Delay as defined in the Oxford languages is to make (someone or something) late or slow. The word is also similar to phrases and words like retard, slow, slacken, detain; this means to cause something or someone to be late or restrict movement or progress. Delay implies a holding back, usually by interference, from completion or arrival.
In my own words, I will define delay as postponing or hindering an event from happening at the actual and expected time or to say the right time.
In the Book of Daniel, the Prophet Daniel fasted and prayed for twenty-one days and was waiting to hear from God, his message from God delayed. The Angel of the Lord told Daniel that God heard his prayer the first day he prayed but there was a struggle between this same Angel and the Prince of Persia (a Demon) who detained the Lord’s Angel until this Angel asked for help from the Arch Angel Michael (Daniel 10:10-13).
10 And, behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
11 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.
12 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.
13 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.
The first question you will ask here is how could an Angel of God be detained by a demon for days?
The next question here is; does this mean the demon of Persia has more power than the Angel of God who was sent by God?
Did God know the Angel was going to be detained for days by a demon?
There are so many rhetorical questions to be asked, but the truth is that God is a “Respecter of territories” though He created the whole universe and space, the occupants and powers of these places are allowed to take dominion over them until God Himself for some reasons best known to Him decides to reclaim or takeover.
Remember God told Adam to take dominion over all things created in the garden and name them and subdue it. He never interfered against the affairs of man until Adam ate the forbidden fruit.
One thing we must understand is that Satan has a lot of control over this world and he is doing everything possible to achieve his evil purpose. Remember what he told our Lord when he tempted Him.
Matthew 4:9
And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
Jesus said in John 14:30;
I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.
And in John 14:31 Jesus said;
Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Again John 16:11 Jesus said;
Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Paul also made it clear in Ephesians 2:2
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
If by any chance you ever thought that the devil had no control of this world, then you are deceiving yourself. Be aware that anyone who has control over something will definitely try to influence the events that happen in and around that thing.
In school, I understood that an asset is something that is owned and or controlled by an entity to facilitate and further for production to make profit. I did not understand at first when my lecturer said owned and or controlled, I later understood that sometimes you can own something but you may not have total control over it, for example a rented-out apartment is owned by the developer but controlled by the tenet. In this case, the tenet is the one who permits his/her own events in the building until the rent is due. I can boldly tell you that Satan is now actively controlling a lot of events of this world because he doesn’t have much time remaining.
As a Christian you must understand to some extent that Satan somehow has influence to changing or hindering your destiny from happening, knowing this will motivate you in prayer and push you to work hard. Satan will do everything possible to delay or stop you from being successful, achieving your purpose on earth and making it into the Kingdom of God.
Apostle Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 2:17-18 on how Satan stopped him from visiting the church.
17 Dear brothers, after we left you and had been away from you but a very little while (though our hearts never left you), we tried hard to come back to see you once more.
18 We wanted very much to come, and I, Paul, tried again and again, but Satan stopped us.
In the book of Deuteronomy, God told His people they had compassed a certain mountain for too long which means that wasn’t His will for them.
1 Then we turned back across the wilderness toward the Red Sea, for so the Lord had instructed me. For many years we wandered around in the area of Mount Seir.
2 Then at last the Lord said,
3 ‘You have stayed here long enough. Turn northward.
The will of God is to work within His own time and make all things beautiful (Eccl 3:3) and to bring His purpose to pass.
You must understand that Lucifer has assigned demons to fight you and your prosperity on earth and he will never stop until you are killed and destroyed. This is why you must be vigilant and very prayerful to destroy his plans and overcome him.
How can we overcome the spirit of delay?
· Walk with God and establish a prayer life.
A Christian who can’t pray will be enslaved and manipulated by demons.
Prayer gives you the power to subdue demons, spiritual forces in the heavenly world, rulers, authorities and cosmic powers of this dark age.
28 Afterwards, when Jesus was alone in the house with His disciples, they asked Him, “Why couldn’t we cast that demon out?”
