Section 336 of the Catholic Church's Catechism, states: From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life. Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.
Okay, that sounds reasonable and might not be in conflict with the Bible, depending on how you interpret that last line. However did you know Catholics endorse specific prayers directed towards an individual person's personal guardian angel? They say your words and your prayer combined with God's help through his emissary, your guardian angel, can get you through times of darkness. Here is that prayer: Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom His love entrusts me here, ever this day [night] be at my side to light and guard, to rule and guide.
As a side note, what I find amusing about that is if a picture is included with a printed, or image, copy of that prayer, 90 percent of the time it is a female angel. Now, I ask you, what is strange about that?
The concept of guardian angels can be seen in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament. These records describe angels as God's emissaries who carry out His bidding and dispatch His messages. The word 'angel' means “messenger of God.” Yes, sometimes angels are merely messengers, but they can deliver earth shaking, momentous news. Like when God sent the angel Gabriel to deliver a message of comfort, clarity, and faithful conviction to the Virgin Mary. The angel prophesied that her Son, to be named Jesus, would be great and be called the Son of the Most High God.
The Bible speaks explicitly of only two angels by name. Gabriel in Luke 1:26 and Michael in Daniel 10:13. However, the Bible relates that various types of angels exist:
Archangels—like Michael, chief angels. (A position once held by Lucifer.)
Cherubim—as the angels placed in front of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24)
Seraphim—angels with six wings, known for praising God (Isaiah 6)
The three types above, plus Satan and his fallen angels, are explicitly recorded by Scripture. Some Christian theologies divine more categories like Thrones Angels, Dominion Angels, Principalities Angels, Powers Angels, and Virtues Angels.
At times, the Bible informs us that God's angels can be warriors. In Revelation 12:7-12, John provides the historical record of the first 'Battle of Angels'. And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
Another biblical example of warring angels can be read from 2 Kings 6, where we read the King of Aram is at war with Israel, and decided to send his army to go after the prophet Elisha who was giving the King of Israel insights that literally revealed and sabotaged the King of Syria military strategies! “Therefore, King Joram sent horses and chariots and a great army to Dothan, where Elisha was based, and they came by night and surrounded the city. And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So, he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
When commanded to, God’s angels carry out swift judgment against those who are evil. On a single night, the angel of the LORD went to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the few surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere” (2 Kings 19:35). Imagine, if only one angel could accomplish that, how powerful would an army of angels be?
As a mere human, I'm in awe of the magnitude of the number of angels 'on our side.' After all, we know two-thirds of all the angles in creation remained loyal and true to God, while the disloyal one-third of the angels were cast out of Heaven. No one knows the number of angels in total, but since God commands twice as many as does the devil when Jesus returns, the 'Last Battle of Angels' will surely go our way.
One duteous character trait of angels, that many of us do not often consider, is that angels worship God. You might even say they are a whole lot better at that than we are. Angels of God worship Him, and some do this every minute of eternity, that is, they never stop worshiping God. Isaiah revealed a glimpse of this when he wrote that one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
Certainly, some of God's angels are commanded to protect us. God’s sent, sends, and stations angel to protect humans. Luke 4:10, states, for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You,’ Psalm 91:11-12 continues in the same vein, “For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.” Psalm 34:7, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.” Daniel 6:22, “My God sent His angel and shut the lion’s mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.” Matthew 26:53 reports, “Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?”
Yes, God's angels are dispatched to protect nations, cities, adults and even the littlest of us all—the children. Matthew 18:10, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”
Sometimes angel are sent to deliver God's wrath and sometimes they provide warnings. In Genesis 18–19, we read that angels not only acted as the executors of God's wrath against the cities of the plain, but they delivered Lot from danger. In Exodus 32:34, God promised to Moses: “my angel shall go before thee.” Genesis 19:15 reports, When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” Acts 27:23-24, “For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’”
The evidence that angels can be our guides, intermediaries, protectors, and inform us with warning as well as whisper in our ears to gain confidence. We have learned there are different types of angels in the Bible with distinctly different duties. Archangels are like God's personal guard. Other angels guard the Ark of the Covenant. While others guard the Tree of Life still thriving in the Garden of Eden.
But should we speak our prayers to angels, guardians or not? Many, if not all, Christian theologies do not support such activities, though lifting your prayers of repentance or confession to Jesus Christ is highly encouraged. Still, there are numerous opinions on this polarizing, highly sensitive subject of praying to angels. Most Christian people believe that angels are supernatural, normally invisible, entities beings commanded by God to protect us in dangerous situations.
