Many people have reported experiences of some type of help that seemed to involve angels. Some are quite overt. Others are more subtle. Of course, not all such stories we might come across are genuine or are recalled accurately. Nevertheless, there are so many such stories that surely some have really happened as reported.

We have compiled several stories here from people we personally know whom we find no reason to doubt. Indeed, we would expect angelic help for God’s people at various times. These encounters have been greatly encouraging to those who have had them. And they are recounted here to encourage and inspire you and others as well.

Car prevented from going off a bridge

It was a hot, sunny day in North Carolina. My wife and I were driving home after spending a day visiting with members of our church. We had been married for a little more than a year, and we were young in life’s experiences and new to God’s ministry.

As we drove along the interstate highway that day, we began to pass over a large bridge spanning a major river. We all know what it can be like after several miles of such travel—you’re driving, thinking about other matters, passing cars, and other cars are passing you. Every driver assumes that everyone else is being alert and careful with their vehicles.

Except this time a man driving a large truck wasn’t.

Halfway across this bridge, a sudden jolt lifted our car and began pushing it toward the railing. The truck had hit the rear of my car. In an instant, I realized we could be going over the rail and plunging into the river far below—a fall that would have meant certain death. But before I could even react, my car came back into the driving lane and steadied itself. The truck screamed past us only inches from my door.

I managed to get off the bridge and pull over on the shoulder of the road to inspect my car. The driver of the truck had also stopped and rushed up to me. “I thought I had pushed you over the bridge when I hit your rear bumper!” he said. My wife and I were shaken but relieved. It was a very close call. The driver had been tired and momentarily dozed off at the wheel of his speeding truck when he veered into my lane and caught the left rear of my car, sending it toward the side of the bridge.

He thought we had gone over. I thought we were going over. But we didn’t. My wife says she felt the car move back to the left. I know that I didn’t turn the wheel to make it happen. We both feel that on that day, at that moment, we had the hand of an angel move our car back into the driving lane—keeping it from going off the bridge.

I didn’t see an angel, but to this day we strongly feel there was a bit of extra help—an angel who rescued us from disaster.

—D.M.

Help with a tire change in 100-degree heat

I was with my roommate traveling cross-country as she transitioned to a new job in Texas. We were just leaving Albuquerque, New Mexico, when we experienced tire trouble. There was nothing for miles around once we left that last exit, so we crossed the median and went back to the service station to get help.

It was in the middle of July and blazing hot with the sun beating down, and the only shade in the area was under the awning at the gas pumps. I went inside to ask permission to park under the pumps while we attempted to change the tire but was flatly told, “No, you cannot block the gas pumps.” So we decided to park at the edge of the parking lot and started to unload the trunk to get to the spare tire. Neither of us had changed a tire in a long time, especially in 100-degree heat.

Out of nowhere, a man came up to us dressed in what appeared to be painter’s clothes. He asked if we needed help and proceeded to retrieve the spare tire and started to remove the damaged tire. Once he saw the spare, he said the rim on the spare was not the right one for the car.

When we mentioned that the men inside the air-conditioned station didn’t seem helpful, he just said, “Yes, they are like that,” and then said he might have something that would work. He drove off, and returned in a few minutes with a different tire. He changed the tire and reloaded the trunk. We tried to pay him but he wouldn’t take any money and said that it was okay—“Glad to help.” He added that he “didn’t need the tire he gave us.”

We thanked him, and he got back in his truck and drove off. He was so kind and so unassuming, we felt like God had provided the help we needed when there were no other options. We think that he was an angel come to rescue us!

—D.B.

Face bandaged by person no one recalled seeing

The story occurred in the early 1960s, before my wife was born, and when her older brothers were just toddlers. The family was driving in the car, and it was evening. They had an accident with another vehicle, and my wife’s mother’s head went through a broken windshield and back again. She was cut up quite badly. The boys in the back seat were crying, and their dad was telling them not to be afraid and quoted Scripture: “Stand back and watch the salvation of the Lord!”

They got out of the car, and other drivers stopped to give assistance. Soon, a man carrying an old-fashioned doctor’s bag walked up and told everyone, “Step aside; I can take care of this.” He proceeded to quickly bandage the mother’s face, putting her at ease, and stopping the bleeding.

Dad was distracted for a bit speaking to the police, but he says that it was not long before he got back to his wife. The man who helped her was gone. He asked people there where he went, and none of them had any recollection of ever having seen any man there at all. Not long afterward, though, at the hospital emergency room, doctors examined her and declared that whoever bandaged her must have been an expert, because a highly trained doctor could not possibly have done a better job.

