Have you ever seen the movie Angels in the Outfield?  If you haven’t, it’s such a great classic.  I was intrigued by the movie as a child and recently re-watched it with my boys.  I was even more intrigued watching it as an adult.  I couldn’t help but wonder how angels really do play a role in our lives and what that actually is.  The young boy pleaded and prayed to God for help in his situation… and in the movie, angels came to help in a big way.  So, do angels actually exist?

As I was reading Hebrews 1,  the last verse really stuck out to me… “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14  Many times I’ve read this verse and glanced over it, but wait a second- if I call upon Jesus as my Lord and Savior, does this mean that there are ministering spirits serving me?  This tells me that all who will inherit salvation have ministering spirits serving us that we cannot see.  I couldn’t stop thinking about that… so then God brought me to many other passages in the Bible that talk about angels.  Below is what God revealed to me about angels through His Word: 

• • Angels respond to our prayers, as commanded by the Lord. (Luke 1:10, Luke 1:13)
  • Angels deliver messages from God (Luke 1:13-17, Luke 1:19, Acts 12, Revelation 22:10)
  • Angels bring light (Acts 12:7)
  • Angels minister (Hebrews 1:14)
  • Angels can reveal themselves both physically and in dreams (Acts 12, Matthew 1:19-24)
  • Angels are transcendent (Acts 12:9)
  • Angels protect and rescue (Numbers 22:22-41, 2 Kings 6, Daniel 6:22, Acts 12, Psalm 91:11-12, Psalm 34:7) 
  • Angels intervene (Matthew 1:20)
  • Angels encourage (Matthew 4:11, Luke 22:43, Acts 27:23-24)
  • Angels serve God and we do not serve angels (Revelation 22:8-9, Luke 1:26)
  • Angels can be powerful in presence (Luke 1:13, Luke 1:30, Luke 2:10, Matthew 28:5)
  • Angels can disguise themselves and test us (Hebrews 13:1-2)

Pretty wild, right?  There are more references, but this was just a quick dive into the Bible. 

Let’s dive in a little deeper.  In Acts 12, Peter was in prison and facing persecution from King Herod… what may seem like an impossible situation to get out of, God can make all possible. 

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” Acts 12:5 

As we’ve been reminded over and over again, in all situations, in all circumstances, we are to pray.  The church was praying earnestly, meaning in a sincere, determined, deep, and genuine prayer to God.  As we keep reading, we see that while the church prayed earnestly, God intervened with an angel. 

“Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.” (Again, this feels like quite an impossible situation for man to get out of)… “Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up.  “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.  They passed the first guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it.  When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”  Acts 12:6-11 

Peter then goes to the place where the people were praying, which tells me that our prayers work in conjunction with the angels.  Our prayers to God, ignite ministering angels to help protect and rescue us.  It all works together.  This should offer encouragement to us as believers, as those who rest in faith and therefore trust in God’s intervention, even in the most impossible of situations.  God not only answers prayers, but he sends angels to minister to us in our troubles.  An angel was an answer to the church’s prayer for Peter.  

Another example of angels ministering to us is by delivering messages.  Multiple times we see in scripture that God delivers messages to us through angels, one of the most popular messages being that of John the Baptist and Jesus.  “Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.” Luke 1:11 The location of where the angel appeared is significant because in the Old Testament, incense being lit signified prayers being offered up to God.  The angel appearing standing at the right side of the altar of incense symbolizes a divine response being delivered from God.  Zechariah and Elizabeth were childless and sent prayers to God, and the angel said to Zechariah, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard”. (Luke 1:13)  He then proceeded to deliver the message of Elizabeth bearing John the Baptist and what God will have John do.  If we keep reading, another angel appears, but this time to Mary.  He delivers the message to Mary of the miraculous conception and birth of the Most High, Jesus.  The messages God delivers through angels have made significant impact.  

One of the most intriguing things I find about angels is the fact that they protect and watch over us.  More specifically, they protect and watch those who call upon the Lord as our God and Savior.  We’ve all heard the term “guardian angel” and I haven’t found that to be an actual term in the Bible, but we do see multiple times where angels do protect us here on earth. The angels obey God. 

“For he will command his angels concerning you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Psalm 91:11-12 

Something that is important to pay attention to, is what it says right before verse 11… “IF you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling”. Psalm 91:9 So this doesn’t apply to all people.  This doesn’t apply to the person who continually denies Jesus over and over again, but it does apply to the one who seeks the Lord, who calls upon the Lord for help and the Lord therefore intervenes. 

“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” Psalm 34:7 

Again, what’s important to note here is that the Lord delivers those who have reverent fear for him, those who follow Jesus.  We also see stories of angels protecting God’s people in 2 Kings 6 and Daniel 6:22 if you want to dive deeper into it.  What an incredible comfort to know that God uses angels to protect us on earth.  

To conclude this post about angels, I wanted to share a cool “angel story” from Jamie Winship.  I was listening to a podcast where Jamie shared amazing God story after God story of the experiences he has encountered in his walk with the Lord.  One of the stories he shared was about a time when he was meeting with tribal Islamic leaders in a foreign country.  They get into the camp in the desert, in the middle of the night and he tells the people he is with what they can expect when they get there.  The men will set them up in a giant tent and let them sleep for the night and in the morning, they’ll have food set up for them in the next room.  The group will not come in when you eat because it’s their custom to let you eat in private. 

The next morning when they came into the tent with the food, there were 4 plates set up, but there were only 3 men that came.  One of the men was very curious about this. Why did they set up 4 plates when there are only 3 of us?  He wouldn’t let it go.  This keeps happening over and over again.  The younger man couldn’t get it out of his head.  Why do they keep setting up 4 plates?  Once they came to a better resolution with the leaders at the end of their trip, they were sitting with them drinking tea and the young man couldn’t take it anymore and asked the leaders why they kept setting up 4 plates.  Why do you keep putting an extra plate at the table?  Is this a custom for your people?  This question was received with great confusion. They responded with the most basic answer… “Well, because there are 4 of you”.  The young man then asks another clarifying question, “So there are 4 of us?” Again, the question was received with confusion.  “Well, yes.  Your security guy.  The guy outside.  The guy that stands outside while you guys are sleeping… the big security guy.” At this point, the young man asking the questions is so confused.  He looks at Jamie and says, “They think we have a security guy?”… so he asks the people “Well, what does our security guy look like?”  In this moment, the tribal Islamic leaders realize that Jamie Winship and his partners don’t know about this “security guy” they are referring to and they start looking around at each other… and begin saying “malak, MALAK” in their language over and over again, which means “angel”.  They then said, “We actually wanted to ask you about your security guy… Why does he have a sword?”  All the men then realize that this “security guy” is actually an angel that only the tribal Islamic leaders could see.  He was protecting Jamie and his team while they were there.  How cool is this story? 

Jamie shares that story to remind us that we don’t have to fear everything, but instead have peace that God is protecting us.  This story got me fired up.  How much more is there to God that we have no idea about?  God uses angels, but we do not serve the angels.  We work in accordance with the angels, all for the glory of God, His will, and His Kingdom.  What a sweet gift that is.  

You can hear Jennie Allen’s full interview with Jamie here: 

Are You Afraid? // Jennie Allen and Jamie Winship on the Made For This Podcast – Part 2