The Living Prayer and Spiritual Victory of the Saints
Daniel 6:10-13, Revelation 12:7-12
Even if you are alive, those who do not piercing even to the division of soul and pray can never be saved. God has repeatedly commanded through His many servants to pray constantly, to pray vigilantly, to pray in the Holy Spirit, and to pray with faith. But when you pray, do you think Satan will just sit there and let your prayers go up to God? “Is your prayer really reaching God? Even you can see that your heart lacks sincerity and urgency, don’t you? Are you truly devoted to God? Do you long for His word? Do you have the experience of prayer?” He will constantly shake you and take everything away. Prayers that can not overcome Satan will not go up to God. you will not even be able to approach God. Prayer is a spiritual battle. Those who are defeated are servants of those who are victorious. You will be miserable. You must win. Only “living prayer” reaches God. Living prayer is a prayer that is awake—one that is alert, passionately loves God, and depends solely on Him. If you are not spiritually awake, Satan will snatch away all your prayers. He even clung to Jesus, the Creator God, trying to bring Him down. How much more vulnerable are we? You must not pray with an ordinary faith. Only when you recognize Satan’s schemes and pray with awareness can your prayers reach God.
The Word is called a “double-edged sword.” It is sharper than any other blade, spirit, joints and marrow. Even if you pray with such a Word, your prayers may not reach God – so how many of your prayers have actually ascended to Him? There are many whose prayers have never gone up to God. Can a prayer, recited meaninglessly like a parrot, without sincerity or urgency, have any real power? Let’s say your son or daughter failed the college entrance exam three times. If they were to take it again, how desperately would they hope to pass? That desperation! Did you pray with such a heart? Superficial, formulaic prayers do not reach God; they simply fall away. I am not saying this to upset you but to tell you the truth. Even during one’s 60 years of faith, if a prayer reaches God just ten times, that would be fortunate. But even that is difficult because Satan constantly interferes. That is why we must pray like soldiers going into battle—ready, armed, and prepared to pull the trigger when necessary. When we pray to strike down and defeat evil spirits, we can sense the angels carrying our prayers up to God.
We Must Pray While Being Filled With the Holy Spirit.
If you are full of the Holy Spirit and faith, the devil cannot cling to you. Satan may have killed Stephen, but because he was full of the Holy Spirit, faith, wisdom, and grace (Acts 6:8-10), didn’t his prayers reach God and were answered?
King Cyrus of Persia liberated the Israelites and issued a decree to build a temple in Jerusalem. But look at how Satan used his schemes to interfere—it wasn’t just for a year or two, but for 14 years that the construction was halted. He made the people think, “It is not yet time to build a temple,” while they were building luxurious houses for themselves (Hag 1:2). Didn’t God rebuke them through the prophet Haggai, saying, “Is it right for you to live in paneled houses while My house remains in ruins?” (Hag 1:4)? God cursed the Israelites and nothing they did prospered (Hag 1:6-11). However, when the people finally laid the foundation to rebuild the temple, God began to bless them, as recorded in Haggai 2:19 and the following verses.
Among the three prime ministers of the Medo-Persian Empire, Daniel was the most exceptional. His faith had no flaws—he feared God and remained steadfast in his devotion. Though he could not physically go to the temple in Jerusalem, he lived as if he were always in God’s presence. Regardless of who was watching or listening, Daniel opened his windows toward Jerusalem and prayed three times a day. His loyalty and wisdom were unmatched, and he was so faithful to God’s law that no one could find fault in him. So ous of Daniel and plotted to kill him. They cunningly established a strange law stating that for the next 30 days, anyone who worshiped or prayed to any god other than the king would be thrown into the lions’ den. But even while knowing this, Daniel prayed anyway. He was willing to risk his life. Satan was powerless before the prayer of Daniel, who feared nothing but God.
Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.
We Must Pray to the Point That Satan Becomes Jealous
What was the sin of Cain, the son of Adam, the father of humanity? It was jealousy. “God accepted my brother’s offering but not mine! If Abel weren’t here, God would have accepted mine!”—with this thought, Cain decided to kill Abel. If Cain had been wise, he would have said to his brother, “Abel, you are truly remarkable. My offering lacked sincerity. Actually, I only sought God with words, but I did not love Him with all my heart. Since you have great faith, would you offer a sacrifice to God on my behalf?”
Then, Abel could have become a mediator between Cain and God. A mediator does not take sides; he mediates between God and sinners. Had Cain chosen this path, all of history would have been different. But instead, he killed Abel out of jealousy. This envy and jealousy will never disappear—from individuals to families, churches, and the entire world—until the end of time. That is why, when we pray, Satan becomes jealous.
