I have a beautiful young friend. She is awesome in lots of ways. She is like another one of my kiddos. And i love her like crazy. She, like most young people i know today, struggles with life stuff and pressures. It's a hard place to live these days...in this world...in those difficult situations. I, for one, am glad i am not twenty-something.
My sweet girlfriend listens to me when i talk about my JESUS. She pays attention when we discuss life and choices and whats the purpose of it all. She hasn't walked out on me yet when i have offered to pray with her. I'm telling ya this girl is the bomb!
About a month ago we were visiting, just chatting away about lots of stuff. When she was getting ready to hit-the-road, i piped up, "Let me pray for you girlie, before you leave."
To which she responded, "Okay."
I stood up and wrapped my arms around this baby girl and prayed a short, simple prayer...from my heart... into her ears...directed up to the Heavens.
"FATHER, give this child a dream. LORD, come to her and confirm the words of YOUR servant. Let her know that everything i've been saying about YOU is true. GOD visit her in the night with a dream, that she will know beyond a shadow of a doubt, is from YOU...LORD, show her YOUR love for her...make YOURSELF known to her in a dream of the night. In JESUS name. amen."
She turned to me with doubt in her eyes.
"GOD can do it, honey," I returned her glance.
"I hope so," she said quietly.
I don't remember my final words exactly, but I think they we something like "My GOD can reveal HIMSELF to you or HE is no GOD at all."
Well, days slipped by...and turned into a couple of weeks. And no dream.
"I am not a dreamer Kim, i just don't have dreams in the night," said my young friend.
"That's okay,"...and i continued praying.
Weeks slipped into a month. No dream. Actually, she did have a couple about her boyfriend, which was still rare for her...but they weren't GOD dreams. Cause there are "dreams" and then there are "GOD dreams."
And i kept praying, and when i got shaky i prayed some more. My GODS name was on the line...and i knew it...and there was absolutely nothing i could do about it...there was no way i (or anyone else) could put a GOD dream in her head in the middle of the night...this was all GOD...or this was foolishness.
My friend called me yesterday. She had a dream. I caught my breath and wondered.................
"Tell me the dream."
She began..."It was scary... actually terrifying."
I waited.
She continued, "I was in a big house with my girlfriends. My mom and my sister were there. There was a demon there too, it was a girl demon. She was killing my friends in the house. I kept trying to get out of the house but the demon kept blocking my way. It was really scary. Finally, my mom and sister and i tried to get some sleep and we all got into the same bed together because we were so afraid...but the demon kept attacking us. It was terrifying. Finally, i said, 'The only way out of this is through JESUS.' And my mom and my sister and I started like chanting and praying. And the demon left."
With tears flooding down my cheeks, i could barely respond. I was so overwhelmed with gratefulness to my GOD for HIS loving-kindness. I pulled myself together long enough to respond by telling my young friend that she probably has no idea how BIBLICALLY accurate her dream was. That in this life there is the presence of both good and evil. That demons are real. And that JESUS CHRIST is the only way out. I encouraged her that this was "the dream" I had asked for...no doubt...and that GOD was showing HIMSELF to her...making HIMSELF known to her...because of HIS great love for her. I instructed her to write down this GOD dream in her journal and anything she remembers me saying about the dream...and saving it...setting on it.
I hung up the phone, maybe to soon, cause i was flying and crying and praising all at once. I immediately called my prayer partner, the only person who knew that i was praying for a GOD dream for my friend. I could barely speak through grateful tears as i recounted the GOD dream..."HE did it! HE did it! There is absolutely no other explanation. GOD confirmed my words about HIM in a powerful way! GOD showed up for that little girl!"
My prayer partner was so pumped she said, "I am on my way to my church right now. Maybe i could share this testimony?"
"Share it, " I wept, "Share it! Tell the church GOD loves HIS people. Tell them not to give up praying. Tell them GOD hears their prayers! Tell them GOD can do anything!"
And share she did. With the pastors permission, she spoke from the pulpit that very morning....and told the amazing testimony of GODS goodness in answering the prayers of HIS people...and she encouraged them to continue to pray with compassion for the lives of the lost and the broken and the hurting.
GOD is in the business of doing what no one else can do. HE loves it when we take HIM at HIS WORD...and pray into the impossible. HE delights in showing HIMSELF strong. HE dreams of us offering our "natural"... so HE can add HIS "super" to it...and produce the SUPERNATURAL!
And here's the verse from Isaiah that sums it all up:
Thus says the LORD, your REDEEMER, and the ONE who formed you from the womb, "I, the LORD, am the MAKER of all things, Stretching out the heavens by MYSELF And spreading out the earth all ALONE...Confirming the word of MY servant And performing the purpose of MY messengers.
