The Privilege of Asking for Angelic Help
There
are times in our lives that we need more help than our natural world can
offer. At these defining moments, we can ask for angelic help, and at
times receive remarkable assistance. Angels are a critical part of the
Lord’s team, which he generously employs for us in amazing ways…
“I Felt the Burning of Angels”
Jill
Vanikiotis shared a truly remarkable experience with me, where she absolutely
knew that angels helped her. She was moving from Utah to Virginia in
2020. She was pulling a much too heavy trailer for her vehicle, which was
loaded down with all her food storage and tools. She writes,
“I
needed a good amount of momentum built up in order to get over the three
mountains in Wyoming known as the three sisters. Just as I was up to speed in
my ascent over the last and biggest mountain, two semis cut me off and blocked
me in.
“With
vehicles all around me, there was no option but to keep going. Part way up this
extremely steep hill I lost all momentum and speed. My foot was literally
holding the gas pedal to the floor as I dropped from 60 mph down to almost
nothing very quickly. To say it was terrifying wouldn’t begin to describe my
feelings. I was completely panicked because I knew that the weight of my
trailer would shortly have me rolling backwards down this steep mountain;
likely to my death, and perhaps the death of others behind and around me,
including my husband who was pulling a horse trailer somewhere behind me. I
thought of my children and that I might not see them again if I didn’t receive
a miracle.
“I
began loudly and desperately praying aloud, begging God to send his angels to
save me. It was one of the most fervent and faith-filled prayers I
have ever spoken. Instantly upon the close of my prayer, I felt the burning
of angels surround me and they immediately pushed my very heavy vehicle and
trailer up this extremely steep incline from nearly zero mph to 60 mph in just
a few seconds. This went on for probably 3 miles. If you had seen this
mountain, and what I was driving and pulling, you’d know this wouldn’t be
possible. As I realized what was happening, my panic turned to pure and
tearful joy and relief. I was literally laughing out loud in overwhelming
gratitude as the angels pushed my vehicle up this hill as an undeniable and clear
witness of God’s mercy and power. I praised God. I still cannot tell
that story, even in writing, without feeling the spirit reconfirming that
miracle to me.”[i]
Angels Can Be Assigned to Help Us
Elder
John A. Widtsoe taught that “There are angels and spirits who, no doubt, have
assigned to them the care of the men and women who walk upon the earth. Man is
not alone; he walks in the midst of such heavenly company, from whom he
may expect help if he seek it properly and strongly.”[ii]
Seeking for help generally implies asking for
it. So are we asking?
Departed Dad Keeps His Promise
Don
Woods shared a remarkable personal experience where he asked for and received
profound help from an angel. He wrote,
“My
father and I were very close. When he died, I became aware of it before the
doctor even called. My father came to me at 1:30 am Tuesday morning, and
told me several things, including why he had to go, what I should be doing, and
what my mother should do regarding our genealogy. Then Dad said he would be
with me when I had medical emergencies.”
Don
held him to that promise and eventually needed to ask for his angelic
help. He continues,
“In
August 1992, when I was in so much pain (morphine shots administered every two
hours were not helping). One night at three in the morning, I cried out:
‘Lord,
what did I do wrong? Dad, you promised you would be here!’
Suddenly my father was at my bed and I felt him put his hands on
my head. Within a few seconds, there was a feeling as if someone were pouring
something warm over my body. It cascaded from my head to my toes, and the pain
left. My father smiled and then he left. The next day I began passing the
stones.”[iii]
Don’s
experience was truly extraordinary. Wendy Watson Nelson boldly taught that we
[like Don] can ask for angelic support. She wrote,
“As we
keep our covenants, we can ask for angels to help us. Literally!”
Sudden Assistance
Sydne
Miles was rushed to the hospital when she had the horrific sensation of not
being able to breathe. Her heart had slowed to barely pumping and her
lungs were filling with fluid. She was in ER for most of the day and
developed an excruciating headache and began to vomit. The pain kept
escalating and she didn’t think she could bear it anymore. She writes:
“I was
wheeled into the hospital room by one or two nurses who just moved me onto the
bed, cleaned me up from all the mess, and then left me very much alone.
“When I
was lying in the hospital bed near death, alone and tucked behind a curtain in
a deserted area, I realized that I could barely breathe. Everyone had left me.
All I could do was let out one very weak whisper, “help,” that I’m sure no one
heard. What happened next was miraculous. Suddenly 8 or 9
medical people appeared around my bed and began working frantically to save me.
I always wondered how they could know I was in trouble!
Whenever
I’ve thought about the experience, it has always puzzled me that in an INSTANT
so many people (not just one or two) could appear, when they were just not
anywhere near a moment before.
I
realized that although it was NOT humanly possible for this to happen, it did
happen because angels came and ministered to me. As I said before, there is
absolutely NO other explanation.[iv]
Elder
Carlos A. Godoy stated,
“The
Lord is aware of the challenges you face. He knows you; He loves you, and
I promise, He will send angels to help you.”
Departed Family Members Responded to Plea
A woman
named Betty (not real name) shared with me a beautiful story about the
willingness of departed family to help her during a crisis in her life. Betty
wrote,
“One
night my son was having an extremely difficult time. I was afraid because
he left the house very upset. I immediately got down on my knees and
asked Heavenly Father to send his deceased father and grandmother to help
him.
“My son
came home a while later and told me he had felt both of them near him while he
was gone and thought it was interesting. I just sort of smiled to myself
and gave a prayer of gratitude for their help and the answer to my
prayer. I then told him I had prayed for them to come and help him.”[v]
Betty
received a direct and definitive answer to her prayer. She asked for
angelic help.
No Spiritual Blessing Will be Withheld
Sister
Wendy Nelson asks us to ponder some poignant questions,
“So,
does your child need help? Is your husband in trouble? Does your wife need more
support? Does your aunt need comfort? Does your best friend need
direction? If so, ask for angels to be assigned to help them? As
a covenant-keeping man or woman, you can do that!”[vi]
President
Russell M. Nelson also adds “We live in a glorious age foreseen by
prophets for centuries. This is the dispensation when no
spiritual blessing will be withheld from the righteous.”[vii]
Ask and Receive
One of
the laws of heaven is that when we ask, we will receive, (even
though we’re not sure how or when a plea will be answered). But if we
don’t ask, we’ll never know… Jill, Sydne, Don, and Betty all discovered
how close heaven is and that angels were real and willing to help them in their
time of need. Angels are a critical part of the Lord’s team and are
available for all His children. Let’s ask!Feel Free to CONTACT ME with your
stories at annehpratt@hotmail.com
[i] Jill Vanikiotis, personal
correspondence. Used with permission
[ii] John A. Widtsoe, Rational Theology,
p. 68. Italics added
[iii] Don Lynn Wood, http://uvicf.org/tributes/DLWoodStory.html
[iv] Sydne Miles, personal
correspondence. Used with permission.
[v] Name withheld, personal
correspondence.
[vi] Wendy Watson Nelson, Covenant
Keepers, p. 31. Italics added.
[vii] Russell M. Nelson, “A New Normal.”
October Conference 2020. Italics added.
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