It would surprise us how often we experience angelic assistance. In the New Living Translation, angels are mentioned 133 times in the Old Testament and 193 times in the New Testament—and that is only what was recorded.

I was rereading the account in Genesis when Abraham sent his servant on a sensitive and solemn assignment: to find the right wife for his son Isaac in a distant land. The only assurance Abraham gave him was this: “The Lord, in whose presence I have lived, will send his angel with you and will make your mission successful” (Genesis 24:40; see also vv. 3-7, 27). And it happened exactly as Abraham had said.

Our imagination and wonder is stirred by other testimonies of angelic interaction: Jacob’s encounter with the angelic hosts, the deliverance of King Hezekiah and Judah from the Assyrians, the angelic announcement to Joseph and Mary of the Virgin Birth, and Paul’s miraculous preservation on the journey to Malta.

Angels are on God-assignments today, carrying out His purposes in us for His mission on the earth. This opportune, strategic season we are in right now requires an increase in angelic activity to complete the tasks.

I experienced an angelic visitation in 1999 in our apartment in Berlin, Germany. The day began with a strong awareness that Jan and I had entered a spiritual battle. That night I was awakened and drawn into the foyer of our apartment. What I saw was not a dream—it was happening in real time. I saw a group of warrior-like angels in my living room emanating colors of the rainbow, like living, neon lights. They looked like a special-operations unit preparing for an assault.

That night, I glimpsed firsthand, angels who were assigned to us go with us and ahead of us for what proved to be a turning point and major transition back to the States. In hindsight, world events in 1999 were also taking shape, forming new battle lines for the Church.

We must remain alert and resist the devil. Yet, we can be deeply encouraged to know that angelic assistance has already been deployed to go with us.