Some say they speak to guardian angels as loved ones who have departed but have now become angels. Others think they are merely mythical fabrications and don’t really exist. But we know they exist. In fact, when as they stood in the fire protecting Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, as all faced a fiery death. Yet, both angels and men walked out unharmed. So, to separate fact from fiction; good angels follow God's directions. Bad angels work against the will of God. Angels are not magical, all their powers are God-given. And remember, in our glorified bodies, we will be called upon to judge angels?
Christians know that angels are factual and biblical elements of God’s eternal plan. Archangels have heavenly responsibilities, while lessor angels are assigned earthly missions. Occasionally, angels appear to communicate or intercede on our behalf. Of course, two of their most anticipated responsibilities will be to help God defeat all evil on earth and, at the Second Coming of Christ, introduce us to, and help us populate the New Heaven on earth.
However, the question still persists, “can we, or even should we, interact with these celestial beings? Every Christian knows angels are God's messengers, who from time to time are tasked to share messages to believers and non-believers alike and to protect believers in times of trouble in accordance with God’s will. Several eyewitness accounts from seemingly ordinary people relate that angels appear to help them but then vanish completely before a person could thank them.
But, as Christians, we must be cautious. When we face a being we believe to be supernatural, is it a “regular angel”, or could it be Satan? Both the Old Testament and New Testament provide other accounts of the highest order, when the Angel of the Lord interfaced with men and women.
An excellent, biblical example of this is found in chapter six of Judges. Gideon was fortunate that not only did he benefit from seeing an angel, it was the Lord Himself speaking to him to bring clarity about the troubles Gideon's people were experiencing.
The Angel of the Lord came to a place called Ophrah and sat under an oak tree. This oak tree belonged to a man named Joash from the Abiezer family. His son Gideon was beating some wheat in a wine-press. He was hiding so that the Midianites could not see the wheat. The Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord be with you, brave soldier.”
Then Gideon said, “Pardon me, sir, but if the Lord is with us, why are we having so many troubles? We heard that he did wonderful things for our ancestors. They tell us that the Lord took them out of Egypt. But now it seems the Lord has left us and is letting the Midianites defeat us.”
Question: How often, when the situation is troublesome, do we place the blame on God?
The Lord turned toward Gideon and said, “Then use your great power and go save the Israelites from the Midianites. I am sending you to save them.”
But Gideon answered and said, “Pardon me, sir. How can I save Israel? My family group is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh, and I am the youngest one in my family.”
Question: How often do we humans offer up excuses why we can't accomplish a God-given edict?
The Lord answered Gideon and said, “I will be with you, so you can defeat the Midianites as easily as if they were only one man.”
Then Gideon said to him, “If you would, please give me some proof that you really are the Lord. Please wait here. Don’t go away until I come back to you. Let me bring my offering and set it down in front of you.”
Question: When you meet Christ face to face—will you ask for more proof? Then imagine the dire thoughts of every non-believer when they face that one-on-one judgment?
And the Lord said, “I will wait until you come back.”
So Gideon went in and cooked a young goat in boiling water. He also took about 20 pounds of flour and made bread without yeast. Then he put the meat into a basket and the broth from the meat into a pot. He brought out the meat, the broth, and the bread without yeast and gave them to the Lord under the oak tree.
The angel of God said to Gideon, “Put the meat and the bread on that rock over there. Then pour the broth on it.” Gideon did as he was told.
The Angel of the Lord had a walking stick in his hand. He touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick, and fire jumped up out of the rock and burned up the meat and the bread. Then the angel of the Lord disappeared.
Then Gideon realized that he had been talking to the Angel of the Lord. So he shouted, “Oh, Lord God! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”
But the Lord said to Gideon, “Calm down! Don’t be afraid! You will not die!”
The Angel of the Lord also spoke to other people, such as when Abraham had to be spoken to by the Angel of the Lord to reinforce his willingness to sacrifice his son for the Lord (Gen. 22:14-16).
I bring these verses to mind just to illustrate how the Bible can confuse me. Yes, in the Old Testament, the capitalized “Angel” of Angel of the Lord assures us this dialog is the with the preincarnate Jesus Christ. God is there speaking in the first person. Even Balaam's donkey recognized the Angel of the Lord.