She healed so well—from what could easily have been a fatal accident —that she has only one very small scar on her face. It’s only noticeable to someone who knows to look for it. The family has long been convinced that God sent an angel to give them assistance when they needed it the most, but that the angel—like many times in Scripture—instantly vanished once the job was done.

—F.D.

A companion when stranded at an airport

When I was 19 I was stranded for 24 hours in an airport with no money and no credit cards. When I realized I was going to be stuck until my friend arrived the next day, I sat down and prayed that God would take care of me because I was alone and just a little bit afraid. Not long after, a young man came and sat down next to me. He said I looked nervous and he thought I could use some company. (To this day I can’t remember if he told me his name. If he did I don’t remember it, even though we spent almost a full day together.)

He bought me dinner and sat with me overnight. The next morning he even bought me breakfast. I told him I could pay him back when my friend arrived. He walked with me to the gate where my friend was arriving. We chatted until I saw my friend walk through the door.

I waved, and turned to tell the guy that this was my friend, and he was gone. He had literally been right next to me up until that point. I looked around but couldn’t see him anywhere. I am quite convinced he was an angel just making sure I was safe for that night I would have spent alone in an airport.

—L.V.A.

Car righted itself, bike kept from hitting

In the 1980s in East Texas it was one of those rare events for that area to get a bit of snow and ice. My husband and I were driving home when we hit a slick spot and lost control of the car. We headed right into the path of an oncoming car. I closed my eyes, anticipating the impact—but it never happened. When I opened my eyes, my husband said he didn’t know how the car righted itself, but we were back in our lane, traveling along as though nothing had happened.

When I was in Jerusalem during the summer of 1973 on a college project, another student and I were walking along a street in the old city, down a hill. All of a sudden we heard someone shouting and looked up to see a man on a bicycle headed straight for us. Perhaps he was yelling to say his brakes weren’t working. Anyway, he was almost on us when suddenly his bike seemed to hit an invisible wall and he fell over. He continued to exclaim (Arabic? Hebrew?), and we kept asking if he was okay. Since we couldn’t properly communicate, he went on his way. I marveled afterwards that he and the bike never touched us at all. We felt no impact whatsoever. It dawned on me later, not at the time, that perhaps an angel stopped him.

There are probably many more times that I don’t realize when there was divine intervention through angels, but these come to mind for now.

—J.M.

Trapped in a car and somehow transported outside

We were driving from our local horse stables in southwest Ohio and approached a major highway intersection. At that moment a car made a left turn in front of us, causing us to crash our vehicle. I was sitting on the front passenger’s side. The door on the driver’s side would open, but my door was jammed and would only open a few inches. I was trapped. It was impossible for me to get out of that side of the car.

I was sitting there in deep shock, helpless, unable to exit the vehicle. But the next thing I remember, I was somehow transported and found myself standing on the road next to the car. I saw a dark shadow at the front of the car. It looked like the front part of a man from the side view.

Sometime later the driver’s husband said to me, “I don’t know how you got out of that car.” I thought about it some more and realized I must have been moved through the car door with some supernatural help.

Now I’m better able to see how three men can be thrown into a fiery furnace, as happened with the prophet Daniel’s friends in Babylon, and come out with no evidence of being burnt. So this has given me a new perspective on a lot of things, including angelic protection.

—L.R.

Help for two stranded women and six children

A friend and I were on the way home after taking six children swimming when the station wagon we were in had a blowout. It was during a very busy rush hour, and my friend managed to maneuver the vehicle into a hard-to-reach spot alongside the freeway. What would we do? One of the children started praying.

The next thing we knew a man showed up and offered to change the tire. Curiously, he apologized for taking so long to get to us. He started putting on the spare but saw that it was flat. He left and returned a short while later and put the spare on, but said the inner core of the tire was cut and we shouldn’t travel far on it. We offered him money but he refused it.

As we drove away we looked back and the man was gone. We stopped as soon as we found a place to replace the tire, and sure enough, it was damaged on the inside exactly as he said. To this day we’re sure this kind man was an angel sent to help us out of our difficult situation.

—V.W.

Maybe you have heard of similar stories. Maybe you or someone you know has even experienced such things. The fact is, God is real, and His angels are real. And they really are sent to intervene for people in times of need. Sometimes God acts for us directly through the power of His Spirit. And at other times, He has His spiritual agents, righteous angels, act for Him. No doubt they have intervened for us many times that we are not even aware of. How amazing it will be to one day at last know of all of the supernatural help we have all received in this life!