Prayer Points Against Delay
Delay and Stagnation: Prayers to Deal With Satanic Delays, Stagnation and Denial
By Daniel C. Okpara
Today, our focus is on destroying the powers of satanic delay.
What is Satanic Delay?
“Delay is not denial?”
I’m sure you’ve heard that many times.
I’ve also said that thousands of times to encourage people to continue to exercise themselves in patience until their prayers are answered.
The truth is that anyone who has ever tried to live by faith has experienced delays. Not everything has happened in the time frame we wanted them. This is a fact no one can deny.
So in a way, we use the term “delay is not denial” to encourage ourselves.
But the truth is that not all delays are God-programmed. In fact, most delays are satanic and can lead to denial. They are programmed by the devil to lead to discouragement and ultimately to backsliding.
Most delays are part of the spiritual conflict we face as Christians. They are nothing else than spiritual attacks projected to stop us from manifesting the plans of God and His blessings for our lives.
Satanic delays and denial are times of extreme frustration when one’s blessings are prevented from manifesting despite so much efforts and labor. This leads to loss of faith and many questions in the hearts of the victims.
I believe this was what the wise man meant in Proverbs 13:12 when he said, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”
The Good News Translation renders that verse this way: “When hope is crushed, the heart is crushed, but a wish come true fills you with joy.”
I doubt anyone will say that God likes to crush people’s heart. On the contrary, we know that God is the One who fills us with joy.
This simply means that it is not God who crushes our hope so He can crush our hearts. It is the devil. The devil does that through the force of delays and denial.
This week, I challenge you to arise and push back the forces of spiritual delays and denial. I charge you to take back your spiritual courage and enter into a season of violent faith declarations until your change is established. You will know it when it is done. Your spirit will bear witness to it and peace will flood your mind
Divine Delays Vs Satanic Delays
The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount – Deuteronomy 1:6
Sometimes, delays can be from God. Other times they are from the devil. God’s delays are usually a time of going through a process of growth and development.
For instance, if you started a business last month, there’s no way that business will become Walmart in three months. The business needs time to grow and develop. It has to go through a process. While you trudge towards the bigger pictures in your mind, the business continues to make daily, weekly and yearly progress.
That normal process of gradual growth and development is what I call divine delays – God taking you through a process – or better put, productive patience. That is, while you’re patient, you’re also making progress.
But when you’re stuck and stagnated, that’s demonic. When you go round and round in circles and can’t seem to breakout of a particular loop, the forces of demonic delay and denial may have been projected against you.
In productive patience, you go through a normal process of growth, development, and maturity before manifestation. For example, no matter how you pray, fast and declare over a pregnant woman, she still has to wait 9 months before delivering her child. Your prayers can only protect her, not cancel the process of waiting for 9 months.
I remember when my wife was pregnant with our last child. I had a program to preach outside the country. Unfortunately, her EDD was around the date I was to travel. I always like to stick around and support my wife during her times of Great faith (You know what I mean). I feel it’s the normal thing to do. But somehow, I missed this date as I was arranging for the international conference. It was already fixed over 6 months ago.
As her date was approaching and the conference date was just a month to go, I got a bit mixed up…
Should I travel and leave my wife behind, or should I cancel the foreign trip and stay around and support her? God knows I would really want to be around and support my wife. But canceling the meeting completely would also be a bad example. What should I do?
Well, I just committed the whole thing in the hand of God.
And to His glory, without my doing anything to change anything, my foreign organizers called five weeks to the meeting and requested that the meeting be moved two weeks up due to an event that would take place in the city that week we planned to hold the meeting.
Wow! What a big relief.
The point I’m trying to make is that no matter how you try, you can’t change a divine process that God has instituted. You can’t pray it forward or downward. You’ll have to wait through that process. That normal process of waiting in the divine process is what I call productive patience.
God knows I love my five-year-old boy, Isaac. Unfortunately, I can’t give him the car to drive right now. Many times, he has cried for it, but I can’t allow him. Yes, I do love him, but he has to grow and become an adult, then learn to drive before I can allow him to drive. For now, let him continue with the toys.
Are you getting the picture?
Understanding productive patience is important so you can separate demonic delays from a time of normal patience.
In productive patience or divine delays, there are obvious processes of growth and development that you’re going through. You’re not where you’re supposed to be, but you’re making gradual progress towards the bigger dreams. Every day and every year is a plus on the previous.
But in demonic delays, you’re just stagnated. You could feel the frustration and obvious sense of “something is wrong somewhere. This is not where I’m supposed to be.”
Let’s see some Biblical examples…
Daniel and the Prince of Persia
Daniel chapter 10 gives a very clear picture of the invisible struggle between the forces of good and evil. Daniel had prayed and an angel was dispatched to bring his request from the very first day he began praying. But a demon referred to as the prince of Persia waylaid the angel and engaged him in an intense spiritual warfare.
Imagine that.
That’s like a monitoring spirit, an evil spirit in charge of that area. This evil spirit’s mission was to delay and deny Daniel answers to his prayers.
How many times have we faced delays and even outright denials that we attribute to the making of God, when in reality, they were the making of demonic powers?
If Daniel had stopped praying on the 10th day of his petition, he probably may not have received the answer to his prayer. His persistence in prayer empowered his spiritual victory over the forces projected to delay, stop or deny his prayers.
Here’s the point: Demonic delays are aimed at denying you answers to your prayers. That’s when delays can become denials.
I have said many times that God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3)…
Your future husband is not in heaven. He’s here on earth. If he’s not coming forth physically, you need to learn how to command him to manifest.
Your money is not in heaven. Not at all. There are no dollars and pounds and rands in heaven. All the monies you’ll ever need are here on eart
h. If you’re always getting frustrated financially, you need to learn how to command your finances to manifest.
If you’ve been at the same spot for a very long time, that’s not God. The forces of delay and denial are responsible. Gather yourself up and begin to release prayer bullets against these powers.
Jacob and Laban
In Genesis chapter 29, Jacob set out to marry Rachel, the love of his life. He didn’t have money to pay the bride price so he chose to labor 7 years instead. That is commendable. How many men would do that today?
Unfortunately, at the end of the agreed 7 years, he was cheated out of his dream. He was outwitted.
So, he had to labor extra 7 years again.
It sounds easy when we read and retell that story, but Jacob will tell you that those were some of the hardest and most frustrating times of his life. Can you imagine serving as a slave for 14 years just to get married to a woman you love? Something that was to take 7 years eventually took 14 years. Something is not right there.
Definitely, the forces of delay and denial was at work through Laban against Jacob.
Some people have worked so hard all their lives in a company, but when it’s time for them to get a benefit, one problem or the other crops up. They end up losing the blessing.
I know a minister of the Gospel who labored in a Church for 20 years plus. Just when it was time for him to retire and earn his entitlements, something happened and he was suspended, and later dismissed from the church. When we sat down and discussed the situation with him, it was obvious the devil did that because there was no concrete reason he should be treated that way.
When you’re working so hard and getting so little results, beloved, the forces of delay and denial are working against your life.
When you’re due for promotion and you’re not promoted, instead others get promoted while you have to make do with what is available, dear friend, begin to bind the powers of delay and denial from now onwards.
Paul and Satan
For we wanted to come to you–certainly I, Paul, did, again and again–but Satan blocked our way (1 Thessalonians 2:18).
Wait a minute. How’s that? Did you see that?
Satan blocked Paul!
Paul knew what he wanted to do was God’s will. He had that witness in his heart, but Satan raised several oppositions and blocked him, and not even once.
That’s amazing, but the undeniable truth.
If there’s a dream in your heart that you know is God’s perfect will for your life. And you have this peace that it’s time to birth it, but the more you try, the more you’re prevented, arise and begin to come against the forces of delay and denial.
There are many people who are stuck at one spot today and have lost the courage to venture out again to start their dreams because they have faced so many disappointments that they wonder if they were right in the first place. My friend, the forces of delay and denial was what worked against you. Get back and go on the offensive against these powers, and then move into God’s dream for your life.
Delayed for 38 Years
In John chapter 5, we read the story of a man who stayed at one spot for 38 years. He was at the pool of mercy but didn’t obtain mercy for so many years. The devil so worked against this man that people hated him even in his helpless state.
Have you asked yourself how it is possible that this man could be there for 38 years and no one deemed it fit to give him some kind of assistance? There was no one, not even a family member, a passerby, an observer, or some good person out there to assist him. How’s that?
The devil.
He was a victim of the forces of delay and denial.
The forces of delay and denial can so work against a person that he will be helpless even in the midst of plenty opportunities flying around him. People will just hate him for no just cause. He will lack help and support and be so alone in his struggles.
There are many more examples of people who were victims of the powers of delay and denial. But the good news is that God intervened eventually and the story changed.
But you have to recognize this problem and begin to resist it today.
Causes of Demonic Delays
1. Habitual Sin:
You’re a Christian but there’s this sin you can’t just let go. Your spirit is always convicting you of it, but you just can’t get over it.
Beloved, yes, God is a merciful God. The Blood of Jesus Christ is speaking mercy and forgiveness, always.
