“In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8 (NIV)
No one and nothing can give us the sense of safety or security that the Lord Himself can give us. We all desire to lie down and go to sleep in peace and safety every night. There is an entire realm that we cannot see, because the Holy Spirit and the angels are always working invisibly on our behalf, to protect us from danger, and lead us to heaven according to God’s timing.
Of all the security systems, burglar alarms, devices, weapons and tools of protection, the safest place to be, is to abide in the shadow of Almighty God. David reminds us in many psalms that the Lord alone keeps us dwelling in safety, by the leading of His Spirit, and sending angels and people to us at the right time and place.
When I was involved in a church youth group many years ago, one young man in the group shared this true story. He offered to drive a teenage girl home one evening after youth group. He dropped her off at her apartment building in Chicago, watching as she walked safely into her front hallway. She went inside and everything looked fine.
As he started to drive away, before getting to the end of the street, he felt an urgent impulse to go back and check on her, so he turned around and drove back. He parked the car and walked over to look inside the hallway of her apartment building. In the hallway, he saw a man trying to attack her, holding her against her will. Her attacker fled out the front door, as the church friend walked in.
Some would say that the young man followed his gut feeling by going back to check on the teenage girl. Others might say that the Holy Spirit led him to go back, or a guardian angel prompted him to do what he did.
It was probably a combination of a gut feeling that comes from the Holy Spirit, and being prompted by angels who are assigned to protect us.
Another true story of divine protection happened to a missionary in Brazil. He was asked to give a talk in a high crime region of the city of Sao Paulo. After he finished his talk around three in the afternoon, while driving home with his friend, a gang of eight motorcyclists surrounded his car, glaring at him as they drove. The friend in the car said they must be the gang of car thieves who have been carjacking drivers in the area.
The missionary kept driving, looking straight ahead, while praying out loud, asking for God’s help and protection. He continued praying and driving, for several minutes until the eight cyclists eventually turned around and left. There was no explanation of why they didn’t carry out their usual car jacking crime, except that the missionary’s prayer dispatched extra protection from heaven in that moment.
It may be hard to believe at times, but scripture is full of examples of how prayer connects us to the supernatural, invisible realm of heaven all around us.
One example is when a den full of starving lions, suddenly lost their appetite, ignoring Daniel when he was tossed into their midst, while praying and trusting God.
Three young Hebrew friends of Daniel were forbidden to pray, but when they kept praying anyway, they were thrown into a fiery furnace as punishment. A fourth man appeared in the furnace with them, who looked like the “Son of God.” They worshipped Him and the three boys were released unharmed.
There have been rare moments when human eyes were permitted to see the invisible guardians of heaven who defend us each day. Elisha the prophet, was mentoring a young man, and prayed that he could see what Elisha believed by faith. The Lord opened the young man’s eyes and he saw an army of angels with chariots of fire, stationed all around them. What Elisha’s student saw, is what we can believe without seeing.
Whether we are in the midst of busy daytime routines or lying down to sleep at night, God’s presence is always with us. He created angels, who are heavenly beings that need no sleep, and are sent to encompass us continually. Whether we are awake or asleep, we can dwell in safety, because even if we are unaware, we are never alone.
Lord, give us a new awareness of the invisible protection of angels who surrounds us and a Spirit of peace that is with us every day. Amen
