Angels and YouSample

Opening Your Eyes to the Angels Around You

The servant of the prophet Elisha was scared. The king of Syria was plotting revenge against Elisha for thwarting his ambush of Israel’s king. Elisha’s servant knew that whatever befell his master would also happen to him. He was afraid he would be enslaved or even murdered by the blood-thirsty Syrian troops.

Under the cover of darkness, Syrian horses and chariots surrounded the city of Dothan, where Elisha was staying. The next morning, when Elisha’s servant went out early, he was aghast to see in the distance a vast number of soldiers poised to pounce on them. The situation seemed hopeless.

“Oh no, my Lord!” he exclaimed. “What shall we do?”

“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet assured him. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

That didn’t seem to ease the trembling servant’s anxiety. But Elisha knew what to do next. He offered a prayer: “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.”

With that, the servant was thoroughly astounded – and profoundly grateful – for what he now beheld. He could see that the hills were teeming with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha – an army of angels protecting them the whole time. In the end, God answered Elisha’s request to strike the Syrian troops with temporary blindness, and Elisha and his servant escaped unharmed.

In this amazing account, found on 2 Kings 6:8-12, God gave Elisha’s servant a wonderful gift: he allowed him to see the supernatural. And when he caught sight of this otherwise hidden realm, suddenly his faith and courage were bolstered. The vision reassured him of the love and protection of the God who created all.

This supernatural dimension is teeming with angelic beings, whose mission is to serve the Lord and minister to his people. On a more sinister side, it’s also populated by demonic spirits, who are intent on frustrating the faith of everyone they can.

This is not the stuff of fairy tales, but it’s the reality of our world as described by the God-inspired Bible. We may not think very often about this otherworldly dimension – but maybe we should.

Perhaps our first step should be to take our cue from this story about Elisha and his servant by asking God to open our eyes to what lies beyond the physical world. After all, he has already provided the best source of information that we can imagine. Scripture tells us all we need to know, so let’s draw on that wisdom through this Bible-based five-day devotional about angels derived from my book, Seeing the Supernatural.

Like Elisha’s servant, I believe you’ll emerge with your faith strengthened as you better understand how God is providing protection and encouragement through strong and loyal spirits called angels. You’ll learn who they are, what they are able to do, and how they serve you even in ways you can’t imagine.

These angelic beings are here for your benefit – so let’s begin to get to know them better.

—Lee Strobel

YOUR RESPONSE

1. On a scale of 0-10, with 0 being a lack of any knowledge and 10 being complete understanding, how much do you currently know about the angelic realm? What do you think it would take for you to go to a deeper level of understanding? What are some specific questions you would like answered?
2. If you were to write out a prayer in which you ask God to boost your knowledge about the spiritual realm, what would you say?
3. The account from 2 Kings 6 portrays angels as mighty warriors. How does that compare to your past thoughts about angels? What other roles do you think they play? How might those activities impact your life?