For years, angels were woven into almost everything I wrote about spirituality. I taught people to ask angels questions through tarot, interpret signs and work with angelic names and correspondences. My own writing helped introduce readers to those practices.
Looking again at angels in Christianity has made me question much of what I once taught. I have dedicated my life to Jesus Christ, and I want my relationship with the angelic realm to reflect that commitment.
I still believe in God’s angelic care. What has changed is my understanding of where the angels belong in a life given to Him.
Who Are Angels in Christianity?
In Christian teaching, angels are spiritual beings created by God. They have their own existence and will. They are neither parts of our higher selves nor human beings who have died and acquired wings.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 328–336, places Christ at the centre of the angelic world. The angels belong to Him and serve His purposes.
Hebrews 1 makes this relationship clear. The angels worship the Son, and their ministry serves God’s saving work. Their care for us belongs within His love for us.
That changes how I approach them. I can receive their companionship with gratitude while remembering whose messengers they are and where they are helping me go.
Ephesians 2:18 speaks of our access to the Father through Christ in one Spirit. We do not need to establish contact with an angel before bringing our needs to God.
When Angelic Guidance Takes God’s Place
New Age and occult approaches to angels vary. Some emphasise comfort and healing; others involve elaborate systems of names, symbols, planetary associations and ritual. I have explored both.
Much of it felt loving. I wanted to help people, and I believed I was doing that. Nevertheless, sincere intentions could coexist with a growing dependence on spiritual guidance that I could obtain whenever I wanted it.
I could ask a question, pull a card and interpret an answer as an angelic message. However, I was also choosing the question, supplying the interpretation and deciding what counted as confirmation.
Over time, I have had to face how easily my own thoughts could return to me wearing the authority of heaven.
That is part of what I describe in Why I’m Leaving Tarot Behind to Follow Jesus Christ. My dependence on guidance had become something I needed to surrender to God.
Christian prayer asks something of me that an instant answer cannot provide. It asks me to trust, including when I have to wait or when God’s will challenges what I want.
Angelic Prayer and Angel Magic
We can bring our ordinary needs to God. Asking for protection, healing, work or help with a difficult relationship is part of an honest prayer life. We do not have to pretend that our needs have disappeared because we have become Christians.
The tension arises when spiritual practice becomes a way of trying to secure an outcome or gain access to hidden knowledge.
Some occult angel practices use biblical names, Psalms and Christian symbols. Those features can make the boundary difficult to recognise. Yet a Christian name or prayer does not, by itself, establish that everything surrounding it is consistent with following Christ.
Catholic teaching addresses this directly. The Catechism’s discussion of divination and magic, paragraphs 2115–2117, connects trust in God’s providence with the rejection of divination and attempts to place occult powers at our service.
At the same time, Christian devotion to angels has a long history. Catholic tradition includes asking for their intercession and protection. The Directory on Popular Piety, paragraphs 213–217, explicitly affirms that devotion.
Asking an angel to pray for us or help us under God’s authority is different from trying to summon a being, compel a response or guarantee a result. Christians differ over addressing angels directly; we can acknowledge those differences while keeping our shared worship centred on God.
For me, the essential question concerns surrender. Am I bringing my desires into God’s care and allowing Him to change me, or trying to enlist spiritual help to make reality conform to my wishes?
That question belongs in Christian prayer too. I can carry a controlling attitude into any practice.
Gabriel, Mary and the Direction of Angelic Ministry
Praying the Rosary keeps bringing me back to the Annunciation.
In Luke 1:26–38, God sends Gabriel to Mary. The angel announces what God is doing, and Mary responds with questions, attention and willing consent. The encounter draws her into God’s purposes and the coming of Jesus Christ.
I find that deeply instructive. The angel’s presence serves a relationship with God and a calling that will require faithfulness. Mary’s response opens her life to love and service, with all the uncertainty and suffering that will involve.
Another passage gives an equally clear direction. When John falls down to worship an angel in Revelation 22:8–9, the angel stops him, identifies himself as a fellow servant and tells him: “Worship God.”
The angels themselves direct our attention towards the Lord.
I want to listen to that.
Discernment Without Fear
Spiritual experiences can feel convincing. A sense of peace, a vivid dream, an unexpected coincidence or an impression during prayer may be deeply meaningful. The feeling alone cannot establish where it came from or how accurately I have understood it.
1 John 4:1–3 calls believers to test spiritual claims, with particular attention to what they confess about Jesus Christ. Christian discernment involves more than deciding whether something feels comforting.
I need to consider whether a message agrees with Scripture and leads towards faithfulness to Christ. I also need to examine what follows from it: greater humility, honesty, repentance and love, or increasing self-importance and dependence on further messages.
Those questions call for patience. Sometimes I need to admit that I do not know, or seek the help of a mature Christian who will listen carefully.
I can be thankful for experiences I believe involved God’s care while holding my interpretations humbly. I do not need to explain every coincidence or identify an angel behind every helpful thought.
Receiving Angelic Help as a Christian
My relationship with angels is becoming simpler as my relationship with Jesus deepens.
I can ask God to protect and guide me, thank Him for His angels and give my attention to the responsibilities He has placed before me. I can welcome help without needing to manufacture an encounter.
If you would like to explore that companionship further, The Role of Your Guardian Angel: A Christian Guide looks at Scripture, prayer and angelic care in everyday life.
For me, the most searching test is becoming practical. Does my spiritual life help me love the person in front of me? Am I more willing to forgive, tell the truth, receive correction and serve?
There is plenty for me to learn there.
I want to honour the angels by joining them in loving and serving the Lord.
Lord Jesus Christ, help me receive the care You give through Your holy angels. Teach me to discern wisely, surrender my need for control and trust Your love. Let every spiritual practice draw me closer to You and make me more willing to love and serve others. Amen.