So, do you believe in God to the point that Satan becomes jealous? Have you longed to receive the Holy Spirit to the point that Satan is envious? If you had two friends, and you cared for and looked after one of them but not the other, then wouldn’t that friend be jealous? Satan is jealous of those who earnestly believe in God. That’s why he tries to make us doubt God, accuse us before God, and lead us into temptation and despair. Then he claps his hands, saying, “Serves you right!” Satan won’t be jealous if you don’t believe that well, because you’re on his side. Satan mocks the prayers of pastors, elders, and eldresses who only have the outward appearance of faith. Have you ever prayed with a desperate, battle-ready heart, saying, “This prayer must surely reach God!” while fervently longing for the Holy Spirit and grace to fill you? This is not a rebuke. It’s about us staying alive!
The reason Jesus was killed can be sum-marized in one word: jealousy. Tens of thousands of people would gather wherever Jesus went, but the pastors and elders of that time would be lucky if only a few showed up to see them. This jealousy led them to crucify Jesus (Matt 27:18; Mark 15:10). Job was praised by God as a blameless and upright man in the land of Uz in the east. When Satan saw this, he became jealous of Job and asked God to test Job, saying, “Doesn’t Job love You only because You bless him?” So God allowed Satan to do what he wanted on the condition that Job’s life be left untouched. Satan killed Job’s ten children, took away his wealth, and devastated his life. He even caused Job to suffer from terrible boils on his body. When Job’s wife saw this, she said, “Curse God and die,” but Job confessed his faith saying, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.”
Didn’t Satan give up after trying everything to break Job? Job’s prayer was a battle of utter misery. How desperate was Job when he prayed to God? How faithfully did he pray, staying vigilant? God answered his prayers and gave him the most beautiful daughters in the world. His wealth was multiplied many times over, and he and his descendants were blessed for generations.
At the end, there will be a war in heaven? The archangel Michael, the commander of God’s army, will fight against the devil. The ancient serpent, the devil, and his followers will be cast down to the earth. Those devils are the ones who accuse the saints (Rev 12:7-10). They accuse them before God day and night, saying, “God! Look at that person from Pyungkang Cheil Church violating this verse!” We must engage in spiritual warfare through prayer until we reach the kingdom of God.
Satan Loves to Set Traps.
In Daniel 6:7, all the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors consulted together to make a decree that anyone who prayed to any god or man except the king for thirty days would be thrown into the lions’ den. Satan sets such “traps” for faithful believers. However, those who steal God’s glory will perish miserably (Acts 12:23).
When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, Satan set a trap. After Jesus had fasted for 40 days, Satan tempted Him, saying, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matt 4:3). He also placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.” Finally, he took Him to a very high mountain and said, “All these I will give You, if You fall down and worship me” (Matt 4:8-9). Jesus overcame this temptation by saying, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only’”(Matt 4:10). Jesus overcame this temptation with the words of Deuterono my 8:19. If we do not pray with the Word, we will be defeated.
Deuteronomy 8:19 It shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish.
The Devil Corrupts.
Look at King Darius’s change of heart in Daniel 6:14-16. He had signed a death sentence for anyone who served other gods, but when Daniel, whom he loved, was thrown into the lion’s den, his heart changed and he despaired for Daniel. Satan makes people change like this. He makes us hesitate, and in the end, we donothing but waste time. Just when we decide to read the Bible, we’ll get a phone call. As we talk, our desire to read the Bible or pray vanishes like smoke, and we end up wasting more time. Then we say, “Oh, if that call hadn’t come, I would’ve read the Bible.” If we make a decision, we must follow through.
Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den, but he came out unharmed and told the king, “God sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions, and they did not hurt me.” In the end times, Satan will roam around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But those who believe in God will be protected by Him in both spirit and body. If our prayers can reach God like Daniel’s prayers, how strong would our fighting power be? Pray with faith, saying, “Because I know Satan’s schemes, he can’t interfere with me. An angel will take my prayer and carry it to God!” If you have this kind of faith, then Satan will look at you and think, “If I touch this one, I’ll be destroyed!” This is the power of living prayer. Please believe that Satan can never touch prayers that are alive, prayers that are vigilant and awake.
Daniel 6:19-22 Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and went in haste to the lions’ den. 20 When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.”
Psalm 34:7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.
In the End Times, Nothing Will Work Except Prayer.
