Do you ever feel a bit alone in the great battle between good and evil?
Are there times when you feel like you are struggling all by yourself to share your faith in your workplace or at your university, with no one to call on for support?
Let me pull back the spiritual curtains to reveal thousands, in fact millions, of powerful spiritual beings who have sworn allegiance to the King of this universe and who are ready at God’s command and a moment’s notice to come to our aid. As Paul says in the book of Hebrews, “are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14 You don’t need some fancy encrypted military communication to call in their support. All you need to do is to use God’s mobile service, which has total coverage, full bars wherever you are—guaranteed!
Let me tell you the story of one of the rescue operations undertaken by one of God’s heavenly Navy SEALs. Haughty Herod had decided he needed to earn some brownie points with the local Jewish council, and knowing that the group that could not stop talking about Jesus was infuriating them more and more, he chopped off the head of one of their leaders, namely James. The Jewish leaders were absolutely thrilled, so he knew he was on a good wicket. Let’s take out another one of their leaders, and not just any one of them, he thought. Let’s take out the one who has been the most outspoken—Peter! That will shut up the annoying followers of Jesus and make the Jewish leaders very happy.
So, Herod put Peter in prison, ready to be executed once the Passover was over. However, these apostles had a reputation of being able to slip out of the hands of justice, so Herod decided to take no chances. He assigned sixteen prison guards to ensure that this ordinary Galilean fisherman could not escape from his prison.
Humanly speaking, there was no way that Peter could escape. However, the church in Jerusalem knew that they were not limited to human support. They started to pray, and not just 2-minute prayers. They started praying earnestly, constantly, for help.
“While, upon various pretexts, the execution of Peter was being delayed until after the Passover, the members of the church had time for deep searching of heart and earnest prayer. They prayed without ceasing for Peter, for they felt that he could not be spared from the cause. They realized that they had reached a place where, without the special help of God, the church of Christ would be destroyed.
“The day of Peter’s execution was at last appointed, but still the prayers of the believers ascended to heaven; and while all their energies and sympathies were called out in fervent appeals for help, angels of God were watching over the imprisoned apostle.” AA p145
God answered their prayers. He sent in one of His heavenly Navy SEALs, under the cover of darkness, to coordinate the rescue of His apostle being held hostage. This heavenly Navy SEAL did not need to fly in with a Black Hawk helicopter or night vision goggles to find the hostage. He did not need to start firing at the guards or radio in other teams for backup support. This heavenly Navy SEAL could simply stroll through the prison, tap the hostage on the shoulder and lead him out, without anyone being aware of what was happening. That is how powerful God’s heavenly Navy SEALs are!
We live in an individualistic and materialistic world, where many people have a naturalistic way of looking at life. We soak up this perspective by osmosis, and often seem to forget about the powerful teams of angels that God has commissioned to provide us with supernatural support. As David wrote in one of his songs, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.” Psalm 34:7
“Heaven is brought near to earth by that mystic ladder, the base of which is firmly planted on the earth, while the topmost round reaches the throne of the Infinite. Angels are constantly ascending and descending this ladder of shining brightness, bearing the prayers of the needy and distressed to the Father above, and bringing blessing and hope, courage and help, to the children of men. These angels of light create a heavenly atmosphere about the soul, lifting us toward the unseen and the eternal. We cannot behold their forms with our natural sight; only by spiritual vision can we discern heavenly things. The spiritual ear alone can hear the harmony of heavenly voices.
“We need to understand better than we do the mission of the angels. It would be well to remember that every true child of God has the co-operation of heavenly beings. Invisible armies of light and power attend the meek and lowly ones who believe and claim the promises of God. Cherubim and seraphim, and angels that excel in strength, stand at God’s right hand.” AA pp153,154
Let’s start calling in the support of God’s heavenly Navy SEALs. Experience amazing personal stories by working in league with God’s supernatural forces!
The book of Acts is drenched with the Holy Spirit. Reading it is like taking time to play out in the tropical rain! Read the full stories for today in:
Acts 12 NIV
Acts of the Apostles “Delivered from Prison”
Invite your friends to join this journey with you! You can follow this journey on Facebook too.