29 Jesus replied, “Cases like this require prayer.”
Prayer gives you the authority over these devilish creatures who keep plotting against God and His people, failure to pray makes you weak and prone to have the will of God delayed in
your life. In 1 Thessalonians 2:18, the will of God was for Paul to visit the church but devil stopped him. If you fail to pray and take control the devil can stop God’s will in your life.
28 Afterwards, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast that demon out?”
29 Jesus replied, “Cases like this require prayer.”
Remember the Lord’s prayer? Jesus taught us how to pray by asking the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
10 We ask that your kingdom will come now. May “Your Will” be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.
The final hours of Jesus Christ before He died and resurrected again, Jesus was weak and saw how He was going to be killed and considered if that pain and embarrassment He was going to go through could be taken away but He asked for God’s Will to be done and that strengthened Him to victory.
38 Then He told them, “My soul is crushed with horror and sadness to the point of death . . . stay here . . . stay awake with Me.”
39 He went forward a little, and fell face downward on the ground, and prayed, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup be taken away from me. But I want Your will, not Mine.”
You understand here with me that Jesus had to go with the Father’s Will, if He chose the will of His flesh according to the sorrows He was in then the devil would have stopped our salvation.
The prayer at Gethsemane kept Him strong and prepared Him for the Father’s Will. What do we do when we are in sorrow or when we are in misery and crises? Do we ask for the Father’s Will or we do what our flesh want, I can tell you if you fail to pray for the Will of God to happen in your life then the devil will stop or delay God’s Will from happening.
· Guard your tongue against negative words.
Do not use negative words on yourself, no matter how confused and conflicted you feel. As much as you can, always stay positive and ask God’s blessing on yourself to prosper and succeed. There’s a West African proverb that says “Walls have Ears” this implies spirits can hear you too not just humans. Proverbs 18:21 says;
21 Those who love to talk will suffer the consequences. Men have died for saying the wrong thing!
When you find yourself emotionally distressed, just guard your tongue and speak positive things to motivate you out of your situations. Don’t cry and feel pity for yourself to have people sympathize or empathize with you, it’s an unnecessary attention to create for yourself and can harm you.
When numerous people know your condition in life, it’s not a good thing. There may be a percentage of them that are happy you are in that condition, a percentage that wish you remain in that status and a percentage of them that probably put you in that condition.
So guard your mouth and only look to God, He will bring the right helpers to deliver you from your misery.
· Have Faith, Make Positive Declaration.
I usually go to the bathroom, put on the shower and start declaring positive things to myself. I do this for myself because no one else will have that time to that for me. I preach
to myself, motivate myself, encourage myself and speak good things to my soul, spirit and body. Anytime I’m down and I do this, I feel revived and it looks as if I begin to mock the devil and make fun of him because he may have control of the world but I am not in the world and the world is not in me either but Jesus Christ.
With the scriptures, remind the devil he’s a failure and a chronic loser, show him his past records and mock him, these words will make him unhappy but it will strengthen you, increase your endurance and will revive you for greatness.
Hebrews 11:30 says;
30 It was faith that brought the walls of Jericho tumbling down after the people of Israel had walked around them seven days as God had commanded them.
Matthew 17:20 also says;
20 “Because of your little faith,” Jesus told them. “For if you had faith even as small as a tiny mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would go far away. Nothing would be impossible.
Have faith and stay positive, you will be fine in any situation.
· Be a cheerful giver!
One principle in life that I know is that givers will never lack! Giving draws favor to you, it brings a good light on your way.
Natural givers will always excel quickly in anything they do because they solve the problems of others. Every giver answers the prayers of the receiver which brings fortune and favor in their path naturally whether Christian or a non-Christian – it’s a principle in life. Luke 6:387 says;
38 For if you give, you will get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use to give—large or small—will be used to measure what is given back to you.”
Be a cheerful giver and you will surely receive from God always. As much as you want God to answer your prayer on time without delay, try to answer the prayers of others by giving back to the society.