Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Sunday, August 2, 2015
Abraham and the Three Angels – Marc Chagall
Guard Us with Holy Angels
Sunday night. Evening Prayer. God, I find myself settling down, just opening this website. The dailyoffice.org has become something I count on. Rely on. I have not made use of it every day. True. I have difficulty staying consistent with any one particular prayer book or prayer practice, for an extended period of time. However, I find I can stay focused on one book or one prayer practice when it just lasts one month. That I can do. And, I have. Since the beginning of 2015.
As I read and prayed through the Evening Prayer for Sunday, I felt especially moved by “drive far from [us] all snares of the enemy; let your holy angels dwell with us to preserve us in peace;” I teach a midweek bible study each Wednesday morning. Not only were these prayers moving and helpful to me, personally, but they featured angels. And, snares of the enemies.”
Some background: several of these church members had been curious about the whole topic of angels, for years. They told me about a former pastor at our church, and about several instances where he might have taught further about it. But did he? No.
I have several books on my shelves that go into the topic of angels in depth. Accordingly, I took one that has been quite helpful to me, in the past number of years. And, I spent the month of July teaching on what the Bible had to say about angels. Good angels, evil angels. And Satan. An instructive bible study, to be sure! The Bible assumes the existence of angels. Jesus in the Gospels speaks in a matter of fact manner about their reality—both good as well as evil angels.
So, yeah. I do have a healthy respect for both good and evil angels. As I read the Evening Prayer tonight, I was vividly struck by the reference to both good angels and “snares of the enemy,” which can include evil angels. I praise God that God has triumphed over sin and the enemy in the Cross. Amen!
Dear Lord, gracious God, I come before You in gratitude and prayer. I thank You for the Book of Common Prayer. I thank You for the free use of Bible passages that may be questioned or interpreted differently, today. Lord, help me to pray the daily prayers in spirit and in truth. Thank You, dear Lord Jesus, for Your clear witness to the reality of evil angels. And especially, thank You for Your powerful resurrection from the dead, allowing us to stand firm against all powers of darkness. Protect me and my husband, my family, and all those associated with dailyoffice.org, especially Vicar Josh. In Jesus’ blessed, powerful Name we pray, amen.
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