In Exodus 23:20-22(NLT), God told His people living in Old Testament times, “See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. 21 Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. 22 But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you.” In this verse, we can witness the strength and power that God has given to His angels. Only one was required to lead this great mass of people, and they were ordered to strictly follow the angel’s direction and guidance. Not doing so would have been deadly. Angels are more powerful than you and I can imagine, but they are not the same as spirits, and to understand their help more clearly, we need to know more about them.
Angels are created beings, and they have a body. Spirits do not have a body. We’ve seen in the Gospels through the many exorcisms our Lord and Savior performed that demons look for a body they can possess. One of the reasons God tells us to renew our minds and to guard our hearts with His Word is so we will not be blinded by satan and will not yield ourselves to being used of the devil through demon possession. It is a very big mistake to deny or overlook that demonic oppression and possession happens. Some Christian religions ignore this aspect of the kingdom of darkness altogether. This has been extremely costly, and we see the harmful results of it in the lives of many believers and unbelievers that are bound and suffering from demonic oppression and possession.
God tells us in Ephesians 6:10 that we are to be strong in Christ and in the power of his might. We are commanded to put on the whole armor of God so that we can stand against all strategies of the devil. Ephesians 6:12(NLT) then tells us, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” This verse makes it very clear that our fight is against an evil spiritual kingdom, and there are ranks of evil and degrees of power within this kingdom of darkness.
Fighting a human being over the wrong that has been done to us is absolutely futile. Earth is the battleground for spiritual warfare. Jesus Christ has already won the victory through his sacrifice and resurrection, but as God’s sons and daughters, you and I are required to stand in this victory. Standing in the victory Christ won requires that we stand in his authority, and this is where many of us are trampled. We haven’t learned to walk in Christ authority by putting on all of God’s armor.
Nothing that happens in the earth is original. Every institution, agency, organization and system is a lesser version that is patterned after heaven’s perfection. Angels are members of Heaven’s Armies. The branches of military in various countries have levels of ranks and power, and this was structured from the pattern God set with His Armies in Heaven. Angels have ranks and power. There are many discussions about angelic ranks and power within and outside the body of Christ, but it is never good to speculate about what God hasn’t specifically laid out for us in His Word. We know that when the devil was cast out of the third heaven, he set up camp in the second heaven. A third of the angels in heaven’s armies were complicit in the devil’s insurrection, and they were cast out with him. This third of angels who rebelled with satan against God are known as ‘fallen angels’. In Ephesians 6:12, God sheds light on them. He affirms that the ranking system in satan’s kingdom of darkness includes the thrones of fallen angels and the spirits they control.
It is very important for us to have some knowledge about this aspect of the spiritual realm. We are making choices and decisions every moment that we are on this earth. Those choices and decisions indicate which kingdom we are serving. Jesus Christ makes it very clear in Matthew 6:24 that we are either serving Heavenly Father, the One True God in heaven, or we are serving the father of lies, who is satan, the god of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of darkness. So, it is integral to our total well-being that we understand the consequence of our actions, behaviors, attitudes, and thoughts. It behooves us to put ourselves in check, and to ensure our prayers are frequent and include our commitment to seek God’s forgiveness for wrong actions, poor choices, and bad behavior.
Again, only a third of the angels fell, two-thirds of them are still a part of Heaven’s armies, and there isn’t a number high enough to count them. Every human being has at least one guardian angel, some have two, but we cannot command them. Most of us can’t even get our children to listen, so commanding a member of God’s army would be out of the question. Angels come to our aid through our prayers to God in the powerful name of Jesus Christ. We must ask in humility, and we have the right to ask because of the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for remission of our sins. His blood purchased this right for us.
Many people have fallen into idolatry through angel worship, and we must be ever so careful never to do this. 2Corinthians 5:17 declares that we are new creations in Christ. The spiritual blessings we have are a result of our union with Christ, and the spiritual authority and power that we’ve been given can only be exercised in him. There is an order to the way things must be done, and when we step outside this order, we may open ourselves up to the wrong kingdom.
God wants us to know that His resources are immeasurable and unlimited. He is willing to help us, and it is entirely possible that just one angel of God can rescue us from whatever issue we may be experiencing. As those who rightly divide God’s Word, we should be clear that our guardian angel (or angels) never leave us. Heavenly Father has directed them to help us more times than we could ever possibly know. But there are situations, conditions, and circumstances that we encounter in the earth that require us to draw down more of heaven’s resources in spiritual warfare. When destinies and the lives of others are at stake, God’s deliverance may require that generational and bloodline curses be obliterated legally. There are also some addictions and other such strongholds that must be eradicated through God’s guidance and intense prayer sessions. The full accompaniment of His armor is needed to walk in this level of spiritual maturity. When we are fully clothed in God’s armor, angels are strengthened in battle and God’s deliverance can bring healing and restoration. We must not try to take the lead in these spiritual matters. We must wait for the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit so that we always follow God’s order.
Our faith and obedience to God’s Word determine the strength of our standing. It determines the immediacy of dispatchment, the number and rank of angels sent, and the condition we will be in after they have battled on our behalf. If God so decreed, angelic forces can fight forever. They have the strength to do it, and they have already been fighting a very, very long time, but we need them to get to us on earth. And we need them not to be held up trying to get to us, as Michael, one of the archangels, was held up getting to Daniel, as the Old Testament Book, Daniel 10:13 records.
Angels are a part of God’s army. He created them to move according to His plan and purpose. He has set the order of their thrones, power, and ranks. He doesn’t need our help in any respect to command His angels. Our privilege and responsibility are to know they exist, to be truly thankful to God for the excellence of their help, and to recognize we can pray to the Lord and request angelic assistance in the powerful name of Jesus Christ. Our prayers begin the spiritual processes and warfare against the kingdom of darkness that God’s heavenly angels encounter in the second heaven, but our faith and obedience to God’s Word solidifies the success of their assignments on our behalves. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
“Can You Command Your Guardian Angel?” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!