at one point or another in our lives we all have prayed and asked God to do something for us but it didn't happen as quickly as we wanted it to happen over the years in my life I have learned that gouts delays are not God's denials the spiritual realm is vastly bigger than the natural world we don't know what is going on in the spiritual realm unless God reveals it to us we don't know what is going on behind the scenes on our behalf in the Old Testament there is a captivating story about Dan use
prayer being heard in heaven Daniel is visited by an angel whose name is not disclosed this angel explains that he would have come sooner but he was engaged in battle for twenty-one days by the prince of the kingdom of Persia and he required the assistance of Michael the Archangel to overcome this Prince the angel spent three weeks earnestly attempting to visit Daniel but he lacked the power to overcome the Prince of Persia you see the spirit realm is a realm of great conflicts the prayer of Daniel went to heaven his prayer was heard and his
prayer was answered and an angel was dispatched with the answer but the angel was unable to get through to Daniel because of this apparently high-ranking demon power that stopped him what can we learn from this is that demon powers have different ranks and powers just like the Angels that belong to the kingdom of God have different ranks and powers in Ephesians 6:12 we are told for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rule of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places the Bible refers to
Michael the Archangel we know from the scriptures that he plays a unique role in God's plan and appears to be a high-ranking angel then we have Gabriel who also must have been a high-ranking angel he was sent with a specific message for Joseph and Mary concerning the arrival of the Messiah in fact they are only three angels who are named in the Bible Michael the Archangel Gabriel and Lucifer who of course is a fallen angel now back to the story of Daniel what we need to realize is that Dan use prayer had such powerful effects
in the spiritual realm so much so it helped one names you call for reinforcements we also need to realize it's no accident that the messenger said that his struggle with the Prince of Persia lasted exactly the same amount of time that Daniels fasting and prayer did 21 days the reason for this is that the war fear in the spirit realm was being fought in a real sense by Daniel in the pre realm now imagine if Daniel had given up on the tenth day or had given up on the 19th day Daniel would have blocked his
angel from reaching him so I have a question for you today are you blocking your angel let me ask you again are you blocking your angel why do we give up on prayer is it discouragement we asked for something and don't see results or we don't like what happens and assume God isn't listening or at least not giving a favorable answer we all want our prayers to get answered right away when we don't see the answer immediately we can be tempted to stop praying I've had people ask how do I know when I should give
up on a prayer my answer is always the same never we can never quit turning to God remember the things that are impossible with men are possible with God our problem is that we now live in the age of the instant and some things just don't happen that way the Bible says that God is pleased with the passionate prayer of the righteous it's not about the length of your prayer it's the strength of your faith your passion I want to encourage you to keep knocking and don't give up prayer is the answer to your problem
today not a human not the doctor not your lawyer not a psychologist your prayer to the God of heaven is the answer just because we don't see a change doesn't mean our words are not heard but rather that there is a fight going on it is up to you to engage and fight with your prayers prayer opens up the gates of heaven prayer brings God onto the scene prayer lets you hire two places you cannot go yourself the things that are impossible with men are possible with God be the type of person who is passionate
about prayer because that is the kind of person who will also be effective in prayer be the type of person who does not give up on their prayer because that kind of person does not block their angel be the type of person who does not give up on their prayer because of that kind of person can touch heaven with their prayers [Applause] [Music] Luke 11:9 and so I tell you keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for keep on seeking and you will find keep on knocking and the door will be open
to you then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up Luke 18:1 in the parable of the persistent Widow Jesus teaches us that prayer is not just a one-off ticking a box matter although he encourages us that our heavenly father will hear our prayer he also leaves no doubt that we may need to pray repeatedly and persistently until we receive our answer if you have been praying for something and are still waiting for God to answer this is for you do not lose heart do not
be discouraged persist just as the widow persistent persistent prayer is perhaps the weapon our enemy Satan fears the most this is why he will try and discourage us to not keep praying if we don't see a breakthrough right away the Bible is a book that teaches persistence and you and I need to persist with our prayer life persistence is worth the cost the payoff is exceedingly abundantly above all you could ever imagine but most believers don't do that that's why there are so many faith failures around these and on the word or pray for one
day two days nine days and fall off they are never willing to pay the price of persistence what we need to do is persist jesus said if we've continued in his word then we'd be his disciples Jesus in his life on earth demonstrated and taught hardcore back-breaking and no-nonsense persistence he said if we'd continue we would know the truth and that the truth would make us free John 8:31 through 32 there's a revelation of God that comes from persistence that the inconsistent person will never see determined today to be persistent the comes a time when
you have to have some aggression some tenacity and some might about you and you have to stand up and fight back no matter what is happening to you no matter how hard the fight is as long as you keep fighting you will win the devil only wins if you let him life will only win if you let it fight on fight on Fight on don't tell me you can't fight anymore don't tell me you can't fight anymore don't tell me I'm tired and alone after all you have been you've got to take a stand you've
got to take a stand stand in the middle ha take stand in the middle of calamity stand in the middle of the storm stand in the middle of chaos stand in the middle of failure stand firm in the name of Jesus Christ whatever it is it will not defeat you if it is an illness fight back against it it will not win it will not win the devil and his army cannot stop what God has a day for you in 2020 you will experience the blessings of the Lord this year the crown of favor is
the part of your head God will open doors for you but your duty your responsibility is to be bold like a lion look at the ones who have gone before you Moses described in the Bible as the meekest man ever yet Moses had the boldness to go face to face with the most powerful man on earth at that time and told him let my people go boldness the great soldier Joshua he took the sword and led the children of Israel to conquer Kingdom after Kingdom after Kingdom after Kingdom boldness King David who slayed a lion
a bear and a giant as a small boy boldness you can't be bold if see yourself as a victim you can't be both if you see yourself as a loser you can't be both if you see yourself as a coward this is the end you realize you have the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob on your side and he has equipped you and he has fashioned you and shapes you to be more than a conqueror this is the end for you to walk in boldness God's angels who protects you his angels will minister to you
they will walk with you the Holy Spirit will dwell inside you and will guide you victory will follow you the crown of favor is upon your head God has favored you God has invested the blood of Jesus in you you have won your blood running through your veins this year is the year for you to finally take a stand in the name of Jesus you are a warrior you are a child of God don't you dare let the devil dictate another year of your life there's a revelation of God that comes from persistence that the
inconsistent person will never see determined today to be persistent don't try to be stood a on yesterday's prayer time-base today on today's time with him start a persistent prayer time today then tomorrow get up and do it again in the day after that get up and do it again and the day after that get up and do it again and the day after that get up and do it again don't you dare give up don't block your angel for all you know your answer your prayer could be in the middle of the battle right now
it has been said that Satan trembles when he sees the weakest Saints upon their knees [Music]
