When you continually walk with God, it is actually possible for the unseen realm to become more real to you than what you see or hear in this natural world.

I know this because the Bible tells us about people who lived that way. One of them was the prophet Elisha. In 2 Kings 6:8-10, the Bible gives us a glimpse of how he operated in regard to the unseen realm.

It tells us that during Elisha's ministry, the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, "In such and such a place shall be my camp. And Elisha, the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, 'Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.' And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice."

Do you get the picture here? Elisha is spoiling every battle plan the Syrian king can devise. By the word of knowledge, he finds out what the plans of the enemy are and tells the king of Israel about them in advance. As a result, the Syrians are left looking like fools!

The passage goes on to say,

Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, "Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?" And one of his servants said, "None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that thou speaks in thy bedchamber." And he said, "Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him." And it was told him, saying, "Behold, he is in Dothan."

Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, "Alas, my master! How shall we do?"
(2 Kings 6:11-15)

Actually, a more contemporary paraphrase of the Hebrew exclamation made by Elisha's servants would be, "We've had it, master! We're dead meat!"

But Elisha remained calm and answered his servant, saying, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them." And Elisha prayed, and said, "Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see." And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
(2 Kings 6:16-17)

Friend, let me ask you a question. If God would send this kind of angelic help for Elisha, won't He do it for you? The Bible says God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11).

We know that angels are on assignment to serve our needs. Elisha needed an army, so God provided one. Wouldn't He do the same for you? Certainly, He would! In fact, He already has. He has commissioned untold thousands of angels to minister on behalf of all of us who are heirs of salvation. Why haven't we benefited from them as fully as Elisha did? Because we haven't had his perspective!

Think again about how Elisha responded to his situation. When his servant came to him in great fear, Elisha could have seen with his natural eye the grave circumstances. He could have been terrified as his young servant was, but he wasn't.

As a prophet of God, Elisha didn't rely strictly on what he could see and hear. He had developed a sense for what was happening in the spirit realm, and he put far more confidence in that realm than he did in the natural realm!

We can learn to be the same way. We can develop our spiritual eyes and ears by spending more time focusing on the spiritual realm. As we spend more time in the Word and in prayer, we can learn to shift our attention away from temporal things and onto eternal realities.

Remember, this is a process, and it takes time. But you can take the first step in that process by making a decision today to focus on the unseen realm.

Source: Angels at Your Service by Mac Hammond
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers