DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Hold on! Help is on the Way! | DAY 8 of 40 (LENT)

HOLD ON. HELP IS ON THE WAY!
HERE is Whitney’s version from Preacher’s Wife.
VIDEO/SONG: HOLD ON, HELP IS ON THE WAY

That’s right! HOLD ON!
If we’ve been sacrificing and praying for a week now and wondering, “Where’s the answer to our prayers?”, HOLD ON!

We just finished our 3-part look at life’s tests in Matthew 4:1-11, and we learned that tests reveal what’s in our hearts, and we master them by depending on God and His Word. As we continue through our 40 days together, we may find that our faith will continually be tested in the very areas that we’re praying over.

What’s our prayer request of the Lord?
What specific area are we asking Him to resurrect by Easter?

If it seems our answer is held up in the heaven-lies, HOLD ON! That could very well be the case!

Today, let’s look at a fascinating story of one of the prophet Daniel’s many fasts. This one is a 21-day fast in which Daniel eats no meat, drinks no wine, and puts on no lotions. Guess he isn’t worried about being ash-y :=) Just kidding! In many of the biblical fasts, we see people dressing in sackcloth and deliberately putting on ashes. So no, ash is not a concern.

An angel is sent to reveal to Daniel that during Daniel’s fast, there is a whole war being fought spiritually between angels on his behalf behind the scenes. We can be encouraged that ultimately God hears our prayers, has set things in motion and has everything under control.

DANIEL’S ENCOUNTER WITH THE ANGEL
DAY 8: READ DANIEL 10: 1-14

The angel of the Lord revealed to Daniel that he (the angel) had been dispatched with Daniel’s answer from the Lord on DAY #1. But a demonic angel known as the prince of Persia, opposed and fought with Daniel’s angel for 21 days – 21 days! That’s like 3 weeks.

Could we keep fasting and praying and mourning and waiting for 3 weeks, no answer?!

I imagine Daniel is fasting and praying for 21 days and probably wondering WHY God is not answering him. He has no idea there is a cosmic battle going on behind the scenes.

Then God sends in the Big Gun: Michael, sometimes referred to as the Archangel or the Commander of the Lord’s Army. I can’t wait to meet Michael one day. He’s my kind of angel. You don’t mess with Michael! Michael helps Daniel’s angel overcome his opponent so that Daniel can finally receive his answer from the Lord.

What does any of this have to do with us?

* We DON’T know WHAT is going on behind the scenes in the spirit realm on our behalf. Angels could be knocking over stuff, blowing up stuff, taking each other out, trying to move and shift things in the direction of our prayers. We don’t know what the battle looks like. We don’t know how many legions of angels were dispatched on DAY 1. We currently have the Holy Spirit, who speaks directly to our hearts. So we don’t always have to wait, as Daniel did, to hear directly from the Lord. But the results of what we’re praying for could still take significant warfare in order to transform earth to reflect what’s happening in heaven. Make sense?

* We DO know that there are definite demonic forces that come against us and our spiritual disciplines of fasting and prayer break their spiritual power (Matthew 17:14-21).

* Finally, we know we don’t have to worry or stress. God’s got a plan. He knows what He’s doing. We can just focus on being faithful and doing our part. We’re sacrificing. We’re praying. We’re standing in faith. The good news is that God wins. Our enemy is always defeated.

So, HOLD ON! HELP IS ON THE WAY!

PRAYER:
1) Confession & Repentance – Let’s confess our wrongs and ask forgiveness
2) Complete transparency – Let’s talk to God about the truth of our lives.
3) Listen – Let’s quiet and listen to God’s Spirit re: the scriptures, etc.
4) Intercession for others – Let’s pray for our family, friends, coworkers, etc.