Sunday, April 12, 2015

PRAYING MANTIS WINGS AND OUR SECRET WEAPONS

I looked out onto the patio and saw something strange going on. My cat, Snowy, was slowly backing up, ears flattened against his head and shackles up. His teeth were snarling and he was hissing. Something was scaring him and making him back off.

I opened the sliding glass door and went out slowly, expecting to see some big stray cat or dog ready to attack. What I saw was something quite different.

It was only a 2 inch praying mantis with its colorful, frightfully angular wings spread out wide like a mantle over her. She looked ferocious and she was running full speed toward Snowy! They don’t often show their wings. It’s like their secret weapon and apparently it works well. Snowy turned tail and scurried into the house through the opened patio door!

Sometimes the angels act in a similar way, to be our secret weapons. A few years back, I was having a particularly hard time at work and I felt weakened. I looked up the scripture in Psalm 103:20 “Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.” I prayed they would go to my work ahead of me and help me there.

When I got to work, I went upstairs to the open loft where we did our painting. Around the edge was a three-foot wooden railing. I could see in the spirit a very large angel sitting comfortably on the corner. His wings spread out to each side along the edge of my work space. I felt protected and strong. This went on every day for several months until I moved to a new work location, where it seemed I didn’t need the added protection any more.

Every year my garden is visited by praying mantis so I’ve had plenty of opportunities to observe them, but only once did I see one spread its wings out like when it chased my cat across the patio.  

Like the mantis, we don’t always go around showing off our stuff, but when it becomes necessary, we certainly have our secret weapons. One of them is the privilege to pray for the Lord to send angels. They are loosed in heaven and according to Hebrews 1:14 and Matthew 4:11 they minister to us and for us. Most of the time we don’t even know they’re there but they are strong to protect us and can back off danger.

Love, Carolyn


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