2 Corinthians 10:5-6
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
Daniel was heartbroken twenty-five centuries ago when he and his countrymen were transported to a foreign nation after Judah was overrun. Daniel was imprisoned by an arrogant despot and surrounded by idolaters, but he never gave up. He realized that his fate was determined not by his circumstances, but by his faith in God.
King Nebuchadnezzar changed the names of Daniel and the young people of Judah in order to convert them to Babylonians. This was done to assist them integrate into a new pagan culture. Daniel, for example, means ‘God is my judge’ in Hebrew. His given name was altered to Belteshazzar, which means ‘one whom Bel favors.’ Bel was the most important Babylonian god. Hannaniah means “God’s mercy,” while Shadrach, his new name, means “under the command of Aku” (the moon deity). Mishael translates as ‘who is like God.’ ‘Meshach,’ his new name, means ‘like Aku.’ Azaniah means “God helps,” and Abedgno means “one who serves Nebo (the fire god).” The king aspired to convert the Hebrew people’s religion from Jehovah God to the gods of Babylonia by modifying everything known to them. However, Daniel and his friends were determined to serving the right God.
Daniel prayed to God for his people’s restoration to their homeland. Daniel admitted his personal sins throughout his prayer for his nation, using the term “we” throughout. Daniel understood how to pray. He fasted and confessed his faults while praying (Dan. 9:3-19). He addressed the blessings and curses found in Deut. 28 in verses 9: 11-13. God had given the people the option of obeying the blessings or disobeying the punishments. The objective of their calamity was to bring the people back to God.
When Daniel prayed, he asked God for mercy rather than help. He realized God’s people had done wrong and deserved to be punished. A war was going in the sky while Daniel prayed and fasted. (Dan. 10: 5, 6), an heavenly being appeared to Daniel, 5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude. According to the book of Hebrews, God’s angels are all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who will be heirs of salvation.
Daniel was the only one who saw the angel’s vision (Dan. 10: 8), Daniel was left vulnerable. stopped by a major angel of the forces of Satan, he was unable to continue his mighty ministry until God sent a ministering angel to his help. Daniel saw a supernatural battle between good and evil in (Dan. 10:13). The angel had to contend with the Satanic Princes of Persia and Greece. The evil spirits had attempted to prevent the answer to Daniel’s prayer from reaching him. This supernatural fight demonstrates that, although the devils attempted to interrupt his prayer, angels fought to bring the answer. Repentance, fasting, faith, and prayers were Daniel’s weapons.
Daniel rose to the position of valued counsellor to King Nebuchadnezzar. The other administrators were angered by this significant promotion. Jealousy drove them to persuade the King to pass legislation prohibiting them from praying to any god other than the Babylonian image that the King had made for their worship. Daniel broke this prohibition and continued to pray to his sovereign Lord in front of his window every day. As a result, he was sentenced to a lion’s den, where God shut the hungry lions’ mouths.
This is the question. Can Christians use the authority that Jesus Christ offers to His Church to fight and win against the powers of darkness? Can we take control and bind these powers in the same way that we do when we deliver enslaved people from bad spirits? Is territorial warfare a safe haven for intercessors?