Prompted to Pray

Two days ago I woke up in the middle of the night from an awful dream/nightmare.  

I was in a church/school and the layout was similar to that of the church I grew up in except it had multiple floors.  I don’t remember the details, but I know we were in danger.  I remembered who I was with when I first woke up but have since forgotten.  We were in danger because of our beliefs and had found a place to hide as what we tried to stay as quiet as possible and block out the sounds that led us to imagine the awful things were happening around us.  It was one of those dreams where it takes you a few moments upon waking to convince yourself that you really are perfectly safe in your bed and everything is okay.  

However, at the same time I came to that realization, I immediately remembered the words I heard a friend tell her son a few nights before: “and if you ever wake up in the middle night with someone on your mind, it probably is God saying you should pray for them”.  Instantly, my heart sank… Yes, I was perfectly fine, safe in my bed… Yet across the world, at that exact moment there were likely many people who were experiencing the horror of my dream in real life, and perhaps even worse.  

At that I awoke even more and began to take my friend’s advice… I began praying God’s protection and grace over whoever found themselves in danger and hiding in that moment, especially those who were being persecuted because of their faith. So why am I sharing this here?  Well because I think maybe one of the reasons I had that dream is becuas these are the things I like to ignore in my waking hours.  It’s easier to ignore the tragedies and injustices of the world than to imagine the pain and feel powerless.  Yet, these people need us… They need our prayers.  God tells us and shows us time and time again the power prayer has.  May we not get so comfortable that we forget the reality of statistics like these:

 

 
While I hope God’s Spirit does continue to prompt me to pray for people both waking and sleeping, even more so I hope I never forget to lift up I my brothers and sisters who have and  continue to suffer for their faith. May they be strong and courageous knowing God is always with them and they are not alone!