Do I Have My Own Guardian Angel?

When you reflect on your life so far, you can probably think of many moments when it seemed like a guardian angel was watching over you -- from guidance or encouragement that came to you at just the right time, to a dramatic rescue from a dangerous situation. But do you have just one guardian angel who God has personally assigned to accompany you for your entire earthly lifetime? Or do you have a huge amount of guardian angels who may potentially help you or other people if God chooses them for the job?

 Answer:

Some people believe that each person on Earth has his or her own guardian angel who focuses mainly on helping that one person throughout the person’s life. Others believe that people receive help from various guardian angels as needed, with God matching guardian angels’ abilities to the ways that any person needs help at any given time.

Catholic Christianity: Guardian Angels as Lifetime Friends

In Catholic Christianity, believers say that God assigns one guardian angel to each person as a spiritual friend for the person’s entire life on Earth. The Catechism of the Catholic Churchdeclares in section 336 about guardian angels: "From infancy to death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life."

Saint Jerome wrote: "The dignity of a soul is so great that each has a guardian angel from its birth." Saint Thomas Aquinas expanded on that concept when he wrote in his book Summa Theologica that, "As long as the child is in the mother's womb it is not entirely separate, but by reason of a certain intimate tie, is still part of her: just as the fruit while hanging on the tree is part of the tree. And therefore it can be said with some degree of probability, that the angel who guards the mother guards the child while in the womb. But at its birth, when it becomes separate from the mother, an angel guardian is appointed to it."

Since each person is on a spiritual journey throughout his or her life on Earth, every person's guardian angel works hard to help him or her spiritually, Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote. "Man while in this state of life, is, as it were, on a road by which he should journey towards heaven. On this road man is threatened by many dangers both from within and from without... And therefore as guardians are appointed for men who have to pass by an unsafe road, so an angel guardian is assigned to each man as long as he is a wayfarer" (Summa Theologica).

Protestant Christianity: Angels Helping People in Need

In Protestant Christianity, believers look to the Bible for their ultimate guidance on the matter of guardian angels, and the Bible doesn’t specify whether or not people have their own guardian angels. However, the Bible is clear that guardian angels do exist. Psalm 91:11-12 declares about God: "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."

Some Protestant Christians, such as those who belong to Orthodox denominations, believe that God gives believers personal guardian angels to accompany and help them throughout their lives on Earth. For example, Orthodox Christians believe that God assigns a personal guardian angel to a person’s life at the moment that he or she is baptized.

Protestants who believe in personal guardian angels sometimes point to Matthew 18:10 of the Bible, in which Jesus Christ seems to refer to a personal guardian angel assigned to each child: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven." Another Bible passage that may be interpreted as showing that a person has his or her own guardian angel is Acts chapter 12, which tells the story of an angel helping the apostle Peter escape from prison. After Peter escapes, he knocks on the door of house where some of his friends are staying, but they don't believe at first that it's really him and say in verse 15: "It must be his angel."

Other Protestant Christians say that God may choose any guardian angel from among many to help people in need, according to whichever angel is best suited for each mission. John Calvin, a famous theologian whose ideas were influential in the founding of the Presbyterian and Reformed denominations, said he believed that all guardian angels work together to care for all people: “Whether or not each believer has a single angel assigned to him for his defense, I dare not positively affirm…. This indeed, I hold for certain, that each of us is cared for not by one angel merely, but that all with one consent watch for our safety. After all, it is not worthwhile anxiously to investigate a point which does not greatly concern us. If anyone does not think it enough to know that all the orders of the heavenly host are perpetually watching for his safety, I do not see what he could gain by knowing that he has one angel as a special guardian.”

Judaism: God and People Inviting Angels

In Judaism, some people believe in personal guardian angels, while others believe that different guardian angels may serve different people at various times. Jews say that God may directly assign a guardian angel to fulfill a specific mission, or people may summon guardian angels themselves.

The Torah describes God assigning a particular angel to guard Moses and the Hebrew people as they travel through the wilderness. In Exodus 32:34, God tells Moses: "Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you."

