Do we have guardian angels?

Question: Is having a guardian angel and depending on him or her for protection scriptural? Are angels male or female or both? How should angels fit into the thinking of believers when the emphasis in church doctrine is on praying to Jesus and depending on Him as our Lord, savior, healer and protector?

Answer: The Bible always uses the masculine pronoun when referring to angels. The only place that mentions that someone has or possesses an angel is in Matthew 18:10, where Jesus warns his disciples not to look down on “little ones,” whom most take to mean believers in the congregation who cannot defend their faith alone. Even the weakest members of the church have the eyes and ears of God and advocates in the persons of holy angels. Psalm 34:7 and Hebrews 11:14 mention the role angels can play in protecting and serving believers, much as Michael seems to protect and serve the nation of Israel (Daniel 10:12-14). We are never encouraged to pray to angels, or to ask for angelic help.  That, in fact, is a mark of false teaching (Colossians 2:18).  We ask God for help, and if He chooses to use an angel, so be it. Angels are not, as you note, meant to be the focus of believers. Only the Lord is. Should he choose to use angels, we will be thankful to them when we can see them, just as we would any fellow believer who helped us in our walk with Christ.