I have long been fascinated by the story of Daniel and the angel in Daniel 10.
As you may remember, Daniel was standing by the Tigris River in Babylon with some others when a man in white, with flashing eyes and a voice that "roared like a vast multitude of people" spoke to him. The others saw nothing but they were terrified and ran away - probably because they heard the angel's voice.
The angel - probably Gabriel who had visited Daniel before - had come in answer to Daniel's prayer for understanding about what was to happen to God's captive people.
He told Daniel that he had been held up on the way to Daniel for 21 days by the "spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia". He was only able to finish his journey because the archangel Michael came to his aid and fought the "prince of Persia".
I have always believed in the existence of angels, but have not paid much attention to them until recently.
But, clearly, angels are very important in God's plan for the world. As Billy Graham notes in his book Angels, angels play many different roles in carrying out God's wishes. One of these is making war on Satan's demon spirits.
In Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul says that believers are fighting against "evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."
What is our task in this great war? Among other things, we are to pray.
It is prayer that led to the angel Gabriel visiting Daniel with an answer to his concerns.
John Piper, author of Desiring God and many other books, notes that the "prince of Persia" in Daniel 10 is clearly a "territorial spirit" who exercised control over the kingdom of Persia. It took the archangel Michael to defeat him and free Gabriel to deliver the answer to Daniel's prayer.
In a sermon, Piper mentions a miraculous modern story of prayer breaking the power of such a territorial spirit in Cordoba, Argentina about 20 years ago. You can find it here: http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper92/01-12-92.htm
God has given us the privilege of joining him - and his angels - through prayer in defeating the unseen enemy.
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