Hands On? Or From a Distance?

I don’t normally share my dreams with others. In fact, for years I never even told them to my husband because I feared that speaking of them would somehow take from their sacredness. I have since then made the proper shift and included him. I’ve also learned that dreams we receive from the Lord are invitations to pray and intercede.

Once in a while, however, I’ll share one if I think it might benefit another. Thus, this blog. Although this dream holds a personal meaning and challenge for me, I think it also conveys a message for the church. You decide.

I’ll spare you the intricate details and get to the gist of the dream. It was nighttime. More specifically, a pitch-black night because of a power outage in the city.

I had just pulled into a parking lot where the Heartland Healing Rooms were located (which makes the dream pertinent to me). Healing rooms are widespread throughout the US and internationally.

When I realized how dark it was—dark enough that I could barely make out the building where prayer for the sick was already in progress—I got a little spooked.

I wasn’t alone in my uneasiness. I sensed that the others moving about like shadows in the parking lot had also concluded that things were not okay. Since the healing rooms weren’t expecting me, I decided to beat it out of there and head for home.

Interpreting parts of this dream came easy because of certain obvious details, extreme darkness all around being one of them. That’s an instant, hope-filled heads up for those watching prophesied end-time events unfold before Jesus’ return. For it’s out of darkness on the land and gross darkness on the people that the Church will arise and shine.[i]

There was also the no power part, which alarms me. Probably because I’m painfully aware of my own limited effectiveness in bringing about much-needed change in this world. Yes, I do know that any good thing I might contribute is a result of God’s sufficiency and not mine, and it’s Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.[ii] But I still go there at times.

I’m getting uncomfortably personal here. Let’s make this about the church. Isaiah 26:18 says of Israel, We have been with child . . . we have, as it were brought forth [only] wind. I’m not dogging the church because “I be in it”. But could this be the case with us as well? So many hopeful expectations. Yet our best efforts so often fail to produce the powerful results we look for. And instead of our disappointments and frustrations about the way things turned out being the catalyst that drives us deeper into God for the more promised, we end up flatlining in our efforts.

How many times have we told someone, “I’ll be praying for you”—and we definitely do—but we don’t pray for them on the spot? Am I alone in this fault? Granted, not every occasion warrants hands-on treatment. But how many golden opportunities have we missed because some niggling doubt or fear gave us pause?

Which brings me to the most convicting detail of my dream. Because I didn’t see any light, I assumed there was no power. A logical deduction if one gauges by worldly standards. And because there was assumedly no power, I gave up and went home. God help me! God help anyone else with that same thought process.

My husband once complained to the Lord that he was preaching his heart out but people weren’t getting saved. The Lord’s answer to that was simple. “I didn’t say they would get saved, I told you to preach the Gospel.” Any fruit from our labors is the Lord’s doing. Ours is to keep moving forward, keep taking that next step of faith and doing the works we were created to do.

Truth be told, the healing room in my dream was still going on—despite the extreme darkness. The light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.[iii] And it never will. Jesus Himself said, My Father has worked [even] until now, [He has never ceased working; He is still working] and I too must be at divine work.[iv]

Me (or you) not always seeing God’s power boldly manifested before our eyes doesn’t mean there’s a spiritual power outage. If, in my dream, I had followed through with my plans to join them and do my part, I would’ve witnessed God’s handiwork firsthand. People were still inside the building praying, still laying hands on the sick, still fulfilling their various functions in this Great Commission the Lord gave us.

Powerful healings are happening right under our noses. Someone recently shared with me a powerful testimony of a woman with complex health issues who, after receiving prayer, went from using a scooter to get around, to walking a half mile a day. She may be running by now, for all we know. Another woman on life support because of Covid, suddenly and mysteriously escaped death’s clutches, leaving her doctors scratching their heads. As it turns out, she was the only surviving Covid patient on that floor. There were many praying for her.

This dream challenges me anew. We, the body of Christ, can either hang back till we see evidence of God’s power in full swing, or we can jump right into whatever He sets before us and experience firsthand, God moving.

P.S. May the Lord richly bless you and yours over this next Thanksgiving week! By God's grace, we will reconnect after that.

[i] Isaiah 60:1–2 [ii] 2 Corinthians 3:5; Zechariah 4:6; [iii] John 1:5 [iv] John 5:17 AMP