As told by Pastor Gunderson of First Baptist Church of Pomona, California: A missionary who was serving in a remote area of Africa made a monthly journey to a city two days bike ride away to pick up supplies and medicine.

On one of his many journeys he came across two men who were fighting, one of whom was severely injured. The missionary stopped to help the injured man. After treating him, he continued on his way.

Sometime later in the village a man came to him and said, “You probably don’t remember me but I was one of the men who was fighting when you stopped to help.

The missionary said he remembered the incident and the man told him. “We were going to rob you on one of your trips. We knew you always carried cash and medicine and were unarmed. When we came to rob you, I had three friends with me. We saw where you camped and put your bike down, but you had 26 armed guard all around you so we weren’t able to robe you.

The missionary said, “That’s impossible. I always travel alone and have no armed guards of any kind.” The man said, “Oh yes, my friends and I each counted 26 men, heavily armed standing around you while you slept.”

When the missionary visited his home church back in Michigan, he related this story to the church family. A man in the congregation stood up and asked, “What time and what day did this happen?” The missionary told him the date and that it was a Saturday night.

The man said, “It was night there but it was Saturday morning here. I was loading my golf clubs in my car. I was on my way to the golf course and the Holy Spirit impressed on me so heavily that I needed to pray for you that I took my clubs out of my car and called men from church and we came together and earnestly prayed for you. He then said, “I would like to ask each one of these men who prayed with me that Saturday morning to stand up. As they stood, each one in the church counted 26 men standing!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank You that angels are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation—those who are true followers of Jesus. May I always be mindful of and extremely thankful for this God-given ministry and blessing. And thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

Hebrews 1:14 (NIV).