July 27, 2026
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
The Tactic of Delay
As watchmen for the cause of Christ around the globe, we must refuse to grow weary and allow the power of darkness to prevail. Jesus defeated them, but His victory must be enforced by the church. He gave us authority to do so, and do so we will. As we station ourselves on the wall, let’s talk about satan’s tactic of delay, and the “prince of Persia” (Daniel 10:13).
As the book of Ezra opens, Cyrus, King of Persia (modern-day Iran), has allowed a remnant of Israelites to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their Temple (536 BC). Seventy years prior, because of their extreme apostasy, God had allowed Israel to be taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. Later, toward the end of the 70-year exile, they came under the rule of Cyrus, after he conquered Babylon.
God then moved upon the heart of Cyrus, who was not even a follower of Yahweh, to permit this return and rebuilding. God even stirred the king’s heart to help them raise the needed funds for the rebuild (see Ezra 1:1-4). Cyrus also returned all the vessels and utensils Nebuchadnezzar had plundered from Israel’s Temple and placed in the temple of his gods. These articles totaled 5400 gold and silver pieces! Israel’s relationship with Persia/Iran hasn’t always been negative.
The remnant returned to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel’s leadership, began work on the Temple (Ezra 1-2), and got off to a great start (Ezra 3:10-13). However, satan also had plans for the project and orchestrated a 16-year delay (Ezra 4; Haggai 1-2). For 16 years, all they had accomplished was a slab!
This delay was caused by intense bureaucratic resistance from other Persian officials near Jerusalem. These leaders accused the Israelites of disloyalty and insurrection, and lobbied Cyrus to rescind the decree allowing them to rebuild (Ezra 4:4-5). Cyrus did not do so, but this political gridlock caused fear and intimidation in the Jews and paralyzed the work for 16 years until the reign of Darius in 520 BC. God then raised up the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to spur them back to the project (Ezra 5:1; 6:14), and the Temple was completed 4 years later.
This time frame in Israel’s past illustrates satan’s tactic of orchestrating delays in order to hinder God’s plans. In Daniel, it was a major tactic of the “prince of Persia” (Daniel 10:13), one of satan’s principalities. Persia, as I stated above, is present-day Iran, where this principality still operates. Daniel 7:25 tells us he attempts to alter “times and laws.” The Hebrew word used for time in this verse means an appointed time; the word for laws can mean, among other things, the decree of a king.
Daniel 2:21 tells us God changes times and seasons. He also decrees His good plans and purposes for us, both in His written Word and through prophetic words. However, Daniel 7:25 alerts us that satan tries to alter those times and decrees. Let that sink in: God’s preferred timing and plans can at times be altered.
How? Satan obviously can’t do so by overpowering or outwitting God; instead, he does this by attacking God’s instruments–us. Satan, through the “prince of Persia,” succeeded in delaying God’s response to one of Daniel’s prayers for 21 days. He didn’t “attack” Daniel, and probably wasn’t using force against the angels. He “withstood” them in the spirit realm (Daniel 10:13).
The Hebrew here is a word used not only in a military sense but also in a legal one. The word was often used to describe someone “standing” before a judge, or an adversary in court, bringing an accusation against another. This suggests the possibility that the prince of Persia wasn’t using physical force but rather legal claims–spiritual authority, if you will–to contest the angel’s right to operate in territory he was controlling. In the past, I have taught how our sins can give satan legal right to control a person or territory (see Ephesians 4:27). The prince of Persia argued his case, negotiating, in a sense. Daniel persisted in prayer, and Michael was sent with heaven’s verdict.
Daniel 7:25 reveals that another of the methods satan and this principality use to alter times and decrees is by “wearing down” the saints. The Hebrew word this is taken from is never used in Scripture to describe physical fatigue, only mental and emotional weariness. Satan attempts to wear us down, causing us to grow weary (literally: “lose heart”) in our minds and emotions (Galatians 6:9). Fear, discouragement, hope deferred, and other emotional responses attack our faith and can cause us to lose heart. This, then, can alter our God-appointed times. It did so for this remnant of Israelites in Ezra’s day, just as it did with Israel during the Exodus. Moses’ generation made it out of Egypt, but not into Canaan.
I believe it was this prince of Persia who caused the delay in the rebuilding of the Temple in the book of Ezra, using people in the region of Jerusalem. Listen to The Message’s account of Ezra 4:4-5: “So these people started beating down the morale of the people of Judah, harassing them as they built. They even hired propagandists to sap their resolve. They kept this up for about fifteen years, throughout the lifetime of Cyrus, king of Persia, and on into the reign of Darius, king of Persia” (Ezra 4:4-5 MSG).
The prince of Persia is once again trying to alter the timeline of history, changing God’s appointed time for harvest in Iran and the Middle East. We can overcome his efforts, just as Daniel did by persevering in his prayers and refusing to be worn down, and Haggai and Zechariah did through releasing the word of the Lord. Remember, we don’t have to defeat the devil; we enforce his eternal defeat at Calvary by Jesus.
Pray with me:
Father, thank You for reminding us of satan’s goal to change times and decrees. In our humanness, all of us have the potential of growing weary in our efforts. You told us we would have to FIGHT the good FIGHT of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). Since Jesus won the spiritual battle for our redemption, and promised that we can always triumph in Him (2 Corinthians 2:14), the only way we lose is by default. We will not do so.
Give strength to the praying church as we war for breakthrough in Iran. Keep the watchmen on their posts. Grace us to not allow setbacks, delays, media influence, the economy, politics, or anything else to cause us to grow weary and lose heart.
We ask that You do not allow the prince of Persia in the Middle East to control this time and season, thereby enabling him to remain in power. We join our faith as Your Ekklesia and bind his attempts to withstand the prayers of the church and the efforts of our leaders. Give President Trump and our leaders the perseverance and strategies they need. Weaken the evil regime, reveal their hiding places, and thwart their every plan. Break the hold of the principality ruling that land, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Our decree:
We decree that we will not grow weary in our good works, allowing satan to steal our “right time."