Episode Details

Today in Venice, I will take my retreat girls to a church most tourists will never enter. Not because they can’t—but because they pass right by it.

There’s no line wrapping around the building. No admission ticket. No crowds shuffling through with cameras. It’s not treated like a museum or a famous attraction. Years ago, when I was completely lost wandering the winding canals of Venice, I stumbled into this church by accident.

And somehow… it captured my soul.

It wasn’t the magnificent architecture. It wasn’t the intricate stonework or priceless paintings. But there is one thing inside this church I have never forgotten. One image that still grips my soul years later.

It was one statue. A statue of the Archangel Michael.

Michael stands there with a sword raised high, his foot crushing Satan beneath him. The imagery is unforgettable. Evil beneath his feet. Darkness defeated. Heaven victorious. Not fighting for victory – but FROM victory. Evil beneath him. Defeated Crushed. Satan rendered powerless.

And every time I see it, I’m reminded: There is far more happening around us than what we can see. Thousands walk right past this church every day unaware of what’s inside. And I think we often live that way spiritually too—unaware of the unseen reality surrounding us. Heaven may be fighting while you think nothing is happening.

Most people live only aware of the physical world—the meetings, the schedules, the disappointments, the conversations, the bills, the diagnoses, the delays. But Scripture pulls back the curtain and reveals another reality entirely: A spiritual battle raging in the unseen realms.

This statue always brings me back to one story in Scripture about Daniel. In Daniel chapter 10, we find Daniel praying with no answer. Now remember, Daniel is a man who knew God. He’s the one who was in the den with lions all night and walked out without a scratch. But now we find Daniel praying and praying and nothing. He’s been praying for 3 weeks and Heaven has been silent. But heaven was not silent. Remember, heaven may be fighting while you think nothing is happening.

In Daniel 10: 12-14, an angel finally appeared to Daniel and said: “Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me.”

Daniel thought nothing was happening. But heaven had been responding SINCE DAY ONE.

The answer was sent the FIRST day Daniel prayed. But for 21 days there was warfare in the heavenly realms over the delivery of that answer. While Daniel kept praying on earth, angels kept fighting in heaven. While Daniel prayed on earth, heaven fought on his behalf.

I wonder how many times we quit praying because we assume nothing is happening. We pray for …

the prodigal child
the healing
the marriage
the breakthrough
The depression
The addiction
The loneliness
And when we don’t immediately see movement, we quietly stop asking. But what if heaven was moving the entire time? What if there was a battle happening over your breakthrough that you could not see? Heaven may be fighting while you think nothing is happening. While you pray on earth, heaven fights on your behalf. Literally.

What prayer have you stopped praying because heaven seemed silent?

Ephesians 6:12 tells us: ““For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly realms.”

What is happening behind the scenes in the spiritual realm is a full on battle! Behind every scene, the angels and demons are fighting. The demons are fighting to delay you, distract