CASE STUDIES
Angels operate under strict, specific orders. Their missions are delineated for them by God – with unambiguous particularity – so that while they may have discretion and latitude in how much of their delegated powers they wield in the realization of a commanded objective, the objective is usually inelastic. They cannot add to it or detract from it. They don’t go around exercising their powers as they deem fit.

JESUS
Consider Jesus during His time in the desert, following His baptism at the Jordan River. The list of categories and entities that converged during those forty days of temptation is fascinating. The Markan account, in chapter one, verse thirteen says: “And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.” Here, we have
The Lord Himself,
Satan,
Wild beasts, and
Angels
sharing the same space in a profound formation. My focus in that schema however, is the angelic class.

Surely, the angels could have prevented Satan from tempting Jesus at all. They didn’t, obviously because Jesus was there principally to be tempted. And angels would not work against the purposes of God. So, we can easily see how that the angels didn’t engage Satan; but, what of the wild beasts? The angels also conveniently ignored them. If the Master of the Universe was coming into that terrain for such a sensitive spiritual exercise, would it be out of place for His attending angels to fumigate the area and rid it of every untamed beast? I guess not. But the angels did nothing to the wild beasts. Why?

Here is why. The specific assignment of the angels was ‘To keep Jesus; to sustain Him through that season; to minister to Him.’ HE was the focus of their mission; not Satan, not the wild beasts. The sublimities of the ordered world of the spirit hit us in the face here. The angels were present to make sure Jesus was fine, not so that the beasts be taken out. In the midst of those ferocious beasts therefore, Jesus was preserved, because angels attended to Him.

Imagine for a moment, if someone were to walk into that spiritually charged plot of land. She would see Jesus, and she would see wild beasts. It might be incomprehensible to her, if she is told that angels are present, ministering to Jesus. A natural mind might ask “If there are angels here, Jesus, why don’t they do something about the beasts; why don’t they ward them far off from here?” Well, if the angels have been sent to minister to Jesus, that’s what they will do. They will not chase the brutes away, but they will make sure Jesus is unharmed. Yes, the scene looks like a contradiction (Jesus, Satan, beasts and angels), but here we have it, and the eternal Son of God is in the middle of it all.

OTHERS
Let me speak to Apostle Paul for a moment: Sir, angelic operation may be the reason you inexplicably came out of that sea accident alive. If God sent angels to make sure you don’t die, their mission may not cover protecting the ship. If it does cover the ship, then, the vessel too will be attended to, otherwise, the ship may be lost, but all lives will be preserved – as ordered by His Majesty.

Angels work with clinical accuracy. Once, I’ve been miraculously delivered in a horrible car wreck. The car was so damaged it could not be fixed. But no one in the car had even a minor bruise. I suspect angels had orders over our lives. Angelic rounds might be the behind-the-scene-arrangement employed by God to keep you alive though surrounded by both a multitude of and an assortment of ‘wild beasts.’

The Angel sent by God into the lions’ den where Daniel was thrown had instruction: to shut the mouth of the lions. He could have brought Daniel out, but that would be going against the order of His Majesty for that specific operation. The lions were incapacitated, but Daniel spent the night in their midst. The lions will not kill Daniel, but perhaps, hunger might have, if the king’s men didn’t pulley him out of that feline populated pit.

The angel sent to Apostle Peter’s prison cell in Acts of the Apostles chapter twelve, had a more elaborate assignment. First, he ensured the guards slept on while he operated. Then, he discharged Peter from his chains, led him out of the jail cell, and remotely operated the Iron Gate leading to the city (the fortified Iron Gate recognized him from afar and flung itself open). Angel got Peter out; Job done. Once out, but before Peter arrived at his destination, the angel left. He didn’t stay to help Peter open the gate at John-Mark’s house. It took persistent knocking for the faithless prayer team at John-Mark’s to eventually let the Apostle in.

There are many more such stories to be told, but these are sufficient to make the point that Angels are usually sent on definite assignments. They take their orders from God. They cannot revise their mandate midway; neither can we invent adventures for them. When we pray, we pray to God, and in response to our prayers, angels may be dispatched to deliver or facilitate our answers.

We don’t pray through angels.
We don’t pray to angels.
We don’t send angels on errands.
We don’t worship them.

–Gideon Odoma‎