Because She Prayed

Early this morning as I sat working I received a message from a friend I haven't talked to in a while. It seems she had a dream she wanted to tell me about.

In her dream, she looked out her window to see parades of people in shades of black, white, and gray, mechanically moving along together, eyes straight ahead. As she looked, she began to recognize faces among the mindless. She called out but none responded or acknowledged her.  In a final effort to save those she knew, she began singing Come to Jesus, and one by one, the mindless heard, and changed from gray to vibrant colors. She began to sing louder and faster to waken more of the gray army. Instead, she woke herself and her husband by singing aloud in her sleep.

When she woke, she began praying for each of the people in her dream.

I was one of them. My friend tried to save me in her dream and prayed for me when she woke.

Here are the things she doesn't know:

• I've never been clinically depressed, but I've been wondering if I'm headed that way. 
• I haven't read my Bible for several days. 
• God has been whispering to my heart but I keep putting Him off. 
• I'm not SO far away, but I'm not as close as I was. 
• I've been discouraged and have had trouble caring lately.
• Other friends have been praying for me (I can tell) and trying to pull me back.                    

So what did I do after her message? What would you have done?

I listened to the song she had been singing because she sent me a link. Then I laid down my work, even though I was right in the middle of a project. I picked up my Bible and opened to the last place I had read in Isaiah. Before I read, I prayed and asked God if He would or could even speak to me from such a difficult and prophetical book. I think God might have laughed when I asked Him that question. He reminded me He spoke all of creation into existence in 6 days, so I pushed forward in Isaiah.

It was Isaiah 6 where the Seraphim are worshipping God and calling out "Holy, holy, holy." It was the very passage my husband had read as part of our worship service at church two weeks ago, to foster discussion about God's holiness. Interesting, but that wasn't my message for today, so I kept reading.

I got to verse 8 and knew this was God's message for me:

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”  And he said, “Go, and say to this people..."

It didn't matter what Isaiah was supposed to say to the people. The important part for me today was this: Would I say "Here I am. Send me."

I don't know where God is sending me and I don't suppose Isaiah did either. Doesn't matter.

I don't know how anyone will respond to whatever the message is. Doesn't matter.

I don't know if I can be trusted for this job. Doesn't matter.

I don't know if it will be painful or difficult for me. Doesn't matter.

All that matters is that I said, "Here I am. Send me." Then just to be sure I meant it, I said it again. Out loud. "Here I am. Send me."

I don't know the end of the story because I'm still in the middle. But God can send me wherever it is. I trust Him to sustain me. I volunteer to go. All because my friend prayed for me.

Is God prompting you to pray or encourage someone? Do it now. You don't know what battles he or she may be facing. It's not your job to know; only to obey. 

Do it now.