There is some confusion, and there always has been, when humans have had close encounters with angels. The natural inclination is to be instantly awed by the celestial, and to bow down before them, and yet angels know who they are, and who is worship worthy, and they never accept what is due in honour, to God.
Angels are God's messengers, his heavenly warrior host, and they are sent on missions on behalf of God's human creatures; isn't it delightful when we consider, how many times our bacon has been saved, from accident and injury, via a massive and mighty angel, interceding invisibly? You know that phew feeling of relief? when you could have had your guts splatted across the pavement after a narrow escape from an oncoming vehicle? Did you ever consider there was a heavenly being standing between you, and near death? If not, think on it now, and let the sense of being taken care of, lift the corners of your mouth, into a grin of appreciation!
Look with me to scripture:
God putteth no trust in his holy ones, and he chargeth his angels with folly (Job 4:18).
Now read with me what Matthew Henry has to say regarding Job 4:18, referencing angels, from his Commentary on The Bible, Acts to Revelation, Volume 6, page 741:
... though they are free from sin, yet are not in themselves free from all possibility of sinning. And therefore we read, God putteth no trust in his holy ones, and he chargeth his angels with folly (Job 4:18), that is, with weakness and peccability. They may be angels one hour, and devils another, as many of them were; and that the holy angels shall not now fall does not proceed from an indefectibility of nature, but from the election of God; they are elect angels.
The angels that became devils, were defectors. The humans, created in the image of God, that deny the deity of Christ, are defectors too.
Now follow with me, dear one, the logic I present. Why would you, why would I, worship an angel, or another human being, that is prone, and even inclined strongly, to sin? Look at yourself, are you perfect? Now look around you and perhaps chuckle a little, as you seek and try to find perfect in others. It is an impossibly, and yet, you will find it common practice, to see your fellow man, looking up to and praising, those that they deem higher than themselves.
Humans must not look to humans as better than: this is a misplacing of trust, and a narrative that leads to the erosion of the soul, because we are fallible, and easily fraction when our plans do not come to fruition. See the world leaders and how they are fraying at the seams, when not long ago, they were hailed as the ones to save the masses from deadly viral destruction. Angels and humans, your dog, cat, and pet rat, are created beings, that are just like you, in the sense that you ought not be worshipped, prayed to, adored beyond reason, and infatuated with, and you know precisely why no one should put little old you on a pedestal of praise, don't you?
You and I are well aware of how yucky we are on the inside, and how it shows up often on the outside. Each person has their own yuck, AND, there is none of this in Christ Jesus, none!
I take again from Matthew Henry's Commentary:
It is a difficult thing to keep ourselves pure, so as not to partake in the guilt of other men's sins, by contributing in some way towards them, or not doing what we ought to prevent them. Christ was undefiled; though he took upon him the guilt of our sins, yet he never involved himself in the fact or fault of them.
Have you tried to keep yourself pure? If you have, then you acknowledge that you have been anything but, pure. The fact that we have to try means we are already smudged with the black coal coating of our own sin. Christ is pure, undefiled, holy, harmless, and gentle - can you say the same of yourself, anyone you know, any human creature you have come across?
There is warfare going on all around us, and some of us are aware of this fact. You may be battling in your mind and heart this day, with something dark that demands dominance in your soul, and demeans you when you try to break free. God knows your struggles, he hears your moaning and sees your wreathing in physical and spiritual pain, and he does not want to leave you there, but he does command and demand allegiance from the creatures he hand crafted, and when you dare to go to an angel, or look to another human, to lift your burdens and alleviate your pain, he will not grant you soulful relief from your sufferings:
Now we know that God heareth not sinners, but if any man be a worshipper of God and doeth his will, him he heareth (John 9:31).
And now for some revelation on the topic at hand:
And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not; I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:9-10).
The entire Bible points to Jesus as the Perfectly Pure One we must pray to as our mediator, the one that goes before us on our behalf, to the Father. The warnings in The Bible are great, regarding who not to pray to, what not to do, coupled with who we must obey, worship, and how we must live, holy as he is holy. We are pulled toward sinning, but we don't have to! The angels have free will too, and can fall from grace via sin, just as 1/3 did long ago and became devils, but they don't have to!
With requests made earnestly to God through Jesus Christ the LORD, for the strength to resist the temptations we face to sin, we can be free to enjoy this life without besmirching our own soul with repugnant to God, sin.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew; but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he had on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (Revelation 19:11-16).
Heaven opened to the apostle John for him to behold. The Bible is available for you to open, and behold. The armies of heaven follow the King of kings, the Lord of lords. If the angels follow him, clothed in fine white and clean linen, it makes perfect sense, dear fellow human being, for you and I, to follow suit.
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