Obey the angels

The Bible instructs us, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21). Many examples can be found in both the Old and New Testaments where patriarchs, prophets, kings, and ordinary people heard God’s messages, followed His directions, and were blessed as a result. Christ Jesus indicated that he performed his healing works by following God’s guidance (see John 5:19–21).

The founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, also taught the great importance of listening for and obeying God’s messages. In her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she defines angels as “God’s thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality” (p. 581).

How can we ensure that we are receptive to God’s angel messages? Starting our day by asking, “Father, how can I serve You today?” helps turn our thought away from selfishness, and prepares us to hear and do God’s will. Claiming our oneness with God throughout the day keeps us tuned in to divine inspiration, thus improving our lives and those of our fellowmen whom we are led to bless.

I begin my day by praying for God’s guidance and by studying the weekly Bible Lesson in the Christian Science Quarterly. To keep my thought focused as the day unfolds, I often hold to citations in the Lesson, such as this one from the Bible: “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer” (Psalms 19:14). I test thoughts that come to me during the day by asking, “Would God say this?” If the thoughts are good, Godlike, and have no hint of evil, I accept them. If not, I am free to reject them.

In my past engineering practice, my daily prayers helped me gain a sense of peace and a readiness to follow divine leading, ensuring that I could meet technical challenges fearlessly. At one time I worked for a company with a contract to test equipment going on board the NASA Space Shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center. The European Space Agency (ESA) had shipped a piece of equipment to our test facility with a small cooling circuit that needed additional processing and insulation prior to testing. ESA wanted my engineering group to complete the task quickly before an upcoming scheduled test of the equipment. A NASA engineer who had witnessed the initial assembly at the production facility in Europe brought me engineering drawings of the cooling circuit and gave me a short explanation of the work to be accomplished. Because of the complexity of the task, it would need a customized approach. However, the instructions on the drawings were not in English; I could use only the illustrations and diagrams to help me write instructions for our technicians to perform the work.

I prayed for guidance to understand the unfamiliar drawings and get this task completed before the mandatory deadline. Soon I began to feel confident that the task was not impossible, and I received the angel message that God would guide my thoughts and pen to write the correct instructions. The NASA engineer who had given me the task checked on my work frequently during the day, and finally approved everything that was written in my procedure. Our technicians performed the insulation process successfully, and this piece of equipment passed its subsequent testing.

Claiming our oneness with God throughout the day keeps us tuned in to divine inspiration.

On another occasion, an angel message alerted me to an emergency situation. Flight hardware brought to our facility was tested using equipment that simulated the extreme conditions in earth orbit. For safety reasons, the liquids and gasses required for the testing were stored in tanks in another location and piped into the test facility where I worked. One late afternoon after my shift, as I was walking to my car, I noticed that the flapper valve was wide open on a nitrogen vent stack. As I continued toward my car, an angel message stopped me, and I felt impelled to investigate what might be a critical problem, since no use for nitrogen had been scheduled for that time. I have learned from past healing experiences that it is never wise to argue with an angel message. Entering the test facility, I found neither engineers nor technicians involved in any operation that would use nitrogen. Hurrying to the basement of the building where the main control valves for the incoming nitrogen gas supply were located, I discovered a malfunctioning valve that was allowing nitrogen to escape through the outside vent stack.

Although my co-workers had left for the day, I was led to call my office, and my phone call was answered by my supervisor who, thankfully, was working late. The control panel had a shut-off valve to be operated only by certified technicians, not engineers. Since no technicians could be found to handle this emergency, my supervisor authorized me to stop the flow of nitrogen by giving me instructions on the phone. This was accomplished successfully, and I was able to proceed home.

The next day my supervisor and his NASA counterpart congratulated me for discovering the malfunctioning valve and saving a large supply of very expensive nitrogen. Had I ignored the angel message to investigate, the nitrogen supply could have been depleted at great cost to NASA.

I am so grateful to Christian Science for the understanding it has given me of how God is constantly communicating to each of us through His angel messages. My life and professional work have been enriched and blessed by these messages.