In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. (Daniel 10:1-14)

There are many reasons for our struggles in prayer, one of the chief ones being the spiritual struggle. The tenth chapter of Daniel provides us with one of Scripture’s rare glimpses into the spiritual realm. Here, we learn that the prayer of the prophet spawned spiritual warfare in the heavenly sphere.

After three weeks of exhaustive prayer, that left Daniel emotionally and physically spent, an angel appeared with an answer to the prophet’s petition. The angel explained, however, that he was dispatched from Heaven the moment Daniel began to pray, but had been withstood for “twenty-one days” by “the prince of the kingdom Persia.” This antagonist of heavenly emissaries was no human entity, but one of the demonic “forces of evil” that inhabits “heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). 

Thanks to the intervention of Michael, the archangel of God (Jude 9), the dispatched angel was finally able to break through to Daniel with the answer to his prayer. Despite this fact, the angel’s return trip promised to be no less difficult, since the “prince of Persia” had now been joined by “the prince of Grecia” (Daniel 10:20-21). So infuriated were the demonic forces over Daniel’s answered prayer that heaven’s emissary was facing double trouble once his mission was accomplished.

This most insightful passage of Scripture shows us how spiritual warfare breaks out in the spiritual realm every time we pray. When we drop to our knees and bow our heads, all hell breaks lose against us. Prayer is spiritual warfare. It is therefore, in its ultimate extent, not to be taken up by the fainthearted, but only to be engaged in by the bravest of souls. 

Make no mistake about it; one thing the devil definitely doesn’t want you to do is to pray. Every time you attempt to, he’ll do everything he can to keep you from it. He’ll stoop to anything and stop at nothing. Is there any wonder then that prayer often proves to be such a spiritual struggle in our Christian lives?

“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” (Samuel Chadwick)