How Do Angels Show Up In Your Life?

Have you ever met an angel? Have you ever prayed for an angel and then had one show up?

I’ve had a few experiences when I think God must have sent angels to protect me. I couldn’t see them, but I can’t explain the outcome of the situation in any other way, either.

I’ve had many other times when I have prayed for help and someone has shown up who could help me. These are generally ordinary people going about life as usual, just doing their normal work, but they show up in my life only after I take the time to ask God for help. To me, they are also angels.

Other angels show up unexpectedly, like the woman who showed up three weeks after I’d had a baby and brought my family dinner. I wasn’t asking or wishing for extra help that day, but when I opened the door to her, and she handed me a casserole, it was as though someone took a weight off of my shoulders and I felt God’s love as well as hers.

This week I had an unusual experience. It’s happened before, but not often, and never for someone outside my family.

Monday morning at around 3:30am, I was awakened from sleep with a a strong impression that I needed to go speak to someone in my church congregation (my ward). As you might imagine, I was surprised.

Please understand, these kinds conversations are not usually audible voices, but occur as conversations in my head. Call me crazy if you want, but this is how I often receive inspiration.

So here’s a sketch of this conversation with Jesus:

Jesus: I need you to go talk to this person.

Me: Why?

J: I need you to tell him something important for me.

Me: OK

J: Tell him this specific thing…. (I’m not going to write it here.)

Me: OK… Why me? I’m nobody. Why would he listen to me? I don’t have authority to show up and say, “God wants you to do this or that.” Shouldn’t a church leader do this?

J: There are so many layers of reasons why. You know that angels are those who I send on my errands, right?

Me: Yes.

J: This time, that’s you. I’m sending you. Someone is praying for an angel, and you are one of the ones I’m sending. Be careful how you deliver my message. He needs to know he has a choice in how he does what I’m asking him to do.

Me: OK, but me? Are you sure you want me for this job? Shouldn’t it be the bishop or someone?

J: Remember how you wondered if you could maybe have more opportunities to speak with the tongue of angels? I’ve called you to minister in love to others. You aren’t giving him a commandment here, you are delivering a message of opportunity. You are the angel I’m sending. I’ve tried to send you before but you chickened out. Will you go this time? It’s important that he gets this message.

Me: Yes, sir. I’ll go.

Jesus: Good. And also, make sure he knows that the Father and I love and care about him very much.

Me:Yes, sir.

—

It’s a short conversation the way I’ve written it here, but there was so much more that I can’t share or convey.

It took me two days to muster up the courage to go talk to this person. Not very prompt obedience on my part, I know, but I’ve never felt so strongly that I needed to give specific words to a non-family member, and I was stepping way out of my comfort zone. At any rate, I did it and he listened to me with great interest and attention. He said some things that helped me to know that there were multiple people also giving him messages in more subtle ways and that he was grateful I came. It seems that my message gave him some needed clarity and eased some confusion.

At one point I told him, “God cares a lot about you.” The feeling that came then was one of almost overwhelming love and I could see how much he needed to hear that.

I’ve thought about this beautiful experience ever since, and realized that many times we are called to be angels – to speak to others, or act by the power of the Holy Ghost – and that if we stay humble, and listen, and obey, the Lord will help us do what he asks and know what we should say. We need to reach out to our friends in love – to minister to each other – and lift and carry each other back to Jesus.

Sometimes Jesus asks us to be his angels. Is he asking you?

I’m all caught up with my Book of Mormon marking. It’s funny how much easier this can be when the pressure is off. I loved touching back to the three Isaiah chapters that I’d only skimmed before and the last couple of chapters that I needed to think about more from last week’s study. It helped a ton that this week’s Come Follow Me study was only three easy chapters.

I say easy, but these three chapters are packed with so much to think about! I hope you have found a good way for you to study the Book of Mormon and are loving it also. I feel closer to Jesus Christ than I ever have before, and I love that it’s the scriptures that have done this for me.

First the newer study pages.