By Lyndal Walker, National Prayer Coordinator, Youth for Christ Australia 

I’m a dreamer by nature, but occasionally I have a dream that sticks out as being significant. The Lord spoke to His people of old through dreams, and since He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), I figure He’s still speaking through dreams!

Recently I had the following dream, which I believe contains a vital message for the church.

I was in my home, asleep in my bed, while two friends of mine were out in the lounge room having a good old catch up. One was Phillip and the other was Wendy. At one point I woke up (in my dream) and went out to them. I saw Wendy trying to get people to sign up in one or two hour shifts to look after a difficult old person overnight. I was complacent and not willing. And then I noticed Phil walking out with one of my beloved paintings and a potted plant that I was looking after for someone else.

Just as Jesus spoke through parables that were often cryptic, the Lord loves to speak in dreams that require us to seek Him out to discern the meaning.

I believed the elderly lady (who Wendy had asked me to sign up for) could represent Church History. And being asleep represents prayerlessness.

I had just been reading about the Moravians who, in 1727, instigated a 24/7 prayer meeting that lasted 100 years! They lived in the village of Hernhutt (present day Germany) and Count Zinzendorf, the leader of this movement, divided people into shifts to make sure there was prayer happening all day, every day. This prayer movement also ended up beginning a significant mission movement throughout the world.

It struck me that I was reluctant to sign-up for one of these shifts. Meanwhile, Phillip was heading out the door with a couple of my beloved items – which I seemed more concerned about than the poor old lady!

Phillip means ‘lover of horses’ which I believe connects directly to what I wrote about in the last post about the Israelites looking to Egypt for assistance instead of God.

So, what does all this mean and why should it matter to you?

While I believe it’s a message from God for myself, I also believe it’s a message for the church as a whole as we seek to see God move in our time. I believe it’s a call from God for us to ‘wake up’ and learn from church history – which shows that intentional, costly, persistent prayer leads to a move of God that brings many into His kingdom.

Seeking Him above all else, as our first priority, is a must if we want to see a generation changed.

Have we been asleep and more concerned with all our stuff, than counting the cost of truly seeking Him?

Too often we neglect to seek God for His ways and His plans, which may seem illogical or intangible to us. But what if, instead of pursuing the things the world says we need for our own comfort and security, we pursued what God has done throughout church history: how He raises up people to persistently pray before He moves with great power. This, after all, is the way the church was birthed (Acts 1:12-14)!

Leaders carry extra spiritual responsibility – leaders of churches, leaders of mission movements, leaders of businesses, leaders of families – all have tremendous power to effect a change in culture. Let’s be the ones to seek the Lord to a point that is beyond our natural comfort, to consult Him for His plans and His ways.

Whatever it is we lead, let’s do it on our knees.