Daniel 10:12-13  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.

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.

There are good things in life, but those good things could be delayed or withheld. 

There are powers that specialise in holding back good things which are actually available. 

The spirit of delay hinders people from entering their destiny at the appropriate or set time despite much effort and labour.

One of the favourite tools of the devil is delay. To delay means to defer, to postpone, to suspend, to pause. 

The devil uses delay to distract, discourage, and destroy. 

Whether it’s delayed marriage, childbearing, education, breakthrough, or promotion, delay is painful and can lead to frustration and depression. 

The ultimate aim is to deny or deprive you of what you badly need to make your life comfortable and happy.

Scriptural Reasons For Delay

1. God. 

God can orchestrate a delay in your life because He is arranging a divine appointment up ahead. 

It is not the usual thing in the lives of most Christians as to why delays happen, but it can happen. 

Habakkuk talks about the vision being for an appointed time. 

Jesus came at the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4). 

Here is the thing, God promised to answer your prayers, but He did not say He will do it according to your own timetable. 

God can have another plan up ahead. 

For instance, God scheduled an appointment between Joseph and Pharaoh for two years after Pharaoh’s cupbearer was released. 

Until Pharaoh had his dream, he had no need for Joseph. 

God has scheduled an appointment between you and some people in the future; you will not miss it, in Jesus Name!

2. Satan. 

Angel Gabriel was sent to deliver a message to Daniel, but the Prince of Persia delayed him. 

God had sent the answer, so He was not the reason for Daniel not receiving it. 

It was the devil. 

It was the operation of territorial spirits, forces of delay and frustration.

 Delay is a spirit. 

Lateness can be a spirit (Daniel 10:12-13) and is sometimes transmissible like in the case of the family of Abraham. 

Would it have been wise for Daniel to get angry with God? NO! 

In 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18, apostle Paul revealed how they were hindered by Satan.

God promised Abraham a child from his wife Sarah, but that child did not come until after 25 years.

 Isaac took 20 years to have his own kids, Rachael, the one loved by Jacob took many years to conceive. Could it have been generational?

You see a pattern clearly. It was a family of late starters.

In this case, it was childbearing. In most cases finance is also affected.

3. You. 

Satan is behind many of our delays, but let’s not blame him for everything. 

In most cases, we need to re-evaluate our lives to see what we’ve done to create a delay. 

You could be responsible for the delay in your life through many reasons. 

• Ignorance

• Negative thoughts 

•  Procrastination, 

• habitual lateness, 

• Negative confessions can postpone your breakthrough. 

• Ignoring biblical principles, 

• Disobedience to divine instruction, 

• Failure to redeem Godly  vows, 

• Disrespect to spiritual authority.

• Prayerlessness, etc. 

• are things that open the door for the spirit of delay.

4. Your Helper May Be Disobeying The Instructions To Help You . E.g the cupbearer forgot Joseph 

How Do You Reverse Delay ?

1. Follow divine protocol and timing. 

Comply with divine instruction. 

1 Samuel 13:12,   “Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.” 

He was neither a priest nor a prophet. 

He violated the command of God and lost his throne

. 1 Samuel 13:13-14. 

Do not force yourself or your way. 

Don’t force yourself to get a husband or anything. 

Clarify divine approval and timing. 

Ask God for patience and endurance when dealing with divine timing. 

The vision is for an appointed time, and it will surely come to pass. 

Rats deliver after a few weeks of pregnancy.

Humans 9 months, 

Elephants after 20-22 months. 

Avoid unprofitable impatience. 

2. Find out what preparation you need to make that you have not made and make it. 

Understand that God will prepare you for what He has prepared for you, and until you are ready, you will not have it. Galatians 4:1-2.

How Do You Reverse Demonic Delay ?

1. Analyse the history of your family to detect any pattern of delay. 

You may be dealing with a curse in your bloodline. 

There are different scenarios: late start, good finish, late start, poor finish, early start, good finish, early start, poor finish. 

Worse still, some families never start and never make it at all. Have you sat down to analyse your family?

2. Consciously attack the Power of lateness and replace it with punctuality.

3. Get more committed. 

Satan wants to get you offended at God. 

Decide to obey divine instructions and live by biblical principles. 

Pay your tithe, vows, etc. Pray more, serve more, give more, fellowship more instead of being discouraged. 

That is how you can provoke divine acceleration. 

4. Get ministered to. Covenants and curses must be broken. Full-scale deliverance is required Sometimes 

5. Pray for divine acceleration.

 God promised it. Jeremiah 1:12. 

God promised to bring about rapid expansion in Isaiah 60:21-22. 

King David prayed in Psalm 31:1-2 and asked God to deliver him speedily. 

Warfare fasting is often required to go along with prayers. 

Pray and ask for divine guidance. 

Pray for divine assistance. 

Ask God to activate your angels to clear demonic obstacles causing delay. 

Divine acceleration can only occur if there is a divine take-over. 

And divine take-over can only occur if there is divine hand-over.

The hand of the Lord came on Elijah and he ran faster than the king who was riding on the fastest chariot.

As you pray, the power of God will come upon you to set you free from every form of delay! 

Any ancient door slowing down your progress, breaks down now, in the Name of Jesus.