My sweet girlfriend listens to me when i talk about my JESUS. She pays attention when we discuss life and choices and whats the purpose of it all. She hasn't walked out on me yet when i have offered to pray with her. I'm telling ya this girl is the bomb!
About a month ago we were visiting, just chatting away about lots of stuff. When she was getting ready to hit-the-road, i piped up, "Let me pray for you girlie, before you leave."
To which she responded, "Okay."
I stood up and wrapped my arms around this baby girl and prayed a short, simple prayer...from my heart... into her ears...directed up to the Heavens.
"FATHER, give this child a dream. LORD, come to her and confirm the words of YOUR servant. Let her know that everything i've been saying about YOU is true. GOD visit her in the night with a dream, that she will know beyond a shadow of a doubt, is from YOU...LORD, show her YOUR love for her...make YOURSELF known to her in a dream of the night. In JESUS name. amen."
She turned to me with doubt in her eyes.
"GOD can do it, honey," I returned her glance.
"I hope so," she said quietly.
I don't remember my final words exactly, but I think they we something like "My GOD can reveal HIMSELF to you or HE is no GOD at all."
Well, days slipped by...and turned into a couple of weeks. And no dream.
"I am not a dreamer Kim, i just don't have dreams in the night," said my young friend.
"That's okay,"...and i continued praying.
Weeks slipped into a month. No dream. Actually, she did have a couple about her boyfriend, which was still rare for her...but they weren't GOD dreams. Cause there are "dreams" and then there are "GOD dreams."
And i kept praying, and when i got shaky i prayed some more. My GODS name was on the line...and i knew it...and there was absolutely nothing i could do about it...there was no way i (or anyone else) could put a GOD dream in her head in the middle of the night...this was all GOD...or this was foolishness.
My friend called me yesterday. She had a dream. I caught my breath and wondered.................
"Tell me the dream."
She began..."It was scary... actually terrifying."
I waited.
She continued, "I was in a big house with my girlfriends. My mom and my sister were there. There was a demon there too, it was a girl demon. She was killing my friends in the house. I kept trying to get out of the house but the demon kept blocking my way. It was really scary. Finally, my mom and sister and i tried to get some sleep and we all got into the same bed together because we were so afraid...but the demon kept attacking us. It was terrifying. Finally, i said, 'The only way out of this is through JESUS.' And my mom and my sister and I started like chanting and praying. And the demon left."
With tears flooding down my cheeks, i could barely respond. I was so overwhelmed with gratefulness to my GOD for HIS loving-kindness. I pulled myself together long enough to respond by telling my young friend that she probably has no idea how BIBLICALLY accurate her dream was. That in this life there is the presence of both good and evil. That demons are real. And that JESUS CHRIST is the only way out. I encouraged her that this was "the dream" I had asked for...no doubt...and that GOD was showing HIMSELF to her...making HIMSELF known to her...because of HIS great love for her. I instructed her to write down this GOD dream in her journal and anything she remembers me saying about the dream...and saving it...setting on it.
I hung up the phone, maybe to soon, cause i was flying and crying and praising all at once. I immediately called my prayer partner, the only person who knew that i was praying for a GOD dream for my friend. I could barely speak through grateful tears as i recounted the GOD dream..."HE did it! HE did it! There is absolutely no other explanation. GOD confirmed my words about HIM in a powerful way! GOD showed up for that little girl!"
My prayer partner was so pumped she said, "I am on my way to my church right now. Maybe i could share this testimony?"
"Share it, " I wept, "Share it! Tell the church GOD loves HIS people. Tell them not to give up praying. Tell them GOD hears their prayers! Tell them GOD can do anything!"
And share she did. With the pastors permission, she spoke from the pulpit that very morning....and told the amazing testimony of GODS goodness in answering the prayers of HIS people...and she encouraged them to continue to pray with compassion for the lives of the lost and the broken and the hurting.
GOD is in the business of doing what no one else can do. HE loves it when we take HIM at HIS WORD...and pray into the impossible. HE delights in showing HIMSELF strong. HE dreams of us offering our "natural"... so HE can add HIS "super" to it...and produce the SUPERNATURAL!
And here's the verse from Isaiah that sums it all up:
Thus says the LORD, your REDEEMER, and the ONE who formed you from the womb, "I, the LORD, am the MAKER of all things, Stretching out the heavens by MYSELF And spreading out the earth all ALONE...Confirming the word of MY servant And performing the purpose of MY messengers.