It takes our humble and repentant heart attitude towards God that can create an open spiritual access for angels to become active for our cause. This is illustrated by the scripture from Daniel 9:20-23, where Daniel confessed his sin as well as the sin of his people.
Daniel 9:20-23:
20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill – 21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.
22 He instructed me and said to me, ‘Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.
20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill – 21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.
22 He instructed me and said to me, ‘Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.
The Spiritual Sphere of Authority in the Mountain of God
We can see that it was important for him to pray for his spiritual place within God’s sphere of authority, the holy mountain of God, which corresponds to Jesus’ request according to John 17:21, where it is about oneness in God, who is Spirit (cf. John 4:24a).
John 17:21:
.. 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
.. 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
John 4:24a:
24a God is spirit, …
24a God is spirit, …
God’s desire for us is that we fill our sphere of authority assigned by Him in Him and in this way rule in our spiritual field of responsibility.
When we read in the Gospels about Jesus going ‘up a mountain’, it actually says that Jesus went ‘into the mountain’. The Greek word used there is ‘εἰς – eis’ and means, among other things, ‘to go into something’. (Word explanation taken from the Elberfelder Study Bible on the Greek word ‘εἰς – into something’ with word key number: 1503)
Thus, God wants for us that we fill our field of responsibility assigned by Him with our presence to effectively exercise authority in Christ Jesus by His grace.
The Angel Gabriel and the Time of the ‘Shadow’
It is said that the angel Gabriel flew close to the prophet Daniel at the time of the evening sacrifice to instruct him. The name ‘Gabriel’ means ‘hero of God’ who appeared with the time of ‘twilight’ that is the time between day and night, which can be a reference to the ‘covering of God’ by ‘overshadowing’.
This principle is also revealed in the encounter of Gabriel with Mary, which was similarly accompanied by the shadow or ‘overshadowing’ that heralded the time of salvation – Jesus (cf. Luke 1:26-27.31.35).
Luke 1:26-27.31.35:
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. …
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. …
35 The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. …’
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. …
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. …
35 The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. …’
We know that angels are winds (cf. Psalm 104:4 i.c.w. Hebrews 1:7), in reference to ‘Gabriel’ we can speak of the ‘heroic wind’ that comes with the covering of God to bring forth boldness through understanding and enables to advance in the promise of God.
Psalm 104:4:
4 He makes winds his messengers [angels], flames of fire his servants.
4 He makes winds his messengers [angels], flames of fire his servants.
Hebrews 1:7:
7 In speaking of the angels he says, ‘He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.’
7 In speaking of the angels he says, ‘He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.’
The Visitation of God and the Reawakening
It is stunning to find the description ‘in flight’ as referred to in Hebrew as ‘jā’ēp̅’, which also means ‘fatigue, to become weary, dull, tired’. (Word explanation taken from the Elberfelder Study Bible for the Hebrew word ‘jā'ēp̅ – in flight’ with word key number: 3357).
Thus, it shows that the presence of the angels sent by God or supernatural visitations can lead to a wearisome circumstance. God does this to bring about, in a certain way, a spiritual laying down for a spiritual reawakening, which can also be called a ‘download’ for the purpose of an ‘upload’.
From the book of Daniel, we can see that after the visitations of God in the form of the encounter with the angel Gabriel but also the visions, Daniel no longer had any strength left in him and was even ‘sick’ (cf. Daniel 8:27; Daniel 10:8-9).
Daniel 8:27:
27 I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.
27 I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.
Daniel 10:8-9:
8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless.
9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.
8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless.
9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.
The prophet Daniel was in captivity in Babylon and, despite this circumstance, was not intimidated to keep his vision focused on God as well as to practice the power of intercession.
It is necessary that we are not intimidated by external distressing circumstances to seek God. In this, it is crucial that we allow God to meet us in the way He desires and keep our prophetic consciousness or conscience pure and open to His encounter, much as Daniel had opened his windows to Jerusalem (cf. Daniel 6:11b).
Daniel 6:11b:
… 11b he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
The Proper Spiritual Focus in Times of Affliction
Our conscience is the superior window or eye between our spirit and our soul. Therefore, it is important that we keep it clear.
Based on the visitation of the angel Gabriel, it was in God’s interest to surround Daniel with boldness and reveal to him the understanding of the time of the twenty-one days (Note: 3 x 7 days) of the resistance of darkness (cf. Daniel 10:13).
Daniel 10:13:
13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
The twenty-first day was the day of God’s momentum, which carried within it the alignment of agreement of two high-ranking angelic powers, namely Gabriel and Michael. This was the correlation between the ‘boldness of God’ and the ‘mystery of God’ because the name ‘Michael’ carries the question, ‘Who is like God?’. This shows that even the presence of the opposition of darkness must serve for good to us who love God (cf. Romans 8:28).
Romans 8:28:
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
From this it can be seen that Daniel was surrounded by a natural as well as a spiritual oppression. Here it is necessary to wait faithfully and persistently for God and His answer, which carries within it the knowledge of His love for us as faithful servants.
This involves, for us as in Christ, surrendering the present life in the Spirit to the LORD so that He may fill it by His touch with the supernatural power of His Spirit that is needed for the future (cf. Daniel 10:10-14).
Daniel 10:10-14:
10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.
11 He said, ‘Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.’ And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
12 Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.’
10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.
11 He said, ‘Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.’ And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
12 Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.’
The principle in this is striking, that Daniel was brought from the position of spirit-filled intercession, represented by lying on his knees and hands, to the upright position by the angel (cf. Daniel 10:10-11).
This reveals to us that through our devotion there is the intensification of spiritual touches that affirm us in our spirit being and bring us into a higher spiritual level of revelation.
The Intensity of Revelation and the Spiritual Touch
Because of the intensity of the revelation for the future, Daniel lowered his face and kept silent, which can be an indication of hopelessness and limited prophetic vision. However, the Lord released another touch from the dimension of the Spirit, which we might assume that was Christ Himself, who appeared to Daniel the prophet in the likeness of a man and touched him on the lips. This enabled Daniel to communicate in a new way in the ‘realm of the Son of Man’ (cf. Daniel 10:14-19).
Daniel 10:14-19:
14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.’
15 While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face towards the ground and was speechless.
16 Then one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, ‘I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak.
17 How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.’
18 Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength.
19 ‘Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,’ he said. ‘Peace! Be strong now; be strong.’ When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, ‘Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.’
14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.’
15 While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face towards the ground and was speechless.
16 Then one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, ‘I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak.
17 How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.’
18 Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength.
19 ‘Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,’ he said. ‘Peace! Be strong now; be strong.’ When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, ‘Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.’
On this revelation in the truth of God’s Word, we can deal with it gratefully in each and every circumstance of exhaustion after spiritual interaction, being allowed to hold on to the fact that we are being brought to new strength to continue our walk in Christ.
Amen and Amen.
In His Wisdom,
Daniel Glimm
