Have you ever wondered about the part angels play in your
daily life? Many Christians believe God sends them only to “special”
people, such as those with large ministries, or on “special” occasions,
such as when a person is in danger. The truth is that angels have a
ministry to all the saints of God—including you and me—to strengthen,
comfort and help us in our ministries.
Throughout the Bible—Old and New Testaments—there are
accounts of the involvement of angels in the lives of God’s people. In
fact, angel appearances were so common among the early Christians that
it was easier for Jesus’ disciples to believe that Peter’s angel was
knocking at the door of the place where they were praying than that
Peter had been released from prison! (See Acts 12:12-17.) Here are just
a few examples of angelic activity recorded in Scripture:
Old Testament
• When Sarah first sent her maid Hagar away, an angel
found Hagar, comforted her, gave her a promise concerning her son and
told her to return to Sarah (see Gen. 16:6-12). When she was cast out a
second time, an angel spoke to her, comforted her and provided water
(see Gen. 21:14-19).
• When Abraham was going to sacrifice his son, Isaac, the angel of the Lord stayed his hand (see Gen. 22:10-12).
• When Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac, an angel went with him (see Gen. 24:7).
• An angel was sent to carry out God’s punishment on Israel for David’s sin of numbering the people (see 2 Sam. 24:16-17).
• An angel was sent to the children of Israel to lead them out of Egypt (see Num. 20:16).
• The angel of the Lord ministered to the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.
New Testament
• The angel Gabriel prophesied the birth of the Savior to Mary (see Luke 1:26-35).
• An angel directed Joseph to take Mary as his wife (see Matt. 1:20) and later to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt (see Matt. 2:13).
• An angel prophesied the birth of John the Baptist to Zacharias (see Luke 1:13).
• An angel went to the shepherds in the field to announce the birth of Jesus (see Luke 2:8-12).
• After Jesus had been tempted by the devil in the wilderness, angels came and ministered to Him (see Matt. 4:11).
• An angel came and rolled back the stone from the tomb
for the two Marys and told them of Jesus’ resurrection, then instructed
them to go and tell the disciples (see Matt. 28:2, 5-7).
And these are only some of the biblical accounts! But
perhaps even more exciting are the stories we hear and read today about
the activities of angels in contemporary life. I have many such stories
from my own experience.
Personal Testimonies
One time last year when I was entertaining a missionary
friend of mine in my home, an angel came into the room where we were
talking. My friend was ironing, and I was sitting on the sofa. Suddenly
I saw a bright light out of the corner of my eye.
Next I saw a huge angel carrying a small jug walk toward
me and then go behind me. I smelled a sweet aroma and felt oil pour
over my head and run down my face, shoulders and arms. The next minute
I found myself slipping off the sofa onto the floor.
My friend looked astonished.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Didn’t you see that angel?” I asked.
“No, but I smelled a wonderful perfume,” she replied.
The angel stayed in my house for over two weeks. He
poured oil on everyone who came to the house and sat on the same seat I
had been on.
Why? I think he was anointing them in preparation for
what was to come. Shortly after, many of the people who visited
received prophetic words pertaining to their personal lives and to our
area. I believe the angel prepared the way for the releasing of the
Lord’s words to them.
Another time when I was ministering in Kenya with my
husband, an angel came to help me deal with some things in my life that
were standing in the way of my receiving a healing from the Lord.
Once an angel took over the wheel of my car when I was
driving to Orlando, Florida, from Macon, Georgia, where I live. Just
after I drove past Gainesville, Florida, I ran into a heavy storm.
There was a lot of traffic, and the rain was so hard I could barely see
the lights of the car in front of me.
Big red barrels were lined up along the left-hand side of
the road. I wasn’t able to see well enough to pull off on the
right-hand side. Suddenly my steering wheel was jerked very sharply to
the right. “Whoa,” I yelled, but just as suddenly as the car had turned
to the right, it jerked back again to the left and then went straight
ahead.
James Lasher 
Abby Trivett 