Daniel 6 is a microcosm of the entire Bible. It shows the end times. What happened to those who plotted against Daniel? They were dragged into the lions’ den by the king’s command and were all torn to pieces. The secret to Daniel’s victory was prayer. Daniel lived a blameless, consecrated life (Dan 6:4). He remained unwavering in his loyalty to God (Dan 6:4; 1 Cor 4:1-2). In Nehemiah 9:7-8, it is recorded that God made a covenant with Abraham because He saw Abraham’s faithfulness. A faithful servant refreshes the heart of his master like ice water (Prov 25:13, 13:17). Daniel’s prayer was: ① a habitual prayer ② a regular prayer ③ a continuous prayer ④ a public prayer, and ⑤ a secret prayer made with the heart and spirit. This type of prayer transformed Daniel’s spirituality, causing the radiance of Christ to shine through him, just as it did with Stephen (Acts 6:15). We must put on the “armor of light” (Rom 13:12). To wear this armor of light, we must pray continuously (Eph 6:18). Jesus said that those who are awake and pray will escape all the great tribulations in the end times (Luke 21:36). Vigilant prayer is prayer with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Satan cannot touch this kind of prayer (Matt 4:4, 7; Eph 6:17; Heb 4:12); it brings about miracles (Dan 6:23). With out the support of prayer, there is no faith. That is why I pray. If we do not pray, our church and our country will perish. We must pray with a sober mind, not an idle prayer. Daniel’s three friends refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, even when they would be thrown into a fiery furnace seven times hotter than a black smith’s furnace. The king asked, “What will you do if God does not save you?” The three friends answered, “Even if God throws us into the fire and does not save us, we will only worship God and no one else.” Didn’t the king get angry and throw them into a fiery furnace that was seven times hotter? But when they were thrown into the furnace, they did not burn. This was because of their living prayer. Their prayers were alive.
Daniel 3:29-30 Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.” 30Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon.
The word “offensive” uses the Chinese characters “seol (褻)” (dirty) and “man (慢)” (arrogant). It means to be rude, vulgar, immoral, and disrespectful in one’s actions or speech. Look at how Daniel’s three friends behaved before the Babylonian king and all the people who were offensive against God. They made them fear God and believe in Him. When they exalted God, the three friends were also exalted. Awake and living prayers lead to respect and love from others, and it results in miracles upon miracles, showing that God is the living God. Dear saints, when Jesus healed the centurion’s servant and his mother-in-law in Capernaum and went across the river in a boat, a huge wave arose, and the boat was in danger of sinking. But Jesus was sleeping. When the twelve disciples woke Him up and begged Him to save them, He said, “You of little faith,” and rebuked the wind and the sea. He was rebuking Satan for hindering the faith of His disciples. When Jesus came down from the mountain after the transfiguration, a man brought his son who was possessed by a mute demon, to the disciples, but they were unable to heal him. Jesus rebuked the mute spirit and cast it out, saying to the disciples, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you?” (Mark 9:19). Why were the disciples unable to cast out the demon? It was be cause they didn’t have living prayer (Mark 9:28-29).
At this moment, let us reflect on whether we have prayed earnestly before God up until this very hour. Were our prayers filled with faith, overflowing with the Holy Spirit, thankful for grace, and with such earnestness that it makes us shutter? “In my life of faith, have my prayers ever reached God, even just ten times?” Think about it carefully. If you have not had such prayers, let today’s message be a resolution and determination in your heart, and may you become the “top fighter” in the battle against the devil through vigilant prayer, and this I bless upon you in the name of the Lord.
Let us pray. God, You have once againsent us the spirit of prayer, allowing us to offer living prayers before You. Who are we, that You love us so much, we who are living in the end times? We thank you so much for your grace. Our hope and desire is to be granted prayers like Moses. When Moses raised his hands in prayer during the battle against the Amalekites, he defeated hundreds of thousands of enemies. We long for that kind of prayer. We also ask for the ability to pray with awake, faithful, and Spirit-filled hearts before You, praying for ourselves and other individuals, families, workplaces, businesses, churches, departments, cell groups, and districts. Please grant us the blessing of having a time of prayer, no matter what we do, until we reach Your kingdom.
We wish to have “times of prayer.” We desire to become “people of prayer.” Please grant us the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Even when we do not wish to pray, may You compel us to pray, pouring out Your grace so we can pray. Through prayer, let there be a work where family problems are completely resolved. Please bless us so that we can pray for our sick bodies and bring about miracles.
Until the day we enter Your kingdom, help us not to be lazy in prayer, but to sincerely follow the meaning of the Word You give us, and make us people of prayer through understanding. Please bless us so that we can spiritually train ourselves, especially in our spiritual training in prayer. Bless every step we take, and as we sleep tonight, may Your grace and Your Word that You have given us today result in blessed, beautiful dreams through Your work. We pray and ask all these things with full thanksgiving in the holy name of Jesus. Amen.
December 13, 2001
Thursday Service
Rev. Abraham Park
*You can also read this article on the 'True Peace' online platform.
(http://champyungan.com/blog/archives/25242)
Worship In Spirit and Truth
