1379. The Privilege of Asking for Angelic Help By Anne Hinton Pratt · January 26, 2022 in Meridian Magazine
The Privilege of Asking for Angelic Help
Cover image: “Looking for something” ©Brian T. Kershisnik, 2016. Used with permission.
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.
Comments