But habitual sin opens a gate for the enemy to be able to create obstructions in your life. It’s time to pray and deal with this habitual sin.
2. Disobedience to Divine Instruction:
We can also open doors to spiritual delays when we are disobedient to divine instructions.
That is, there are things that God is putting in your heart to do, but you’re too busy with other things not to mind. This will certainly cause you to experience a lot of delays in life.
3. Lack of Personal Development:
I was praying with a sister the other day and she said: “I’m experiencing some kind hate in my office, from my seniors to my colleagues. They rarely talk to me. But somehow, they can’t get rid of me because they know they can’t do much without me.”
That’s excellent. You’re just too useful the enemy can’t let you go.
The Bible encourages us to develop virtues of creativity, love, and sound mind.
It is not the will of God for Christians to be liabilities or second classes. We are to become so good at what we do that we are the light where we are.
4. When You’re Out of God’s Will:
Do you remember Naomi and his family? (Ruth 1) They left the country when there was famine. Unfortunately, this was not God’s will for their lives. The famine in their country was only temporary. But they were too consumed with what they wanted and didn’t pay attention to what God needed them to do at the moment. Well, the family lost almost everything.
Many believers, either out of omission or commission, have stepped out of God’s will for their lives and are chasing fantasies today; hence, they are being buffeted by the forces of darkness like never before.
One prayer to pray with every seriousness today is:
O LORD, forgive me in any way I have stepped out of your will for my life. Have mercy on me and restore me to Your will once again, in Jesus name
5. Witchcraft:
No doubt, witchcraft spirits can also create delays and denials for many people.
Last week, we talked about this and provided prayers against witchcraft.
The truth is that there are many people suffering one form of delay or the other today because of witchcraft manipulations against them. I wish this was something I could just wish away. But it’s not. It’s real.
6. Curses:
Curses can also be responsible for spiritual delays.
What are curses? What are the different types of curses? How do I know if I’m under a curse? What should I do if I discover I’m a victim of curses? All these questions were answered in my book, Prayers That Break Curses
7. Past Evil Covenants, Soul Ties, and Unholy Alliances:
These include childhood initiations and dedications to spirits, blood covenants, unholy agreements and oaths, bathing in the river rituals, love oaths, seeking a solution from diviners, etc.
All of these have the power to invoke the powers of delay and denial against a person. Honest repentance and renouncement of these acts is the way to break free from the problems they’ve created.
8. Charismat
ic Witchcraft:
Many genuine believers are suffering one problem or the other today, including delays and denials, because they’ve had hands laid on them by evil people who put on the cloth of men and women of God, but are actually wolves in sheep clothing.
That is why the Bible warns us against running up and down seeking miracles and prophecies.
The devil is capitalizing on the age of prophecy and also empowering people who go about initiating people instead of setting them free.
Make no mistake about this. Evil hands laid on you can also produce the effects of witchcraft in your life.
Please refer to my book, Prayers Against Witchcraft for more on Charismatic Witchcraft.
9. Modern Spiritism:
Such as astrology, reading and working with the zodiac signs, tarot cards, magic, etc. are all forms of demonic activities condemned in the Bible. Involvement in these practices will ultimately lead to one form of eventual satanic stronghold or the other.
10. Higher Degrees of Satanic Attack:
There are other forms of demonic locks and coordinated attacks that can produce spiritual delays and even denials, different from curses and witchcraft manipulations.
The types of attacks that Paul and Daniel had were not curses or witchcraft manipulations. They were a higher level of demonic operations. These types of operations are mainly targeted at stopping God’s assignment. They are perpetrated by principalities and powers and geared towards stopping the entrance of the gospel. Ministers need to be able to discern when their works for God are being targeted by the devil and engage in prolonged spiritual warfare to break the powers of delay and denial.
How to Break the Powers of Delay and Denial
Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21).
Jesus recognized that some demonic activities cannot break or leave except through prayer and fasting. I wish there were other ways.
But the good news is that no demonic activity is impossible to break. In the name of Jesus Christ, every knee will bow and all powers submit.
Are you currently going through some experiences you believe are a manifestation of the powers of delay and denial?
Then brace up. They can be broken, and you can obtain your victory in Christ. Here are the steps you must follow…
Genuine repentance and honest renunciation of habitual sin
Get someone to pray a prayer of agreement with you for a few days
Seek the Lord in fasting and prayer
Locate anything that might be giving the devil a doorway into your life and deal with it.
Renounce all covenants, curses, agreements and unholy alliances of the past that is still speaking against you.
Anoint yourself and dedicate your life to Christ.
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