Part 5: Home Sweet Home: Fight for your Family

Pray for your Family

Daniel 10:2-21 

It is rare that we get to peek behind the curtain of the invisible realm, but in Daniel 10 we get to see just how serious satan and his demons are about defeating us and causing us to live in depression and discouragement. I know that some people view the idea of spiritual warfare with cynicism or they see it as a sci-fi thriller, but passages such as Ephesians 6:10-12, Job 1, Ezekiel 28, and Isaiah 14 make it crystal clear that spiritual warfare is real and there is more to this universe than meets our human eye. 

Daniel 10 is so profound, because verses 12-13 reveal that demonic opposition hindered Daniel's prayer from being answered and an angel of God was held up for 21 days. This is amazing, because we often attribute our unanswered prayer requests to our sinfulness, our lack of prayer verbiage, or God's lack of parental care. However, Daniel 10:13 lets us know that there are times when demons are warring against our blessings from above. So what should we do? Let me list 4 things that we should do while we wait on a word from above: 

1. Keep praying. Although Daniel laid before the Lord for 21 days while his answer was being delayed, he did not cease praying. How long have you been waiting on an answer? 
2. Know that God knows all about your situation. The angel that was dispatched to assist Daniel came because Daniel's prayer was heard in heaven and God dispatched the angel. God was not aloof, on vacation, or in the dark about Daniel's hurt or his heart's desire.  Do you believe He cares? 
3. Never think that you are fighting alone. Scripture bears witness that there is a direct correlation between angelic assistance and the people of God's prayer. See Daniel 6, Acts 12, and 2 Kings 18. The Bible says that angels are ministering spirits (Hebrews 1:14). What we say down here really affects what happens up there.  We are not to pray to the angels, we are not to worship the angels, and we are not to aspire to be an angel. We are just to know that the Lord uses the angels on our behalf and the demons of darkness will not prevail against Him or them. That's why Daniel 12:1 calls Michael the archangel, the guardian of God's people.  Although you are waiting, God is working it out. 
4. Being tired should never lead to being through.  As you read Daniel 10:14-21 you will see that Daniel became weary and tired. Daniel had been fighting for the Lord a long time and now he was an old man and he was just tired. When we get tired, we then want to throw in the towel. As you look at your domestic situation, are you tired today? Are you fed up today? Are you ready to throw in the towel? Be encouraged, because in Daniel 10:18-19, God used an angel to restore Daniel's strength so that he could fight on a little while longer. In fact, in Luke 22:42-43, God sent an angel from heaven to do the same for Jesus Christ as He became weary in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the re-strengthening allowed Jesus to  finish His earthly assignment, and the same can happen to you too. 

Fighting for your family is not about the size of your firearm or the sophistication of your home security system. Instead it is directly attributed to you walking in your authority through prayer, so that even when the demons try to intercept God's blessings upon your household- they stumble and fall because the prayers of the righteous really do accomplish much. 

Therefore, go ahead and stop, drop, and pray right now and ask the Lord to release from heaven whatever or whoever is needed in order to overcome the unseen demonic warfare that seeks to deter you and destroy you and your family while you are waiting on your breakthrough. Jesus is on the mainline, call Him up!