,39).
Next in rank below the archons are the "powers," called
in the Greek, exousia, or "delegated authorities."
Presumably, they are also angels, but perhaps lower in capability and rank than
their superiors. Paul next mentions "rulers of the darkness."
These are kosmokrators, or "world rulers."
That is, they dominate the intricate bureaucracies of this world system, and
plot international geo-political conspiracies. They are the hoards of demon
spirits whose tasks are to tilt the minds of international leaders toward the
conspiracy of Satan. They scheme an plot the "spiritual wickedness in high
places," that is so much a part of the social, economic and political
squalor that reigns upon this Earth.
All of these ranks of fallen angels and demons follow their evil and
iniquitous leader, Lucifer, in his ancient rebellion against Jesus Christ. (the
mystery of iniquity) Whether we realize it or not, our present world and the
worldly system is influenced and propitiated by a prince, (Satan-the prince of
this world, (John 12:31, 14:30; 16:11) whose powerbase is situated in the
"air." This word is translated from the Greek aer, the word used to
describe the region of the atmosphere. Satan can and does access the entire
Earth, and from time to time he searches it to see what scheme he can develop to
obstruct God’s plan for the ages. Satan presently exercises a kind of
political domain and lordship over our present physical realm. (Thus the
reason for the impending Armageddon when Jesus returns to claim his rightful
throne) The Bible asserts that evil rulers are nothing more than pawns in the
hands of Satan. The "prince of the
kingdom of Persia"
that Daniel mentions in chapter ten after he receives his answer to prayer, was
likely one of this class of angels. The "powers under Lucifer" are the
"rulers of the darkness of this world." They are the kosmokrators,
or "the world rulers" of darkness. They are the conspirators behind the evil
world system, represented in prophecy by the powers of Babylon, Medo-Persia,
Greece and Rome. They stalk and haunt the halls of world geo-religious-political
power, planting their evil schemes in places, and seek today to bring the whole
world under the authority of Satan, and his Antichrist.
Daniel was given a vision concerning the multi-polar Gentile world power
structure that would dominate world history right on up until the time that
Jesus Christ returns to this world to smash the world system and establish his
righteous kingdom from atop his throne in Mount Zion. Satan sought to keep this
highly sensitive information from reaching the prophet Daniel by sending one of
his “rulers of darkness,”(a Kosmokratei) to confront and obstruct God’s
prayer answering messenger. The “prince” of the kingdom of Persia managed to
“withstand” God’s personal messenger sent to Daniel for twenty long days. Satan
and his subordinate prince surely hoped that Daniel would relent from his
praying during this supernatural struggle, but alas Daniel kept on praying. It
is hard to imagine, but Satan has actually assigned demons and fallen angel
spies and agents that engage in covert geo-political intrigue and often exercise
dominion and influence over every nation in the world. Such was the case with
the kingdom of Persia! Satan actually considered Daniel’s prayers so dangerous
that he commissioned a “special agent” to disrupt God’s plans. Satan’s scheme
failed though because God sent Michael, (the prince who will stand up for
Israel) an angel of utmost power, one of his Chief Princes to counter Satan’s
strategy. (Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great
prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a
time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same
time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that
shall be found written in the book.)
Still Daniel persisted in his prayer concerning the great vision. His
vision was of vital importance since it contained data regarding Israel’s
Diaspora and its re-gathering. It was for a time long appointed, a true prophecy
for Israeli-Gentile world history rather than the 70 year Babylonian captivity.
It helped to lay the foundation for the future recording of the Revelation.
Because of Daniel’s faithfulness in prayer, and because God assigned Michael to
beat down the “strongholds” (ochuroma or fortifications) of
the powers of Satan located between Daniel and Heaven, you and I are privileged
to have knowledge about the latter days!
Often today, we as Christians fail to understand the significance or our
prayer life. Too often we become disillusioned and impatient when we pray.
Sadly, many Christians end up doing just what our enemy wants to accomplish. We
stop praying! Satan always wants to cause us to cease praying. He will try to
convince you that it is fruitless, that it is pointless, and a waste of your
time. He will tell you that God cannot even hear you. He utilizes his powers of
the air to make it seem like our prayers are simply irrelevant, and that they do
not penetrate the atmosphere and reach up to God’s throne. But in reality there
is a supernatural war going on between the forces of evil and the angels of God
in the invisible dimension that surrounds us. We need to always exercise faith,
patience and rest in the assurance that God hears our every prayer when we pray,
because we never know just how much we are empowering the angels who are
fighting the enemy on our behalf. I rather imagine that Daniel was overcome with
Heavenly glee when the angel arrived to convey to Daniel God’s mighty word, and
to deliver the answer to his prayer.
The words of the angel upon meeting Daniel were; 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.
The words of the angel to Daniel reverberate in my mind when I pray….for;
From the very First Day that I set to pray, I know the Lord hears my prayer. I
will not cease to pray, because I know that He will win the blessed victory!
I Know He Heard My Prayer
I know he heard my prayer,….
He knows my every care,….
He gives to me the blessed
victory,
Oh yes,…. I can feel him
now,
My loyalty I vow,…….
I know the Savior heard my
earnest prayer!
(chorus)
The enemy (Satan) has said
to me,
That my savior (Jesus) was
not enough,
And when the way grows
rough,
That my Savior does not
care,
But thank God it is not
true,
He fills me through and
through,
And I know the Savior heard
my earnest prayer!
When in these last days,
The fiery trials blaze,
When Satan comes to me,
To take away my victory,
I can point him to the time,
When Heaven’s light did shine,
I can say he heard my
earnest prayer!
And in these perilous Last
Days, when the fiery trials blaze all around us, we need to remain steadfast in
prayer and in the knowledge of the Lord. Satan has earmarked all Christians with
a big spiritual bulls-eye, but he cannot overcome the effectual prayer of a
righteous praying saint. Though all the hordes of Hell’s dominion shall be
marshaled to confound us when we pray, we can know that the powers and
principalities of Hell cannot withstand for long against the mighty fortress of
our God.
From the Very First Day We Pray,
He hears us,
Yes, I Know He Hears My Prayer!
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice evermore. Pray
without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you.)
Focus on Jerusalem Prophecy
Ministry
by: Darrell G. Young
December, 2003
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