The Real Prince of Persia
Finally the moviemakers are getting it, right? We want big action big effect big-time battles in our films that take us away from our everyday lives and transport us to…
Well, name your place. Hogwarts, Sherwood Forest, Pandora, and so many other places are just plain awesome to visit for a few hours and have our imaginations captured and entertained.
And now you can go back in time to 6th Century B.C. Persia in a movie called Aladdin…wait, I mean Prince of Persia. It's about a street rat who gets adopted by a king and saves the day from an eeeeevil eyeliner wearing dude named Jafar…sorry, I mean Nizam.
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No magic lamp in this one, but we do have Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) with a heavy metal haircut and outrageously ripped biceps swashbuckling his way through danger and peril, and that adds up to a fun adventure well worth the $50 movie ticket (or whatever it's gone up to these days).
Shout out to Jake for playing a respectable acting role in the movie, but I want to introduce you to the real Prince of Persia, mentioned in one of the craziest passages in the Bible:
On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I was standing beside the great Tigris River. While standing there, I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothes with a belt of fine gold wrapped around his waist. His body was like shiny yellow quartz. His face was bright like lightning, and his eyes were like fire. His arms and legs were shiny like polished bronze, and his voice sounded like the roar of a crowd. The man in the vision said to me, "Daniel, God loves you very much. Think carefully about the words I will speak to you, and stand up, because I have been sent to you." When he said this, I stood up, but I was still shaking…
Then the man said to me, "Daniel, do not be afraid. Some time ago you decided to get understanding and to humble yourself before your God. Since that time God has listened to you, and I have come because of your prayers. But the prince of Persia has been fighting against me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the most important angels, came to help me, because I had been left there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people, because the vision is about a time in the future" (Daniel 10:4-6; 10-14).
This scene is from the life of Daniel the prophet. He had been praying for quite some time, and wondering why his requests weren't being answered.
And why wasn't he getting an answer? Because the angel talking to Daniel said that the "Prince of Persia" had been fighting against him. This isn't a physical person, rather it is a demon sent by Satan to stop the angel from answering Daniel's prayer!
In other words, there is an invisible spiritual war going on that rages just as violently today as it did back in the day. And what gets me pumped up is that I know my prayer life isn't just a daily habit of thanking God for food and help me have a great day. My prayers are the weapons of war. They call angels into action and spark colossal battles. In fact, if I was able to actually witness the spiritual combat being waged all around, I would probably hit the floor in a state of shock.
I think there's something inside all of us that wants to be heroic and save the day…and guess what? You have that potential. Every word of every prayer that is sparked in the soul and escapes your lips is a striking blow into the territory of the enemy.
So pray for victory over the Satan in your life, in your family, for your friends, and for your school. Pray for the gospel to go forth with heavenly power and punch. Remember that prayer is not some therapeutic self-talk…it is a paratrooper jump into the spiritual fray that demands your blood, sweat, and tears.
So servants of Jesus Christ…to arms! Release the barrage and ask God to bring the rain and a triumphant ending as you carry forward His Cause!
Flashpoint: Ignite Into Action
Prayer is an incredibly powerful connection with God that serves as a major force in the invisible war between God and Satan. This week, pray for your friends by name and watch God bring incredible opportunities to share His message.
Accelerant: Feed the Fire
"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" (Matthew 21:22).
For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? (Romans 8:24).
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4).