Jewish tradition says that when Jews perform one of God's commandments, they call guardian angels into their lives to accompany them. Influential Jewish theologian Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon) wrote in his book Guide for the Perplexed that "the term 'angel' signifies nothing but a certain action" and "every appearance of an angel is part of a prophetic vision, depending on the capacity of the person that perceives it."

The Jewish Midrash Bereshit Rabba says that people may even become their own guardian angels by faithfully fulfilling the tasks God calls them to do: "Before the angels have accomplished their task they are called men, when they have accomplished it they are angels."

Islam: Guardian Angels on Your Shoulders

In Islam, believers say that God assigns two guardian angels to accompany each person throughout his or her life on Earth -- one to sit on each shoulder. These angels are called the Kiraman Katibin (honorable recorders), and they pay attention to everything that people past puberty think, say, and do. The one who sits on their right shoulders records their good choices while the angel who sits on their left shoulders records their bad decisions.

Muslims sometimes say "Peace be upon you" while looking at their left and right shoulders -- where they believe that their guardian angels reside -- to acknowledge their guardian angels’ presence with them as they offer their daily prayers to God.

The Qur'an also mentions angels present both before and behind people when it declares in chapter 13, verse 11: "For each person there are angels in succession, before and behind him: They guard him by command of Allah."

Hinduism: Every Living Thing Has a Guardian Spirit

In Hinduism, believers say that every living thing -- person, animal, or plant -- has an angelic being called a deva assigned to guard it and help it grow and prosper.

Each deva acts like divine energy, inspiring and motivating the person or other living thing that it guards to better understand the universe and become one with it.

 What Do Guardian Angels Look Like?

It’s encouraging to think about guardian angels who watch over you and the people you love. Yet it can be challenging to imagine what those guardian angels may look like, since they do their work invisibly most of the time. Here’s a look at what guardian angels look like:

Answer:

 

Invisible

Guardian angels usually do their protective work unseen by human eyes, believers say. In his bookSumma Theologica, Saint Thomas Aquinas writes that the way God has set up the natural order means that guardian angels are usually invisible to the people they protect. The fact that guardian angels "sometimes appear to men visibly outside the ordinary course of nature comes from a special grace of God, as likewise that miracles occur outside the order of nature,” Aquinas writes.

People often don’t notice the times when guardian angels are likely protecting them from everyday hazards that they may not even realize they’re facing, writes Rudolf Steiner in his book Guardian Angels: Connecting with Our Spirit Guides and Helpers: "Innumerable things … take place in which our destiny prevents us from having an accident, but we just do not notice them. The reason why we do not study them is because it is not so easy to see the connections. People follow them up only if they are so striking that they cannot help noticing them."

Just because you don’t normally see guardian angels around you doesn’t mean that they’re not there, writes Denny Sargent in his book Your Guardian Angel and You: "You have only very limited senses with which to perceive the world, so you can’t normally see angels who may be around you. These beings are as real as you, but they are formed of a different kind of energy, an energy that is usually beyond your perception. You can only see a small part of the light spectrum. You can’t, for example, see ultraviolet light, but you know it exists nonetheless."

Visible

Sometimes, guardian angels actually appear to the people they’re protecting. They may show up either in their heavenly form as beings that are glorious to see, or in human form, looking just like people.

Heavenly Form

The sight of angels appearing in their heavenly form is an awesome experience. Angels who show up in heavenly form radiate powerful, loving energy and emanate light, writes Denny Sargent in Your Guardian Angel and You: "When angels appear, they are always accompanied by amazing waves of pure love and power. They almost always appear as beings of light. Sometimes they come as balls of light, sometimes as glowing bands of light… White is thecolor most often attributed to them, although many different colors are also mentioned in various historical accounts."

When angels appear in heavenly form, they may also have magnificent wings that symbolize God's power and loving care for people. They may also have other exotic features that distinguish them from human beings.

Human Form

Guardian angels may look so much like human beings when they’re on missions to protect people that the people they’re helping may not even know they’re in the presence of angels. The Bible says in Hebrews 13:2: "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."

However, even when guardian angels look like humans when they appear to help people in danger, people often suspect that the mysterious strangers coming to their aid may not actually be human. "Angels can take on human form to help us during crises … they often appear in stressful, fearful situations. They stay, offering gentle comfort until, their job complete, they disappear without a trace. Only then do we know that we’ve been touched by the Divine," writes Doreen Virtue in My Guardian Angel: True Stories of Angelic Encounters from Woman’s World Magazine Readers.

