![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/chaplaincy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/159\/sites\/431\/2019\/10\/peter-freed.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAt that time King Herod caused terrible suffering for some members of the church. He ordered soldiers to cut off the head of James, the brother of John. When Herod saw that this pleased the Jewish people, he had Peter arrested. He put Peter in jail and ordered four squads of soldiers to guard him. Herod planned to put him on trial in public after the festival.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n While Peter was being kept in jail, the church never stopped praying to God for him. The night before Peter was to be put on trial, he was asleep and bound by two chains. A soldier was guarding him on each side, and two other soldiers were guarding the entrance to the jail. Suddenly an angel from the Lord appeared, and light flashed around in the cell. The angel poked Peter in the side and woke him up. Then he said, \u201cQuick! Get up!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The chains fell off his hands, and the angel said, \u201cGet dressed and put on your sandals.\u201d Peter did what he was told. Then the angel said, \u201cNow put on your coat and follow me.\u201d Peter left with the angel, but he thought everything was only a dream. They went past the two groups of soldiers, and when they came to the iron gate to the city, it opened by itself. They went out and were going along the street, when all at once the angel disappeared.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Peter now realized what had\nhappened, and he said, \u201cI am certain that the Lord sent his angel to rescue me\nfrom Herod and from everything the Jewish leaders planned to do to me.\u201d From Acts 12<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I wonder how you imagine the\nangel who rescued Peter? There\u2019s something mysterious and wonderful about him –\nthe way he just appears, the light, the chains falling off, the gate opening by\nitself, and then the angel disappearing again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So he might have been some sort\nof heavenly being. But there is another possibility. Maybe this was a different\nsort of angel. Someone who had access to the prison, and to the keys – someone\nwho could come in without question, and bring a light with him, and organise\nfor the city gate to be opened, and then slip away when Peter was free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If this second version was the\ncase, it\u2019s interesting to ask – would God have been any less involved? This\nperson would have somehow found out about Peter\u2019s situation, and felt the call\nto do something to help, despite the dangers, and amazingly it all went\nsmoothly. The guards didn\u2019t stop them and they got Peter out OK. That still\nsounds pretty miraculous to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We don\u2019t know which version is\ntrue. But maybe the idea of \u2018ordinary angels\u2019 might be helpful for us. I have a bit of thing about not all angels\nhaving wings and halos. The Bible doesn\u2019t often mention wings or flying – an\nangel is often simply a messenger – a servant of God. All those paintings and\nstained glass windows lead us off track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If we think angels are just\nthese sort of amazing heavenly beings, we may miss the everyday ways that God\nis at work in the world and in our lives. The bible talks about people who\nwelcome others into their homes \u2018entertaining angels unawares\u2019. If we want to see\nangels we can start by reflecting on our lives, and noticing the people that God\nhas used to speak to us or help us, and the ways that God has used us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Tuesday a few of us gathered\nfor Prayer Breakfast, and a couple of students shared concerns about going into\na lecture that day, in circumstances that weren\u2019t easy, so we prayed about this.\nJust after we had finished praying, a friend of one of the students came in and\nasked if she was coming to the lecture with her. I told her that she was an\nanswer to prayer. She was being an angel – passing on a message that God is\nwith us even when we are afraid, in a very real human way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think maybe there\u2019s a lot of\nangelic activity around the Chaplaincy – lots of ways that God is communicating\nhis love and offering real support through the conversations and relationships which\nhappen here. Maybe there are people who have been angels to us in some way.\nMaybe there are times when we have acted as angels for others – passing on a\nmessage which was somehow given to us, just at the right time – or feeling God\u2019s\nlove reaching out through us to someone else in a particular way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Think back over the last few days\u2026\nHas there been anyone who has shown you God\u2019s love, or shared a message from\nGod with you in some way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lord, we thank you for the\npeople who have brought us messages from you, and acted out your love for us.\nHelp us to notice and rejoice in these ordinary angels\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Has there been a time when you\ncan remember God using you to be an angel to someone else, through what you\nhave said and done? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lord, may we open to your Spirit\nguiding us – use us as your angels, your messengers, the bearers of your love\u2026\nand thank you for the ways you have already worked through us\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are people around us who\nare in some way imprisoned – by circumstances, or fear, or sadness, or by\nthemselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lord, we\npray for those who long for freedom\u2026 Use us to bring the light of hope to them,\nand help them to find ways out into a better life\u2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How do you imagine angels? Here’s a reading from the Book of Acts… At that time King Herod caused terrible suffering for some members of the church. 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