Study Notes - Angels: How Believers Influence Their Ministry

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Study Notes - Bible Study Friday 29 June 2007

Angels: How Believers Influence Their Ministry
By Brother Joseph Mahele

1. Words and the ministry of angels

Daniel 10:12

In the third apparition Daniel had of the angel Gabriel, the prophet is told the following:

"Then he said to me, Do not fear, Daniel; for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. And I have come because of your words"

Notice what the angle is telling Daniel: "your words were heard" and "I have come because of your words". This indicates that this angelic ministration had something to do with Daniel's words. In the angel is quite explicite about it when he tells that his words were the reason he had come.

There is a very powerful principle revealed in this verse of Scripture: the ministry of angels can be influenced by our words. What we say matters. What comes out of our mouth affects the delivery of angelic service.

Let us look at other portion of Scripture to see whether this principle holds water for "out of the mouth of two or three witnesses every word will be established".

Daniel 9:20-21

Concerning the second apparition of the angel Gabriel, the prophet Daniel says the following:

And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my cry before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God;
Yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening sacrifice.

Notice that twice Daniel says that he was "speaking" (that is uttering words) in prayer. He says that the man Gabriel was caused to fly swiftly, then touched him. It is no coincidence that twice the prophet says that he was speaking in prayer, then that the angel was caused to fly swiftly. Based on what we read in Daniel 10:12, swift flight of the angel must have been caused by the words of Daniel. Daniel's words in prayer triggered the dispatch of the angel and his perseverence in those words had something to do the swift coming of the angel.

Acts 12:1-10

Peter has been arrested by Herod Agrippa and is due to be executed. The Scripture says that constant prayers were being made to God for him. Then we see an angel dispatched to deliver him. Is this a coincidence that an angel was manifested as the church was praying for Peter? Most definitely not. This follows the pattern of Daniel's experience. An angel was sent to minister to him because of his words. Likewise, in this story, an angel was commissioned to deliver Peter because of the persistent words of prayer said by the church for his sake.

This confirms that the mnistry of angels is influenced the words of believers.

Acts 10:1-4

Cornelius had a vision in which he saw an angel. The angel seems to state his prayers and his giving as reason of his coming to him.

Here again we see the connection between the ministry of angels and words.

Daniel's words

The angel said to Daniel that he was sent to the prophet because of his words. What were these words?

In Daniel 9:2-19, we see that Daniel entered into a time of prayer after studying the prophecy of the Jeremiah the prophet concerning Israel's captivity. Daniel stood on these words and on other promises God to confess his and his people's sin and pray for the fulfilment of his promise. Clearly Daniel's words were based on God's words because he began to pray using the God's word by the prophet Jeremiah as a basis for his words of prayer. This is what triggerred the angel.

Angels are not merely influenced by words, but most specifically by the God's words. This is the language they understand. Psalm 103:20 says it most explicitly:

Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heading the voice of His word.

There is no doubt that the Scripture teaches that angels are influenced by and respond to words, and most specifically God's words. When men and women give voice to the word of the Lord, angels respond because they "do His word".

2- Influencing the work of angels on our behalf

The Bible teaches that angels are ministering (serving) spirits sent to minister for those that are to inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14). This is speaking of the Church. We are those that are to inherit salvation. God has assigned angels to serve us. They are assigned to do God's word in our lives. And we see that can influence they work by giving voice to God's word.

Our words can cause them to "fly swiftly" on our behalf or hinder them. If the Scriptures show that our word can encourage angelic word on our behalf, it goes without saying that our words can also hamper they progress when ministering for us, as it is written "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21).

Angels are spirits sent from God to serve us, therefore what do we say? What are those words that are coming out of our mouths? Are we giving voice to God's word by speaking them consitently in prayer and our daily lives or are griping about our circumstances?

This study is not to encourage us to seek visible manifestation of angels. God has never promised that angels would appear to us, although they have and will. We are not to seek these visible manifestation for "we walk by faith not sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). We know from the Scriptures that God has made his angels available to serve. Further he has shown us in his word how their ministry can be positively influenced. We believe this and put it into practice. We do not need to "see" an angel to believe that "the angel of the Lord encamps all around those that fear Him and delivers them" (Psalm 34:7). We must not be like Thomas who required a visible manifestation of the Lord in order to believe. We believe that angels are there to server us because the Bible says so. We must not seek visions and apparitions of angel, although God sends such things according to his own will. All we need to do is believe and prayerfully speak the words of God over our lives and circumstances.

Our words matter and angels will execute them if they are the same as God's words.

Give your angels an assignment, give voice to God's word by speaking them with your mouth. Angels respond to words... God's words... even when spoken by the mouth of believers.

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