Yet, in many other biblical verses, the term is often written “an angel of the Lord.” As in Acts 12:23, “Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.” Psalm 34:7 says, The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. Revelation 22 tells us, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
Therefore, I'm confused. Does the uncapitalized “angel” or “angel of the Lord” refer to a 'plain angel' or sometimes Christ himself? In any case, encounters with 'normal' angels were usually to receive messages from the Lord, often related to prophecy or revealing God’s plan to those who hesitated, in regard to their own will, to follow His will.
Have you ever wondered if you have met an angel? Would you recognize him if you saw him? Most likely not. After all, they can change their form and they would probably frighten most people if they appeared in their heavenly form. Normally, while angels may hover near us, they are tasked to remain at the ready to help us but not interfere with our daily lives until an appointed time or set of circumstances divined by God?
But nothing I gather from the Bible says we cannot talk to angels or thank them. But they are not at or beck and call any time we want them to intercede on our behalf. Yes, I think we can talk to angels. I know when I was warned about and diverted away from a very severe, potential, high-speed freeway accident I thanked my guardian angel out loud. But angels usually make their appearance if God has a message for us or if significant moments are about to happen according to God’s purposes. With all that and more in mind, I wonder that if I speak out loud or think good thoughts about my beloved, deceased parents and grandparents that I love them and miss them, do the angles ever pass along our kind thoughts? The Bible seems silent on this specific topic, but since they are messengers, might they do that?
Beginning in the Old Testament Genesis, we learned of angels. Angels protected Eden after the Fall. The evidence of angels is also reported in the New Testament, as well. Nevertheless, many people mistakenly believe the first New Testament interaction with an angel happened to Mary and Joseph. Those people would be wrong. Zacharias has that honor because an angel of the Lord, Gabriel, appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”
Angels aren’t the childlike figures we see on greeting cards that rest idyllically on puffy, white clouds. Nor do they float around in white robes playing harps under golden halos. We will not really know what the different variation of angles look like until we see them in heaven.
We all know of several Bible stories which speak of people encountering angels. Most likely, the most famous conversation was Gabriel telling Mary of God’s plan for her to give birth to the Savior. Mary obviously was shocked by this news. Her concerns were allayed by Gabriel when he said, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:30).
So, can we or should we speak to angels today? There is due concern for those who want to worship and pray to angels instead of worshiping and praying to our Father God or Jesus. But one might erroneously think, if prayer is a way to speak, why shouldn't we pray to angels? After all, they are messengers of God, so shouldn’t we ask them to deliver our prayers to the foot of God’s throne? I say “no!” To ask them to become our private messengers to God is not in the angel's handbook of job descriptions. Even though angels are heavenly beings, praying to them wouldn’t be wise at all.
The main way we should pray is through Jesus, our Savior, and leave the angels to be messengers from God, guardians to humanity, and warriors against all evil. Like the archangel Michael, ready to wage war for God in battles that should make the most fearless of earthly opponents tremble in cowardliness.
Though they are always near and may seem easily approachable, angels were not created to be worshiped. Especially not above or in lieu of Jesus or God. Instead, they should be viewed as fellow servants of God.
Yes, speak to angel, but not worship or pray to angels, except to the Angel of the Lord. For there is comfort in knowing that God’s loving protection of us includes the powerful protection and guidance of angels as needed. Angels share God's biblical prophecies with comforting but firm words to ease anxious hearts. They are called into a willing service of the Lord to help and guide humanity towards the purposes He has for them.
However, even though they can easily interject themselves into our lives—with an amazing display of God given power, or humbly as a benevolent stranger, they are not meant to replace the love we are to give to God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. When God directs them to help us, they act at a moment’s notice. Consider angels to be kindred spirits, our supporting brethren, desiring to serve God at every turn and be a testament to Him in all that they and we do.
Near the end of the Bible, we read: Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.
“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
In Conclusion, among my confusion, one thing about angels can be stated with certainty. While we are not to worship angels of God, we should call upon our guardian angel to help us ward off the devil and his demonic ilk. By Colossians 2:18, Paul clearly told us that worshiping angels is sin, writing, “let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels.” And Apostle John was rebuked when fell at the feet of an angel, who said, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God” (Revelation 22:8-9).
Sadly, some people have such a misguided adoration or fetish over angels that they do everything but worship them. By doing so, they detract from the importance of Jesus Christ. This becomes a dangerous form of false idolatry towards angels. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit alone is/are to be worshiped. Every angel, good or bad, knows this is true.
The End
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