Believers say that guardian angels are nearby and ready to help you all times -- whether they show up in visible form or work invisibly behind the scenes of your life.

 How Do Guardian Angels Guide Me?

Guardian angels care about the choices you make, because every decision affects the direction and quality of your life, and the angels want you to move closer to God and enjoy the best life possible.

While guardian angels never interfere with your free will, they are available to deliver guidance whenever you seek wisdom about the decisions you face every day, say believers. Here’s how guardian angels may guide you:

 Answer:

Leading You to What’s Right

The Torah and the Bible describe guardian angels who are present at people’s sides, guiding them to do what’s right and interceding for them in prayer: "Yet if there is an angel at their side, a messenger, one out of a thousand, sent to tell them how to be upright, and he is gracious to that person and says to God, 'Spare them from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for them -- let their flesh be renewed like a child's; let them be restored as in the days of their youth' -- then that person can pray to God and find favor with him, they will see God’s face and shout for joy; he will restore them to full well-being." (Job 33:23-26).

Denny Sargent writes in his book Your Guardian Angel and You that guardian angels may guide you through thoughts in your mind to know what’s right and what’s wrong: "Terms like 'conscience' or 'intuition' are simply modern names for the Guardian Angel. It is that little voice inside our heads that tells us what is right, that feeling you have when you know you are doing something that is not correct, or that hunch you have that something will or will not work out.”

Saint Thomas Aquinas, writing in his book Summa Theologica, says that human beings need guardian angels to guide them to choose what’s right because sin sometimes weakens people’s ability to make good moral decisions: "By free will man can avoid evil to a certain degree, but not in any sufficient degree; forasmuch as he is weak in affection towards good on account of the manifold passions of the soul. Likewise universal natural knowledge of the law, which by nature belongs to man, to a certain degree directs man to good, but not in a sufficient degree; because in the application of the universal principles of law to particular actions man happens to be deficient in many ways. Hence it is written (Wisdom 9:14): 'The thoughts of mortal men are fearful, and our counsels uncertain.' Thus man needs to be guarded by the angels."

Helping You Solve Problems

Guardian angels may also give you the guidance you need to solve even the most challenging problems. Doreen Virtue writes in her book Daily Guidance from Your Angels: Daily Guidance from Your Angels: 365 Angelic Messages to Soothe, Heal, and Open Your Heart that the angels want to say to people: "We can see solutions to every seeming problem. We’re happy to guide you through the dark places in your life and then back into the light, and we’re able to help you feel good about yourself and your experiences. We can assist you in making decisions and finding answers."

Saint Thomas Aquinas once said that, "An angel can illuminate the thought and mind of man by strengthening the power of vision." Stronger vision can empower you to solve problems well.

Enlightening You Spiritually

In both Hinduism and Buddhism, spiritual beings that act like guardian angels serve as spirit guides for each person to enlighten them. Hinduism calls each person’s spirit guide an atman. Atmans work within people’s souls as their higher self, helping them to achieve spiritual enlightenment. Also, angelic beings called devas guard people and help them learn more about the universe so they can achieve greater union with it, which also leads to enlightenment.

Buddhists believe that the angels who surround Amitabha Buddha in the afterlife sometimes act as guardian angels to people on Earth, sending them messages to guide them to make wise choices that reflect their higher selves (the people they were created to be). They often refer to their enlightened higher selves as jewels within their lotuses (bodies). Buddhists sometimes chant "Om Mani Padme Hum," which means "The jewel in the center of the lotus" to focus on the guardian angel spirit guides who help enlighten their higher selves.

Catholic theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote in Summa Theologica that guardian angels enlighten people spiritually in several different ways: “… angels are appointed to the guardianship of men, that they may take them by the hand and guide them to eternal life, encourage them to good works, and protect them against the assaults of the demons.

Beware of Deception

Since some angels are fallen rather than faithful, it’s crucial to carefully discern whether or not the guidance any particular angel gives you lines up with what the Bible has revealed to be true, and to protect yourself against spiritual deception, say Christians. In Galatians 1:8 of the Bible, the apostle Paul warns against following angelic guidance contrary to the Gospel message: “…if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!”

