Some Individuals might hear a voice calling their name, warning them of danger, feel guidance through their instincts, or a sense of peace in important decision making. Guardian Angels don’t all work in the same way. They seem to adapt their approach according to their personality or ours.
Unlike archangels and helper angels, Guardian Angels are yours
exclusively. Think of your Guardian Angels like private detectives, but they
only have one case, and that’s you. Our Heavenly Father loves His children. He often sends out His angels to help keep us
safe.
What
does scripture say about this topic? Does God assign each of us a Guardian Angel? What is clear is that God uses His
angels for our safety. These angels are powerful, capable of defending us
against spiritual attack, influencing us to be morally good, and even
physically rescuing us from dangerous situations.
Remember
that our ultimate guardian is God, Ruler of the angels. He is in all places at
all times. He is our ever-present Protector. It is through Him that the angels
receive their directives. Below are scripture that suggest the possibility of
individual Guardian Angels:
1. All the angels are spirits who serve God
and are sent to help those who will receive salvation. (Hebrews
1:14,
ERV)
This verse speaks of angels as servants, as our “ministering
spirits”. While the focus of this passage is on the importance of mankind as
Christ’s heir, angels are shown to be our protectors. They are beings who
minister to us in opposing the power of evil spirits, and in guiding us, both
spiritually and physically.
These angels are sent to those “who will inherit
salvation”—the faithful, those who have come to the Father through Christ. It
is important that we pray for this protection. As beings of the flesh, we have
no power to combat spiritual entities. It is entirely possible to break
negativity in your life through faithful prayer—God will send help to you. Your
angel always has its face turned toward the omnipotence of God. Your angel will
instantly know your needs and come to your aid.
2. As a poor, helpless man I prayed to the Lord, and he heard me. He saved me from all my troubles. The
Lord’s angel builds a camp around his
followers, and he protects them. (Psalm
34:6-7,
ERV)
When
we call out to God and ask for the right things that are within His will. God answers. He places with us a protecting angel to guide
us and keep us safe. It is important to remember that all power flows down from
God. The angels are His servants, and His hands that He sends down to care for
us.
When we pray, we should direct our supplications to the
Heavenly Father. He is the one who created us, and who knows us best. Angels
are superior beings, but are not all-powerful. They cannot hear all prayers at
all times. Only God can do this. Send your prayers for angelic protection up to
God, and you’ll ensure that He receives it.
3. Be careful. Don’t think these little
children are not important. I tell you that these children have angels in
Heaven. And those angels are always with my Father in Heaven. (Matthew
18:10, ERV)
This is Jesus recognizing the existence of Guardian Angels
(those assigned to individuals). Jesus does not speak symbolically here. He
refers to God caring for His people through angelic means. Angels are superior
to man, but are not omnipotent (they do not know all things at all times), but
your Heavenly Father does.
If angels are in
constant communion with God at all times, then they know when we have needs,
hurt, or wander away. They can be here for us in exactly the ways in which we
need by channeling God’s love at all times. We could ask for nothing better in
our Guardian Angels.
4. But Daniel, before I go, I must first tell
you what is written in the Book of
Truth. No one stands with me against those evil angels except Michael,
the prince over your people. (Daniel
10:21, ERV)
God places a precedent of assigning angels to guard humans
and nations, as well. Michael, an archangel, is named as the Guardian Angel of
the Jewish people in the Old Testament to be in charge of their affairs and
well-being. God sends angels out as an extension of His will, protecting the
faithful—in this case, an entire nation.
This gives us another example of the Guardian Angel.
Spiritual warfare is a part of a reality we cannot see, but that greatly
affects our lives. To have God and His angels fighting for us yields benefits
we likely cannot imagine.
5.
He
will command his angels to protect you wherever you go. (Psalm
91:11,
ERV)
The writer of this Psalm is recognizing God’s ability to send
down help to His creations through angelic means. The faithful are under the
constant care and guidance of angels, and, given the words of Matthew 18:10 it
is very possible that we each have our own specific guardian. Since we know
that bad things happen to all of us, we don’t know, exactly, in what way our
angels guard us. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not helping.
In the end, when we reach Heaven, we may find that they
safeguarded us from thousands of ills and troubles that we could have never imagined.
Since God is all-knowing, we must assume that these angels keep us safe in
exactly the ways we need most. Take comfort in knowing that God has assigned an
angel to guard you in the best ways possible.
6. Peter’s miraculous escape from
prison, in Acts 12:1-10 [i]is
done with the aid of an angel. Peter is asleep in his cell, and is awoken by an
angel, who causes the chains to fall from his wrists, and who then accompanies
him on a safe journey out of the city. The guards have no knowledge of his
escape until the next day, when there was great commotion.
When he arrives at the home of Mary, mother of John
and has the servant inform the others of his presence, those in the home do not
believe the servant, exclaiming that “it must be his angel,” rather than being
Peter, himself. This is indicative of the common belief of the Jews at the
time, that every Israelite had a guardian angel assigned to them, and that this
angel often appeared as the person they protected.
“I wonder what becomes of
lost opportunities. Perhaps our Guardian Angel gathers them up as we drop them,
and will give them back to us in the beautiful sometime when we have grown
wiser, and learned how to use them rightly.” (Helen Keller)[ii]
[i] During this
same time, King Herod began to do harm to some of those who were part of the
church. 2 He
ordered James, the brother of John, to be killed with a sword. 3 Herod saw that many of the Jews liked this, so he decided
to arrest Peter too. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
4 He arrested Peter and put him in jail, where
he was guarded by a group of 16 soldiers. Herod planned to bring Peter before
the people, but he wanted to wait until after the Passover festival. 5 So Peter was kept in jail, but the church was
constantly praying to God for him.
6 One night, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two
of the soldiers. More soldiers were guarding the door of the jail. Herod was
planning to bring Peter out before the people the next day. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord
was standing there, and the room was filled with light. The angel tapped Peter
on the side and woke him up. The angel said, “Hurry, get up!” The chains fell
off Peter’s hands. 8 The angel said,
“Get dressed and put on your sandals.” Peter did as he was told. Then the angel
said, “Put on your coat and follow me.”9 So the angel went out and Peter followed. He did not know if the angel was really doing this. He thought he might be seeing a vision. 10 Peter and the angel went past the first guard and the second guard. Then they came to the iron gate that separated them from the city. The gate opened for them by itself. After they went through the gate and walked about a block, the angel suddenly left. (Acts 12:1-10, ERV)
[ii] Sources used:
·
“6 Scriptures that Support the Existence of Guardian Angels” b y Wesley Baines
·
“7 Things You Should Know About Guardian Angels” by Tanya Carroll
Richardson
No comments:
Post a Comment