4 Types of Angels & Practical Tips for Angelic Activation

I find it appalling that the modern-day church doesn’t discuss angels more often.

The Bible gives us a record of encounters when angels showed up before Jesus’ birth, during His years on this earth, and after His ascension. If the Bible is the holy written Word of God and if angels are in it, then they must be a point of interest God wants us to study. Of course, the study of angels should never precede our study of Jesus. Just as there are recoded in the Bible an archangel and a messenger angel, I believe angels hold different jobs and offices. Here are some of the different types of angels I have encountered.

Warning Angels

Warning angels are simply that! They are angels sent by God to warn His people. In Genesis 19, two angels show up to warn Lot of the terrible destruction that is about to fall on Sodom and Gomorrah. “Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it” (Gen. 19:12-13 NIV).

Now, why would the Lord care to warn Lot? If He was planning on wiping out an entire city anyway, why would He send angels to warn a specific family to leave before the devastation hit? In His mercy, because of His relationship with Abraham (Lot’s nephew), he saved Lot and his family (see Gen. 19:29).

Another well-known angel that comes with warning is Joseph’s angel. The King Herod had been on a rampage to find and destroy Jesus, the child who was prophesied about who would rule the people of Israel. An angel comes to Joseph in a dream. “‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him’” (Matt. 2:13 NIV). So once again we see God intercepting and sending a warning angel to change the course of history.

I myself have never encountered a warning angel. I like to think, though, that the first angel I saw in Brazil protected me and kept me from danger. I talk about this story in my book, The Seer’s Path.

Messenger Angels

God also sent angels that carried a message in the Bible. Gabriel the archangel comes to Mary at a pivotal time in her life.

Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end (Luke 1:30-33 NIV).

Wasn’t that wonderful of God to send an angel to Mary at what could have been the scariest time in her whole life! Gabriel came and delivered a message of hope and encouragement to Mary. The Lord so lovingly knew she would need hope and encouragement to face carrying the Son of God in her womb, not to mention having to go back and explain her pregnancy to her family and Joseph.

Warring Angels

The Bible also describes angels that fight or war on our behalf. In a despairing time and at the end of a twenty-one day fast, Daniel has a crazy vision and encounters a brilliant angel. In Daniel 10, the angel tells him:

Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia (Daniel 10:12-13 NIV).

This scripture brings so much comfort. Its contents show us that God hears our prayers even if we can’t see His answer to them yet. God hears our prayers! Isn’t that awesome?

Michael is described as an angel that came and helped Daniel’s angels fight off a demonic power. This was no little demon either! It was so strong that it kept Daniel’s angel detained for a twenty-one day battle. The archangel Michael must have been one giant angel! Thankfully, the Lord sends us angels to battle for us when we are weak!

Explanation Angels

Then there are those angels that show up in the Bible just to give revelation to people. You can imagine the disciples of Christ scratching their heads, thinking, “Huh? What just happened?” as Jesus leaves in a cloud up to heaven. Jesus ascends and the disciples are standing there “looking intently up into the sky as he was going” (Acts 1:10 NIV). They are still staring up into the sky when two angels show up behind them to explain it all. Isn’t it refreshing that even the disciples, who spent all their time with Jesus, often just didn’t get it! It brings us hope as we sometimes miss all that God has for us in the Scriptures.

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11 NIV).

“Ahhh!” they responded. (No, I just added that in.) It’s like revelation sunk in! The Lord was so gracious to send them angels to explain everything. I wonder if He was sitting in heaven watching them staring at the clouds, and He looked at His angels and said, “Geez! Would you guys go down there and explain it to them?”

I Want to See Angels Too!

Often my friends ask me, “How do I see angels? I want to see angels too, but I’m not a seer!” First Corinthians 14:1 says, “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy” (NIV). It says that we are to desire the gifts—plural. This means that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to us and we are supposed to eagerly go after them! Although it’s encouraging to hear stories and testimonies of God doing amazing signs and wonders through others’ lives, unless it provokes us to desire to see the same gifts, signs, and wonders manifesting in our lives it’s just an inspirational story without carrying any impartation.

So I always encourage people to go after seeing angels! Sometimes angels don’t just show up like, “Boom! Here I am!” There have been times when I’ve just seen glimpses of angels dancing or moving through the room during a church service or during worship. I may just see flashes of light moving about the room. Other times, I’ve seen glimpses of their wing tips fluttering, and then it’s gone. Also, sometimes I have seen an appearance of a glowing shadow behind speakers, and I know that is an angelic presence.

Angelic encounters can also be in closed visions and dreams. Many times, with my eyes shut during worship I’ll see an image of an angel moving toward me or planted somewhere in the room on guard. Or, with my eyes closed, I’ll have a vision of an angelic presence walking by me or coming up behind me.

Activation

There are certain steps to having an angelic encounter that I recommend.

1. Try personalizing and praying the following activation prayer daily, and also ask a mentor to be praying for you to have angelic encounters.

2. If you can find someone who has been known to see angels, ask them to pray over you and impart to you this gift. It says in the Bible to go after the gifts, right? Well then, get courageous and boldly go and ask that person to pray for you. (I recommend this for desiring any of the different gifts.)

3. Angelic activity is often present during powerful worship. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen angels dancing around when worship is present! Worship ushers us into the presence of the King, so either start worshiping and praising or play some strong worship music.

4. Begin to get curious! Close your eyes. Once you’ve been able to get into a meditative state, ask the Lord to show you a vision of an angel. If you have a hard time getting away from your own thoughts and are feeling distracted, turn off the lights in the room. Note down if you sense any presence. Often people have shared with me that they could sense angelic presence before they could see it. This might be your starting point also. Now, try opening your eyes, wherever you are, and see if you can see or sense anything in the room. Even if it’s a small start, note it down. Great things come from small beginnings! Next time you try to encounter an angel, see if you can see the same thing and ask the Lord to reveal to you a little more. Note down anything you sense or encounter, including visions or dreams you may have. Ask God also for angelic encounters in your dreams too!

5. If you have an angelic encounter, ask the angel his/her name. Often the names have meaning and might give insight. My angel that was with my husband and me during our dating relationship was named Timothy, which meant honoring God.