Life is a constant spiritual battle.
We are getting attacked by temptations from every angle. Most of the time, we don’t even realize it because the temptations are wrapped up and disguised as something that look good.
That is the work of the devil, Satan.
But don’t be afraid.
We have the help of the angels and saints on our side, especially Saint Michael the Archangel.
Saint Michael the Archangel has helped us as a human race throughout history and continues to help us all still today. He is the protector of the Church and protects us all individually, too, from all evil.
This great archangel protects each of us every single day.
Protects us from what? If we go to Revelation 12:17, we read:
“Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus.”
Satan has waged war on humanity, especially “those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus”.
Satan has waged war on each of us. Saint Michael protects us in that battle.
The more we try to follow God, the more Satan tries to bring us down. He does this by tempting us to sin.
We face this spiritual battle every day.
Saint Michael Protects Us in the Spiritual Battle Against Satan
Saint Michael helps us in this spiritual battle and helps battle against the devil and all the evil spirits.
Saint Michael is the angel who led the good angels in battle against Lucifer (Satan) and the other fallen angels in Heaven.
“Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it.” – Revelation 12: 7-9
After Satan was cast out of Heaven, he went and waged war against all of us.
Therefore, humanity needed a protector. Saint Michael the Archangel was victorious and defeated Satan already, and the great angel still protects us in our battles, too.
Saint Michael helps each of us in this war. He was the protector of God’s people in the Old Testament, the Israelites, and is still the protector of God’s people now, the Church.
He has played a great role in our protection throughout the centuries. The early Christians were very devoted to Saint Michael, and prayed for his protection, especially in times of persecution.
How Does Saint Michael Help Us?
So if Saint Michael helps us, what does that look like? How does it happen? What does it look like in our daily life?
Saint Michael is our guardian and protector of our soul. He cares for our immortal wellness and being. We can pray for protection so we don’t fall into temptations and sin.
There are lots of times and instances that we can turn to Saint Michael.
I invite Saint Michael in to my daily life. He wants to help us in our struggles and temptations, and that’s exactly where I need him and want him to be.
For me, I call on Saint Michael the Archangel for protection every day, even several times a day – in the morning and at night, for myself and for all my family.
In the morning, I pray for protection for the new day that is beginning. It’s a good way to start the day with Saint Michael, acknowledging that the angel is there and asking him to be with us by our side throughout the day for any trial that we may face that day.
At night, I pray that Saint Michael watches over us while we sleep. Just because we are sleeping, doesn’t mean that evil spirits are taking a break. I pray the Archangel watches over us to make sure we sleep soundly and that no evil comes our way.
Throughout the day, I also pray for Saint Michael’s help. When I see “questionable” things, I pray for his protection. The things I recognize as things of the world, or things of devil; the ways that the devil is trying to sneak in. They are activities or talk that could jeopardize our soul.
Usually they are things that others don’t recognize as problems, like issues of morality. Our world is slowly being desensitized to morality. Then there are also other little things such as gossip, or larger things like someone wearing a t-shirt with a demonic message.
These are all times that I ask Saint Michael for protection. It’s usually just a quick prayer: “Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle”. I pray this quickly and frequently throughout the day.
Any time that you are surrounded by negativity, turn to Saint Michael.
When you have any sort of fear, Saint Michael is there to protect us. Throughout Scripture, it tells us to be not afraid. In these times, say a quick prayer to Saint Michael.
Other times Saint Michael helps protect us is when we are faced with “paranormal” activity. Avoid psychics, tarot cards, etc. There is an entire spiritual realm all around us, and we don’t need to get involved with the spirits that we do not know or know their intentions of. Many times these can be evil spirits in disguise.
There is an entire invisible reality all around us. We acknowledge this when we pray the opening portion of the Nicene Creed at Mass:
“I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.”
This invisible “realm” of spirits is just as real as the physical part of the world that we can see. Just because we can’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. It is very much a part of God’s creation. As humans, we are created as body and soul. We are part of both the spiritual and physical.
In the beginning, when God created the heavens, he created a multitude of spiritual beings, what we call the angels. If we look to the book of Revelation again, we see that when Lucifer (Satan) rebelled against God, Satan brought down a 1/3 of the angels with him, who followed his rebellion (Revelation 12:4).
What happened to these fallen angels? They are now all evil spirits.
We can safely say that there were some angels from several of the choirs of angels that fell with Satan. Saint Paul talks about not even the “angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers” can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38).
Angels, principalities, and powers are some of the names mentioned in scripture for the various choirs of angels. The choirs of angels denote their created nature. Just because they fell, does not cause them to lose their created nature. Just like us humans, when we sin, we don’t lose our human nature.
The angels are powerful beings, but there are the same powerful beings who are now evil, the ones that fell. The difference is we have Jesus on our side. (I’d also like to note here that Satan is not the “equal” opposite of God. God is all powerful, while Lucifer was a created angel by God.)
There are many more good angels than there are bad angels. Saint Michael the Archangel is the commander of the army of God, all the heavenly hosts. He has already defeated Satan and all the evil spirits.
However, being aware of the invisible is important. There is an invisible spiritual battle all around us. When we are more aware, then we are better prepared to not be fooled by the tricks of the devil and the other evil spirits.
When you are facing temptation, it is the perfect time to pray to Saint Michael for help. Praying the Saint Michael prayer is a great way to do this.
In an address given on April 24, 1994, Saint John Paul II urged people to pray the Saint Michael prayer, “to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world”.
This prayer to Saint Michael was written by Pope Leo XIII in 1884 after he had a vision of Satan trying to destroy the Church in aggressive attacks. He then wrote this prayer to Saint Michael.
Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel
Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle;
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray:
and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the power of God,
cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits
who prowl throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
We can pray this prayer often. It is short and it packs a powerful punch.
We are one of God’s creations alongside His creation of the angels. We are meant for friendship with each other. Be friends with the angels and Saint Michael.
One of the four offices that has been traditionally attributed to Saint Michael is to escort souls upon death to their judgement. If we have been friends with Saint Michael during our lifetime and prayed for his protection often, we will be able to look forward to seeing him at that time.
Another one of the offices of Saint Michael is to defend us from Satan, especially at the time of death. As we near our death, Saint Michael comes to our aid for the sake of our soul.
Death is a time of weakness and we are most vulnerable. As humans, we are created as both body and soul. When we die, our soul separates from our body. At this time, our soul is most susceptible to attacks and Satan knows this. He tries to tempt our soul to despair, to have no hope. But Saint Michael comes to our aid to protect us.
Keep Saint Michael close to you. He is the angel who guards and protects us from all evil.
Throughout my life, I have kept reminders close by so that I remember to call on Saint Michael for help. I have worn a Saint Michael medal for years. I keep a statue and poster of him in my house. These are all ways that help me keep Saint Michael on my mind and in my prayers.
Conclusion
Saint Michael the Archangel has already defeated the devil and the other fallen angels by removing them from their place in heaven. Not only has he already defeated them, but Saint Michael still defends us from Satan’s attacks on us.
He helps us throughout our entire life, defending us from the devil and guarding our soul from evil, so that we may remain in Jesus.
We can turn to Saint Michael for help daily, in all circumstances. The angel is there by our side to help us.
The angels are our friends. Humans and angels are both a part of God’s creation. We were meant for friendship.
Make Saint Michael your friend. Pray to him for help and protection often so that you don’t fall into the tricks of the devil and so that you can remain close to God.