"The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them" (Psalm 34:7). The Bible speaks of angels as God's messengers and protectors, mostly unseen, sent to serve those who will inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14).
This story about angels, retold in our own words, is one of the best known in Christian circles. Billy Graham included it in his book on angels. It is set on the islands of the South Pacific in the nineteenth century and ends with a takeaway for sermons or reflection.
Story in this post:
Angels All Around: John Paton and the Night of Fire
This story is told by Billy Graham in his book Angels: God's Secret Agents (first published in 1975). We have not been able to confirm it from an independent source, so the details rest on Graham's account.
John G. Paton was a Scottish Presbyterian missionary. In 1858 he sailed to the New Hebrides, the island chain in the South Pacific that is now the nation of Vanuatu, and he spent much of his life there sharing the gospel, often in great danger. His first wife and their baby son died within months of their arrival on the island of Tanna, and Paton himself faced repeated threats on his life.
One night, the story goes, warriors from a local tribe surrounded the mission house. They had come with a plan: to set the building on fire, burn the Patons out, and kill them.
You can imagine the terror inside. John Paton and his wife could hear the men gathering in the darkness. There was no one to call for help and nowhere to run. So they did the only thing they could do. They knelt and prayed, hour after hour, all through the night, asking God to protect them.
The night wore on. The attack did not come.
When the sun rose, the Patons looked out and saw something they could hardly believe. The warriors were turning around and leaving. They had not lit a single fire. They had not touched the house. They simply walked away.
A year passed. In that time, remarkably, the chief of that same tribe came to faith in Jesus Christ. One day, as they talked together, Paton finally asked the question that had been on his mind ever since that night. What had stopped the chief and his men? Why had they not burned down the house and killed them, as they had planned?
The chief looked at him in surprise and asked a question of his own. "Who were all those men you had with you there?"
"There were no men there," Paton replied. "Only my wife and I."
The chief shook his head. He told Paton that he and his warriors had seen hundreds of men standing guard all around the mission house that night: big men in shining garments, each holding a drawn sword. They had not dared to attack.
Paton and his wife had seen nothing but the darkness. But they had not been alone.
Takeaway: When the prophet Elisha's servant saw an enemy army surrounding them, Elisha prayed, "Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see", and the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire (2 Kings 6:15–17). We may not see what God is doing on our behalf, but we are never as alone as we feel. Prayer is never wasted, even in the darkest night.
Source: Reported in Billy Graham, Angels: God's Secret Agents (1975). Background on John G. Paton checked against Wikipedia.
Final thoughts
Stories like this one cannot be proved, and Christians should hold them humbly. But they echo a promise found throughout Scripture: God watches over his people, often in ways they never see.
What are you facing tonight that feels like being surrounded? Bring it to God in prayer, and trust that he sees more than you do.
More stories you may like:
These stories are retold in our own words for teaching and reflection. Sources are credited under each story.
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