Daniel 10

An Invisible War

Daniel 10:1, 12-21

When we come to chapter ten, we come to the last vision, the last great revelation God is giving to His servant Daniel. It serves as a long introduction, and takes up the entire chapter. The message Daniel is given here is what chapters 11 & 12 deal with, and take us to the end of the book.

One of the things we learn from Daniel’s experience is the reality of spiritual warfare. We see the unseen realm that exists all around us. If God had not revealed this to Daniel and recorded it for us in scripture, we may not have ever become aware of it.

In this chapter we see a world of activity taking place behind the scenes as Daniel has been fasting and praying. Angels have been dispatched and are engaged in conflict with one another. Battles are being fought and won. World leaders are being influenced by unseen forces and all of that is being revealed to us in the final chapters of Daniel.

It is important we understand as men and women of God, there is a world of activity going on in the spiritual realms. The Bible is clear; Satan is real, angels and demons are real, and there is a real spiritual conflict going on. We need to remember these are things we cannot see but they are things that represent real consequences for human beings.

That is not my opinion, or my imagination. That is what God reveals to us in His Word. That is what is taking place here in the remainder of the book of Daniel.

But this is not the only place where the Lord tells us this sort of thing. (1 Peter 5:8) Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Now, that is not something we can see, is it? but it is something God’s Word reveals to us, and we know it’s true because we see the effects of it all around us. We see the reality of evil in the world.

What we learn from Daniel chapter ten, and the remainder of the book is, there is a spiritual battle taking place and we are in a fight; however, we don’t fight that battle in our own strength, but by remaining faithful to God. (Read Daniel 10:1, 12-21)

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision.

12 Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.

13 “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.

14 “Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future.”

15 When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless.

16 And behold, one who resembled a human being was touching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, “O my lord, as a result of the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength.

17 “For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me.”

18 Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me.

19 He said, “O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, “May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

20 Then he said, “Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.

21 “However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.” (Pray)

In our passage this morning we see the reality of spiritual conflict. We see angels and demons at war. We see territorial spirits fighting against and on behalf of kingdoms and nations. In the final chapters of the book of Daniel, the curtain is pulled back and we see spiritual warfare.

Daniel has been given this vision from God of what will take place in the last days. That’s a message Satan opposes. That’s a message he doesn’t want to get out. So, there is war in heaven and Daniel under attack in the world. He is weak, he is physically suffering, yet he remains faithful to God, and he is given new strength to continue to fight.

But what does that mean for us? Well, it means that becoming a child of God is very much like enlisting in the military. You become a soldier in the army of God.

In a very similar way to when young men and women sign up for military service because they want to see the world or earn money for college only to find themselves in the middle of a battle, we have entered a conflict that we didn’t know existed.

When we come to Jesus, we come for all the right reasons. We want to live a life of faith, and hope, and love. We want to live different from the world, but we didn’t realize there was a spiritual battle being fought, and now we have become a target. Our eyes have been open to the truth and that makes us a danger to the enemy.

As followers of Jesus Christ, you will be despised by the world, attacked by family and friends, and hurt by other Christians in the church. And all of this is an attempt to get you to turn back on God, and walk away from the faith.

What we learn from Daniel is there is a spiritual battle taking place around us, but we don’t fight in our own strength, but by remaining faithful to God. I want to give you three keys from the life of Daniel, how to remain faithful in the fight.

First, we must remain faithful in prayer. We must be men and women who like Daniel humble themselves and pray. And as simple as those sounds, I mean after all, it’s just communicating with God. Prayer is a powerful spiritual discipline. Someone once said, “prayer moves the hand, of the hand that moves the world.”

Throughout Daniel’s life of slavery and captivity we see a picture of a man dedicated to the Lord in prayer. In chapter two King Nebuchadnezzar was threatening to destroy all of the wisemen of Babylon. That included Daniel and his friends. So, they went to the Lord in prayer and God revealed Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to Daniel, and he saved their lives.

In Daniel chapter six Darius issued a decree. He said, “anyone found praying to God would be thrown into a lion’s den.” So, what did Daniel do? He did the same thing he had always done. Three times a day he opened his windows toward Jerusalem, and he got down on his knees and prayed. No matter what Daniel faced he remained faithful in prayer. And the same thing must be true in our lives. No matter what we face we do it in prayer.

(Philippians 4:6-7) “Be anxious for nothing but everything in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Jesus is the greatest example of how important prayer is. Throughout the gospels we see Him rising early in the morning and finding a quiet place to get alone with God. If the Son of God was given strength through prayer how much more important do you think it is that we pray?

We should be praying for everything in our life: the big things and the little things, the battles we face and the decisions we make. We should be praying for our family, our neighbors, and our friends because they are in a battle, and they don’t even know it.

Jesus teaches we are to seek God’s protection through prayer. In John 17:15 he was praying for the disciples, and He said, “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” That is an example of a prayer we should be praying for our husbands and wives and our children and grandchildren. We should be praying that God would protect them from the evil one.

Jesus also teaches us we are to pray for God’s power to overcome sin in our life. In the Lord’s prayer Matt. 6:13 He said, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen.”

So, what we see is how important prayer was to Jesus. And notice He teaches us to not only pray for ourselves, but for all the circumstances and the sin of those around us.

So many times, we want to see things change in people’s lives, but we are not willing to humble ourselves and pray. Instead, we would rather complain about our circumstances. All of that results from a prayerless life.

The Apostle Paul tells us that prayer is our power. He said, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.”

There is a spiritual battle taking place and if you are not praying then you are not engaging the enemy. If we want to grow in our relationship with God and see people change, we have to fight the good fight of faith and we do that on our knees.

Charles Spurgeon once said, “The soldier wants to distinguish himself. He wants to rise up out of the ranks. But if he wants to be promoted, he can hardly do it in a time of peace, but the officer rises when in a time of war, he leads a successful charge. The same thing is true in our life. We are called to charge the gates of hell and we do that in prayer. We can’t win the battle if we are not willing to fight.

I am reminded of Nehemiah. 100 years after what we are reading in the book of Daniel many of God’s people had returned home. Yet, they had failed to rebuild the city and they had failed to rebuild the temple of God. When Nehemiah heard the report, he broke down and he began to pray. 12 times in the book of Nehemiah he prayed for his people. He didn’t give up and finally he returned home and helped rebuild it all. What we learn from his story is, God accomplishes His tasks through people who are willing to pray.

For us prayer is one of the hardest things God asks us to do because we are so impatient, and we are so proud. So, to us prayer seems like a major waste of time. Someone once said, “For every 100 people God can get to work for Him, He can only find 1 who is willing to pray.” Don’t be like the many but be like the one. Be set apart for God.

For men of the bible, like Nehemiah prayer was no waste of time. It involved weeping, fasting, studying the scriptures, and communicating with God. James 4:2 says, “You do not have because you do not ask God.” That tells me there are some things that God will not do for us, unless we pray. So, the first key in spiritual warfare is we must remain faithful in prayer.

The second key to fighting this fight and winning the battle is we must remain faithful in life. What I mean is nothing is more powerful than a man or woman of God who overcomes sin. Someone who walks in a manner worthy of the gospel. Someone who stands firm in their commitment to the Lord.

We have seen too many Christian leaders fall victim to a compromised life. We need to understand if you walk close to the fire you are going to get burned. Sin is not something to be played around with, it is something to be overcome.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NASB95) — 13 No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

A military tactician said that battles are won before they are fought. That was his way of saying that victory depends on our preparation. One general called it “Making a good ready.” The same principles apply in spiritual warfare. God in Jesus Christ has made all the necessary arrangements to prepare us for the battle, but you have to choose to live for God.

Throughout Daniel’s life we see a man determined to live for God. If anyone had a reason to quit and give up the fight it was Daniel. He was taken from his home as a young boy and made a slave in a foreign land. A pagan king tried to force him to become a Babylonian. He was offered a life of luxury, and prosperity. He could eat from the king’s table and drink the king’s wine. All he had to do was give up his God and worship the gods of Babylon.

I want you to notice his determination. 1:8 it says, “But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself.” Early on in Daniel’s life, he determined in his heart he was going to live for God, and nothing was going to change that. Some of us need to make that same determination today.

It is important we understand though, just being determined isn’t enough, because the power of the enemy is real. Just think of all that happened in Daniel’s life after he made that decision. His life was under constant threat because he refused to conform.

His three closest friends were thrown into a fiery furnace. Daniel himself spent a night in the lion’s den. If anyone had a reason to throw in the towel it was Daniel. Yet he fought the good fight of faith, and he kept running the race.

Let me ask you this, what are the things in your life that make you want to quit? What are the temptations of the world that draw you away from God? Ask yourself this, is it worth it? Because all the world is temporary, but Jesus says, we have treasures in heaven that last forever.

So, the question is how do we remain faithful in a world full of sin and rebellion. Well, the apostle Paul tells us, Ephesians 6:11–13 (NASB95) — 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

Notice Paul says, “to put on the full armor of God.” Living faithfully for God is a choice we make. God has provided everything we need but it’s up to us to clothe ourselves in it. It’s up to us to stand in truth and righteousness.

It’s ui to us to mmerse ourselves in the Word of God and prayer. No one can do that for you, but it is also important we understand, we don’t do it alone. Christ is our source of strength.

I am reminded of the Apostle Paul in 2 Cor. 12. He had a thorn in his flesh, and we don’t know what it was, but he prayed three times for God to remove it, but in the end, God’s answer was no.

He said, My grace is sufficient for you.“For in your weakness my strength is made perfect.” You see sometimes we fail in the spiritual battle because we are relying on ourselves and not God.

And that leads me to the third key to winning the spiritual battle. We must remain faithful in trust. We must depend on God.

Someone once said, “as Christians we work like it all depends on us, but we believe like it all depends on Him.” That is so true.

Notice Daniel 10:17-19, As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me.” Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me. He said, “O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, “May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

We have studied the life of Daniel. We have seen a man who lived powerfully for God. He stood up to kings and kingdoms. He faced down the mouth of lions. But it’s important we understand that Daniel knew he was never alone. Throughout this book we have seen a man who depended on God.

What we learn is there is a very real spiritual battle taking place. If we don’t have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we don’t even know it exists. But we also learn, we are not powerless in this battle. We have weapons that are mighty through God.

The reason so many people fail in the battle is because they wait until the last minute to fight, and the reason others succeed is because they have gained the victory in advance. Knowing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is how you gain the victory in advance. He is our commander and Chief. He is chief executive officer of our faith. And the good news is He has already won the battle.

It’s no secret I am a Michigan football fan. I love watching the recording I have of the game last year against the Buckeyes. I can tell you I have a whole lot more peace in my heart today when I watch that game today than I did when they were playing it. Why? because I already know the outcome. Well, the same thing is true as a Christian. Jesus has already won the battle and you can have peace in your heart because you know Him.

The three keys from Daniel’s life to remaining faithful in the spiritual battle; We must remain faithful in prayer. We must remain faithful in life. We must remain faithful in trust.