Do We Each Have A Guardian Angel?
Introduction
In the opinion of many people in our modern world the idea that angels even exist, much less guard us humans, seems fantastical and a remnant belief from a prescientific era. However, the Bible definitely speaks of a spiritual realm beyond this physical universe in which dwell spiritual creatures including innumerable angels. Hebrews 12:22, for example states, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels.” So, belief in angels goes hand-in-hand with belief in the Bible. A true believer does not question whether angels exist, for they are mentioned from the book of Genesis to Revelation and were prevalent during the earthly life of our Lord Jesus.
However, in addition to belief in angels some believe in guardian angels. Does the Bible teach that we each have a guardian angel? Do guardian angels exist, and if so, what does that mean for your walk as a believer and mine.
Popular and Historic Belief
It has been a popular belief among some Jews and some Christians that God assigns a particular angel to watch after, protect and guard each person — or at least each believer in God. Though belief in guardian angels is not necessarily part of the official teaching of rabbis or pastors, it still remains fairly widespread. Certain websites taut the specific duties of guardian angels as if their existence is so certain we can discern and write down their job description. Some believe that as they walk their spiritual pathway, their relationship with their guardian angel becomes crucial at times. Therefore, they believe it wise to cultivate that relationship.
Dr. David Jeremiah in his book What the Bible Says about Angels opens the question this way, “Do I have my own guardian angel? Is there one particular angel whose God-given assignment is serving me--just me? There are plenty of folks who think that. Guardian angels are mainstream America these days, ‘Get in touch with your own guardian angel!' screamed a recent full-page advertisement in a leading magazine. … Many theologians over the centuries have believed this way, including Thomas Aquinas, who thought everyone has a guardian angel assigned to him at birth" (pg. 185).
Gary Kinnaman, in his book Angels Dark and Light notes the popularity of this topic, “Guardian angels are perhaps the most popular kind, probably because we all know how fragile life can be -- how little control we seem to have over the events that shape our lives. We desperately need protection from unexpected circumstances and unseen dangers. Just the thought of good angels hovering around us gives people a feeling of safety!” (pg. 81).
The Jews generally believed in guardian angels from the Intertestamental time, and so did some of the church fathers such as John Chrysostom and Origen. Origen, however, was not as orthodox on some doctrines. On October 2, the Roman Catholic Church's calendar of saints mentions The Feast of the Guardian Angels. The Encyclopedia of Catholicism, comments, “Pious Catholic belief assigns to each person a special angel who watches over the bodily and spiritual health of that person … the belief has been widespread but never a part of Church dogma.” The Orthodox church generally supports belief in guardian angels also.
Some take it a step further and advocate praying to one’s own guardian angel. Two prayers to angels from an Orthodox web page read: “O angel of God, my holy guardian, given to me from heaven, enlighten me this day, and save me from all evil. Instruct me in doing good deeds, and set me on the path of salvation. Amen.” The other goes like this, “O angel of Christ, holy guardian and protector of my soul and body, forgive me everything wherein I have offended you every day of my life, and protect me from all influence and temptation of the Evil One. May I never again anger God by my sins. Pray for me to the Lord, that He may make me worthy of the grace of the All-Holy Trinity, and of the blessed Mother of God, and of all the saints. Amen.” Prayers like this are not hard to find on the internet.
Protestants, following the Bible more exactly, discern that prayers are always to be offered to God and no lesser being. So those kinds of prayers are out of sync with the Bible’s instruction on prayer, and, border the sin of blasphemy. Scripture warns against worshipping angels (Revelation 22:8-9) and that would include assigning to angels God-like qualities who can answer your prayers. There are no prayers in the Bible to angels nor any encouragement for us to speak to them. Prayer to God the Father is what Jesus consistently taught His disciples, Matthew 6:9ff.
Another web site lets you enter your birth date to calculate who your guardian angel would be. There are seven named angels listed, each for one day of the week. But this kind of instruction goes way outside any Biblical teaching.
Another web site gives this rather dangerous advice, “Your guardian angel is here to guide and protect you. The inner promptings you receive are often your angel leading you to where you should be going in life. However, it’s up to you to choose whether or not to listen to what he or she is saying. Your guardian angel has a name so that you can call upon him or her at any time. If you don’t already know what your guardian angel’s name is, there’s a very simple way to find that information out. All you need to do is set aside a few minutes and find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Sit in a comfortable seat where you can sit up straight and place your feet flat on the floor. Make sure to take off anything that binds you, including jewelry, shoes, or a tight belt. Just sit there a few minutes and relax. Then take a nice deep breath, and let it out like a sigh of relief. As you inhale, imagine yourself taking in everything that you want. As you exhale, imagine yourself letting go of anything that you don’t want. Now begin to count just your inhales. When you reach the number twenty, simply ask your guardian angel his or her name. Then quiet your thoughts and wait for an answer. Be patient and know that your response is coming. The answer may come as a thought, a picture, a feeling, or even an audible voice. Be open to accept whatever is given to you. If at first you don’t receive anything, ask your guardian angel to speak louder so that you can hear him or her. The most common way to receive an answer is as a thought, so if a name just pops in your head, don’t think you are making it up. In this case, your guardian angel is speaking to you telepathically, so make sure to accept whatever you are you are receiving. The key is to simply listen for the first name that comes to you. Your guardian angel is yours alone so don’t try to look it up to see if there is such an angel. So if the name seems funny to you, accept it anyway. If you have doubts about what you have received, ask your angel to confirm the name by giving you signs during the next few days with his or her name in it. For example, if you were given the name Rebecca, and start seeing that name on billboards, catalogs, name tags, etc., know that you have truly received the correct name. Your guardian angel wants you to know his or her name and will gladly give you the confirmation you need!" (Beliefnet.com).
This type of approach to religion is drenched in mysticism and has no place in the informed and enlightened Christian mind. Indeed, such advice is dangerous because it opens one’s spirit to demonic influences. There is nothing logical or godly about this advice or method. Don’t follow any of it! It leads to mysticism and lunacy.
The mystical nature of much of the angel craze/enthusiasm can also be seen in this quote from another website. “When communicating with angels be sure to quiet your mind. Being out in nature, gardening and slow, rhythmic physical movement are a few examples of things you can do. Other ways are meditating to music and guided meditations -- basically, whatever suits you while helping to still your busy mind. Just simply talk to them and always ask them to help you build the connection. They want you to give them that kind of ‘homework’ because they cannot build the connection unless you give them permission to.” (healing.about.com)
Again, there is nothing in the Bible to encourage contacting spirits or angels to receive guidance from them. We believers don’t need the guidance of angels since God promises all the guidance we need.
Even so, we may still ask, “Is there any Scriptural evidence for guardian angels?” It is a legitimate biblical subject to explore and we will do this in the next blog post. Check back soon to read part 2.