When you need some divine intervention, it can be reassuring to know that God always stands ready to listen and respond to your prayers. You may even ask other people to add their prayers to yours for extra spiritual power. But imagine the power of having guardian angels pray for you, too!

The world’s major religions say that guardian angels do pray for people. In fact, prayer seems to be a high priority for guardian angels.

Here are some different religious perspectives on guardian angels praying for people:

Judaism

In Judaism, angels pray for God’s will to be done in people’s lives, and guardian angels, in particular, pray for the people over whose lives they watch. Jewish tradition says that two guardian angels (one good and one evil) accompany each person home as he or she prepares for weekly Sabbath worship. If the person has prepared well to worship by setting up the wine, candles, and challah bread properly, the good angel will pray: “May it be this way next Shabbat [Sabbath],” but if the person has neglected to prepare for worship well, the bad angel will be the one to pray that the pattern will continue for the next Sabbath. Judaism says that angels even deliver people’s prayers to God. Midrash Tehillim 88:4 describes how angels take Jewish people’s morning prayers and weave them into a majestic crown that they present to God in heaven each day.

Christianity

In Christianity, angels pray for people regularly.

Jesus Christ refers to the power that guardian angels have to pray for the people they watch over when he talks in Matthew 18:10 of the Bible about children’s guardian angels who are constantly interceding for them before God in heaven. Later in the Bible, Revelation 8:3-4 describes an angel (traditionally believed to be Archangel Selaphiel) delivering prayers to God: “Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.”

Origen Adamantius, an influential Catholic writer from the 2nd century AD, wrote: "But not the high priest [Christ] alone prays for those who pray sincerely, but also the angels…as also the souls of the saints who have already fallen asleep [died]."

Mormonism

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), who believe that angels were once human beings who have been resurrected to an angelic state, say that angels continue to care about human concerns by paying attention to what people on Earth need and praying for them in heaven.

Islam

In Islam, angels pray for people by asking God to strengthen people’s abilities to perform righteous activities, such as seeking more knowledge of God, attending worship at their local mosque regularly, praying often, reciting the Qur’an, and obeying what God calls them to do in their daily lives. Chapter 33 (Al Ahzab) verse 43 of the Qur’an explains: “… His [God’s] angels pray for you. His blessing and their prayers are both aimed at bringing you out from darkness to the light.” Muslims believe that God assigns two guardian angels to watch over every person in shifts, and those angels pray for the people to whom they’re assigned at any given time.

Hinduism

In Hinduism, angelic beings called devas (who are good) and asuras (who are evil) both pray for people. Devas have the power to use their prayers to inspire people to grow spiritually, while asuras may use their prayers to tempt people to sin.

Sikhism

In Sikhism, guardian angels may pray for people to unite their souls more deeply with God so people can experience more peace and energy while living more righteous lives.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, angelic beings called boddhisatvas (who Buddhists believe were once people who later achieved enlightenment) sometimes pray for people in the sense that they place divine thoughts in their minds to help enlighten them.

In astrology and New Age spirituality, guardian angels pray with people as partners in prayer, rather than just praying for people’s needs on their own. Both astrologists and people who practice New Age beliefs believe that angels sometimes communicate with people in spiritual dialogues in which they pray together for people’s needs and desires.