Some say that we can call on angels for assistance in certain situations. What are your thoughts on this? Also are they more likely to help someone when that person is aware of their presence?
Psalm 77:2 says, “In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord…” Psalm 124:8 says, “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” Isaiah 41:13 says, “For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” These verses, and many more, show us that it is proper to call upon the Lord for our help. Angels are agents of the Lord and do His bidding.
Notice the language of Numbers 20:16, “And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt…” Prayer was made to the Lord for help, and in response to prayer, the Lord sent His angel to minister according to His will. Because angels are created beings, made to do the will of God, they would never move without His direct command. Angels do not respond to our requests; the Lord does. The Lord Jesus gave us instruction in prayer in John 16:23 where He said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.” We pray to the Father in the name of the Son and He will respond to our prayers.
Speaking of angels, we read in Hebrews 1:14, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” Angels move as they are sent forth by the Lord to do His will for the sake of His children. Psalm 91:11 tells us, “For he will give his angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways.” The angels protect us because it is the Lord who has sent them for us.
Even the Lord Jesus, in the days of His humility while a man on the earth said in Matthew 26:53, “…thinkest thou that I cannot beseech my Father, and he shall even now send me more than twelve legions of angels?” By example, He shows us to pray to the Father, and according to His perfect will, He will dispense angels to minister to our needs. How thankful we are that the Lord Jesus did not ask His Father to send angels to protect Him from the cross. Instead, the Father dispensed an angel to strengthen, or invigorate His Son as He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane before going to the cross. Luke 22:43 tells us, “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.”
So, we see from the Word of God that we pray only to the Lord, not to angels. Whenever angels come to minister to believers, it is because of the direct command of God. Not once in Scripture do we find even one example of any Godly person praying to angels. Angels are sent to do God’s bidding in answer to prayers to Himself. As we read in Psalm 37:39, “But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.” (161.8)