  How Do Guardian Angels Protect Me?

You got lost while hiking in the wilderness, prayed for help, and had a mysterious stranger come to your rescue. You were mugged and threatened at gunpoint, yet somehow -- for reasons you can't explain -- you escaped without being injured. You approached an intersection while driving and suddenly got the urge to stop, even though the light in front of you was green. A few seconds later, you saw another car come into view and shoot through the intersection as the driver ran a red light. If you wouldn't have stopped, the car would have collided with yours.

Sound familiar? Such scenarios are commonly reported by people who believe that their guardian angels are protecting them. Guardian angels may protect you from harm either by rescuing you from danger or preventing you from entering a dangerous situation. Here's how guardian angels may be at work protecting you right now:

 Answer:

Sometimes Protecting, Sometimes Refraining

In this fallen world that’s full of danger, everyone must deal with hazards such as illness and injuries. God sometimes chooses to allow people to suffer the consequences of sin in the world, if doing so will fulfill good purposes in their lives. But God often does send guardian angels to protect people in danger, whenever doing so won’t interfere with either human free will or God’s purposes.

Some major religious texts say that guardian angels wait for God’s commands to go on missions to protect people. The Torah and the Bible declare in Psalm 91:11 that God “will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.” The Qur’an says that, "For each person there are angels in succession, before and behind him: They guard him by command of Allah [God]" (Qur’an 13:11).

It may be possible to invite guardian angels into your life through prayer whenever you’re facing a dangerous situation. The Torah and the Bible describe an angel telling the prophet Daniel that God decided to send him to visit Daniel after hearing and considering Daniel’sprayers. In Daniel 10:12, the angel tells Daniel: “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.”

The key to receiving help from guardian angels is to ask for it, writes Doreen Virtue in her book My Guardian Angel: True Stories of Angelic Encounters from Woman’s World Magazine Readers: “Because we have free will, we must request help from God and the angels before they can intervene. It doesn’t matter how we ask for their aid, whether as a prayer, a plea, an affirmation, a letter, a song, a demand, or even as worries. What matters is thatwe ask.”

Spiritual Protection

Guardian angels are always working behind the scenes in your life to protect you from evil. They may engage in spiritual warfare with fallen angels who intend to harm you, working to prevent evil plans from becoming reality in your life. When doing so, guardian angels may work under the supervision of archangels Michael (the head of all angels) and Barachiel (who directs the guardian angels).

Exodus chapter 23 of the Torah and the Bible shows an example of a guardian angel protecting people spiritually. In verse 20, God tells the Hebrew people: “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.” God goes on to say in Exodus 23:21-26 that if the Hebrew people follow the angel’s guidance to refuse to worship pagan gods and to demolish pagan people’s sacred stones, God will bless the Hebrews who are faithful to him and the guardian angel he has appointed to protect them from spiritual defilement.

Physical Protection

Guardian angels also work to protect you from physical danger, if doing so would help accomplish God’s purposes for your life.

The Torah and the Bible record in Daniel chapter 6 that an angel “shut the mouths of the lions” (verse 22) that would otherwise have maimed or killed the prophet Daniel, who had been wrongly thrown into a lions’ den.

Another dramatic rescue by a guardian angel occurs in Acts chapter 12 of the Bible, when the apostle Peter, who had been wrongly imprisoned, is awakened in his cell by an angel who causes the chains to fall off Peter’s wrists and leads him out of the prison to freedom.

Close to Children

Many people believe that guardian angels are especially close to children, since children don’t know as much as adults do about how to protect themselves from dangerous situations, so they naturally need more help from guardians.

In the introduction to Guardian Angels: Connecting with Our Spirit Guides and Helpers by Rudolf Steiner, Margaret Jonas writes that, “the guardian angels stand back somewhat with respect to adults and their protective watch over us becomes less automatic. As adults we now have to raise our consciousness to a spiritual level, befitting an angel, and are no longer protected in the same way as in childhood.”

A famous passage in the Bible about children’s guardian angels is Matthew 18:10, in whichJesus Christ tells his disciples: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”

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