Angels - part 4

Let’s start our discussion of angels today by looking at the lives of Moses and Gideon. We know that Moses was commissioned by the appearance of the angel of the Lord in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. His commission led to the deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt.

Gideon also had a visit from the angel of the Lord.  This young man saw his people as the weakest in Manasseh and he himself as unable to fight a battle.  But God told him that He saw something else.  Gideon’s angelic visitation led him to destroy the altars of Baal, subdue the Midianite enemies, and gain victory for his people.  When divine commissioning is needed, God sends His angels!

Angels can also be used to supply our needs.  In 1 Kings 19 we read that Elijah had escaped from Jezebel by running for his life. He was desperate, exhausted, and so discouraged that he wanted to die.  But God had another plan. As Elijah slept under the broom tree, an angel touched him and said, “Arise and eat.”  By Elijah’s head was a cake baked on coals and a jar of water.  The angel fed him again and Elijah had enough strength to go for forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.  Talk about angelic assistance in supplying our needs!

Angels are a great blessing when we are physically exhausted and need supernatural empowerment.  More than once in my lifetime God has sent people to encourage me and strengthen me.  Each time these people touched my life, I recognized that it was more than human strength ministering to me.  It wonderfully, supernaturally and divinely inspired me to continue on and be strong.

Mothers of Nations, God is willing and able to save his servants through angelic assistance.  Let’s look at Peter who was in prison in Acts 12 where we find an angel came to rescue him.  Constant prayer was going up for Peter by the Church.  Peter, bound by two chains and guards at the door, encountered the angel of the Lord.  The angel stood by him shining a light in the prison.  Then the angel struck Peter on the side and awakened him, telling him to arise quickly.  As Peter rose, the chains fell off.

He then listened to the instructions of the angel to put on his clothes and sandals and follow him.  This angel guided Peter through guards in two locations and right up to an iron gate.  This iron gate which led to the city opened in front of Peter as he approached.  They walked through the gate and down the street and then the angel disappeared.  Peter could manage the rest of the way on his own.  What an encouraging story for us that God will send angelic assistance when we need it and the saints are praying for it.

Years ago while living in St. Cloud, Minnesota, the head intercessor for Women’s Aglow came to my house with her husband telling me that we needed to pray together immediately.  She said God had spoken to her while shopping at the mall that she should get to my house and pray.  We went downstairs to the family room with my children and began to intercede.  As we prayed, we heard a storm outside.  It sounded severe, but really we paid little attention to it.  While praying I saw two angels standing on an inclined lawn lifting something up over their heads.  Now these angels were taller than my house and so big that I could not see their heads as they disappeared in the sky. 

After we finished praying and decided to go upstairs for coffee, the phone rang.  It was my husband calling, wanting to make sure I was safe.  He had heard on the radio that a tornado had passed through our neighborhood a few minutes earlier.  I told him it had stormed but I did not know about the tornado.  All of a sudden I could hear helicopters overhead and police cars coming into our addition.  It was then I realized something serious had happened! 

Later that night we found out that a tornado had come through the area right towards my house. But something happened to lift it up off my lawn and it went back down behind our home.  Debris was everywhere except in my yard.  God had spared my home and life due to the obedience of a prayer warrior learning the call to pray.  Angels come when we ask.  In my case, they saved my life, my children, and my neighbors’ lives.  Some of our neighbors lost their homes, but all of them had miracle stories as to how their lives were spared.  Certainly angels were on assignment that day.

Next week we will conclude our discussion of angels.  I look forward to sharing some final thoughts about this interesting topic.

Dr. Sharon Predovich