“Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the angel of the Lord demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me. Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.’” (Numbers 22:32–33 NLT)

One important work of angels is to stop people from doing things God doesn’t want us to do. Obviously, it’s important and serious work, usually done without our realizing it. Sometimes, though, it can take an unexpectedly humorous turn. That’s what happened in the story of Balaam and his donkey found in Numbers 22.

Balaam was sort of a prophet for hire—more P-R-O-F-I-T than P-R-O-P-H-E-T. Balak, the king of Moab, hired him to curse the children of Israel. Balaam set out on his donkey to do the very thing that God didn’t want him to do. So, God dispatched an angel. The angel’s job was to stop Balaam from cursing the people of Israel.

The angel positioned himself in the middle of the road Balaam was traveling and drew his sword. He was prepared to stop the prophet by any means necessary. Balaam’s donkey saw the angel, but the prophet didn’t. The donkey veered off the road into a field.

The prophet beat the donkey until it returned to the road. The angel moved to a narrow part of the road between two vineyard walls. The donkey tried to go around and pinned Balaam’s foot against the wall. Balaam got angry and beat the donkey again.

The angel moved once more to a spot in the road too narrow for the donkey to get around. So the donkey simply lay down. Enraged, Balaam beat the donkey yet again. And that’s when the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth. The ensuing conversation went something like this:

“What have I done to deserve your beating me three times?”

“You made me look like a fool! If I had a sword, I’d kill you!”

“You’ve ridden me all your life. Have I done anything like this before?”

“Well, no.”

Meanwhile, the angel was still standing there, visible to the donkey, invisible to Balaam. He finally made himself visible to Balaam. He said to Balaam, “Why did you beat your donkey those three times? . . . Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me. Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey” (Numbers 22:32–33 NLT). His words must have unnerved Balaam. The prophet realized that the angel had come to stop him from doing something seriously wrong.

What are the takeaway lessons from this story? Number one: Don’t talk to donkeys.

And number two: When God is trying to stop you, don’t keep going in the same direction. How many times have we been headed for destruction when God changed our course by sending an angel to stop us?

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As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” (Acts 1:10–11 NLT)

You’ve probably been prompted by an angel, whether you realize it or not. More than once, in fact. Based on the number of times they appear to God’s people in the Bible, it seems angels are busy intervening in our lives, giving us the push we need in crucial moments. They may not make themselves known, but they make God’s message known. They speak to us in subtle ways but leave no doubt about what we should do.

The Book of Acts begins with a quick visit from angels. In fact, angels show up all throughout the Book of Acts. But in chapter 1, they appear as Jesus’ apostles stand staring at the sky watching the Lord ascend to Heaven. Luke describes them as “two white-robed men” (verse 10 NLT), but they were almost certainly angels.

Just before He ascended, Jesus instructed His disciples to head for Jerusalem and wait there for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. And then He gave them the Great Commission: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NLT).

The angels nudged the disciples to quit sky-gazing and start the journey to Jerusalem. There was important, world-changing work to be done. The angels’ prompt was the kick in the tunic the apostles needed. And after the angels delivered it, they exited the scene. A single encounter was all God ordered.

We find a more individual prompt seven chapters later. “As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, ‘Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza’” (Acts 8:26 NLT). Notice that the angel didn’t give Philip many details. He didn’t tell him what he was supposed to do when he got to the desert. The angel’s job was to tell Philip to go to the desert. Period. And that’s exactly what the angel did.

Philip responded to the prompt and hopped on the southbound desert road. Along the way, he encountered a visiting dignitary from Ethiopia. Philip explained a passage of Scripture from Isaiah to the Ethiopian man, led the man to faith in Jesus, and baptized him. And all this happened because Philip listened to the angel and did what God wanted him to do.

I wonder how many times an angel has prompted me. I can think of several times when I’ve felt directly led to do something, like right now. I need to go to this person and talk to them. I need to take this step of faith. I need to act on this prompt. I have no doubt that those prompts came from an angel sent by God.

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“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.” (2 Kings 6:16–17 NLT)

One of the most awe-inspiring stories about God’s use of angels is found in 2 Kings 6. To fully appreciate the account, some background information is necessary. The king of Syria declared war on Israel. The Syrian king devised secret battle plans with his servants. Unfortunately for him, nothing is secret from the Lord. God supernaturally revealed the king’s battle plans to the prophet Elisha. Elisha, in turn, relayed the plans to the king of Israel. The king of Israel then made the necessary strategic adjustments to thwart Syria’s plans.

After being outmaneuvered one too many times, the king of Syria began to suspect that an Israelite spy had infiltrated his inner circle. But then he received word about what Elisha was doing. The Syrian king learned that Elisha was staying in the town of Dothan. He sent an enormous army to surround Dothan. He intended to make Elisha pay for his God-assisted espionage.

The scene that plays out starting in verse 14 is almost comic. Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, gets up early in the morning while his master is still sleeping and walks outside to begin his day. What he sees blows his mind and shakes him to his core. The entire city is surrounded by Syrian troops and instruments of war. And Gehazi knows why they’re there.

So, while Elisha is trying to get a little shut-eye, Gehazi starts freaking out. He wakes the sleeping prophet and says something to the effect of, “Master! Master! We’re surrounded by our enemies! What are we going to do?”

Elisha did not panic when he heard the news. In fact, he was probably a little irritated that his sleep was interrupted.

“Don’t be afraid,” he told his servant. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” (verse 16 NLT). Obviously, that math didn’t make sense to Gehazi. Because he was assessing the situation based on what he could see physically.

Elisha asked God to sharpen Gehazi’s vision, to reveal what was invisible to the servant, so that he could have a more accurate sense of the situation. “The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire” (verse 17 NLT). Gehazi saw an invisible army of angels, ready to go to battle at God’s command.

Jesus alluded to a similar invisible army when he rebuked Peter for trying to “save” Him from being arrested. “Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?” (Matthew 26:53 NLT).

Angels have our backs. They stand ready to support us whenever God commands. So when you feel alone, anxious, or outnumbered, pray as Elisha did. Ask God to make you aware of the invisible army that surrounds and protects you.

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