The Day God Woke Me Up

The day God woke me up

Two nights ago, I woke up around 1:30 a.m. and was wide awake. I lay there feeling like it was 7 a.m. and time to get up. Of course, I didn’t really want to start my day at 1:30, so I continued to lay there. I had a couple ideas come to my mind for my blog that I quickly wrote down on the paper sitting on my bedside table. Rolling over, I laid with my eyes open, facing Superman. I asked God, “God, who do you want me to pray for?”

You see, sometimes when I wake up at night and can’t sleep, I figure it must be because God wants me to pray for someone. I’ve done it before. Usually, I will go through my mental rolodex and pray for whomever I’m thinking of. But this time, this time was different. Immediately, Superman’s grandpa Cass came to my mind. I felt this incredible burden to pray for him. Not for health or happiness, but for his salvation. I have never felt such an urgent, FELT need as I did at that moment.

Promptly, I started praying: “Lord, I pray right now for Cass’ salvation. I pray that you would meet him–RIGHT NOW–wherever he is. Speak into his heart right now. Prick his soul and help him to realize he needs you. Lord, I pray that his life would be changed because of you…”. Indeed, God woke me up.  That’s all I remember. My prayer faded off into my dreams as I fell back asleep and slept wonderfully until the morning.

 

 

When I awoke:

When I woke up, I questioned whether to tell Superman about my prayer. I thought it was a little silly, actually. But then I thought, what if something actually happens?! I want Superman to realize it wasn’t by chance. So, I told him I had woken up, felt the need to pray for his grandpa, and prayed. That was it. I didn’t go into detail about what my prayer was, I just said I had prayed.

Superman had a meeting that day (yesterday), and was gone all day. At about 3:30 p.m., he called me to check in and asked if I had spoken with his dad. I said no, and he proceeded to fill me in on how his grandparents, who are living in an assisted living facility, were doing. And then. Then. He said this: “My dad went over to see grandpa today and when he got there, my grandpa said he wanted to become a Christian.” 

Ok, I have to interject here to say Cass is 90 years old. Ninety. He has been given Bibles, taken to church, and talked to many times about God. But up until yesterday, he had never been ready to give his life over to Jesus. 

I almost started weeping. My prayer had worked! Maybe it was coincidence. Maybe it was something else. Or maybe my prayer had worked. I believe it was a combination of many, many, intricate threads woven together throughout Cass’ life, finally all aligning into the perfectly formed cord. 

 

Just Maybe:

Maybe God woke me up at 1:30 in the morning because 15 miles away there was a man whose heart was ready to receive the most intimate, forgiving, unconditional love possible. Maybe God needed me to obey so that I could see His power displayed in such a way that my relationship with Him would forever be changed. What if I hadn’t asked God who I should pray for? What if I had ignored Cass’ clearer-than-day image in my mind and rolled back over, tucking my head under my pillow? 

In all my nearly 20 years as a Christian, I have never been present when someone prayed to accept Jesus as Lord of his or her life. I have planted seeds, and seen the after-effect of someone giving their life over to God, but have never been in the room when someone is figuratively making the leap into the Savior’s arms.

Superman’s dad had not prayed with his grandpa yet. My heart was bursting with pride for this man who was willing to finally take a leap of faith and truly believe he had found the One true God. As soon as Superman got home, we jumped in the car, and drove to meet his dad at the assisted living facility. 

When we got there, I told Cass about my dream.

I told him I believed God woke me up because it was his time to become a follower of Jesus. 

Superman’s dad led Cass through a prayer asking Jesus to become Lord of his heart and wash away his sins. When he finished, I couldn’t help but offer a prayer on behalf of Cass. I grabbed his hand and prayed: “God, thank you for Cass. Thank you that it is NEVER. TOO. LATE. Thank you that Cass is willing to take a step of faith to believe in you…” I continued to pray, asking God to take away the voices of discouragement, those tiny voices that can fill one’s heart with doubt and despair. And I ended the prayer wiping my eyes, clearing my throat, and giving Cass the biggest, proudest hug I have ever given him. 

Welcome to the family, Cass. Welcome! When this is all over; all the pain, all the suffering, ALL of it, we will be together. In God’s presence, together. Rejoicing.

The angels were rejoicing yesterday. I felt it. 

I have never in my life known God so intimately, so personally, as I did yesterday. 

God woke me up.

Literally, and figuratively. He woke up a little spiritual piece of me that I didn’t even know existed. I will never forget it.

Friends, God is amazing. 

He is ELOHIM: Creator, Mighty, Strong.

God is EL SHADDAI: God Almighty.

He is ADONAI: Lord.

God is EL-OLAM: Everlasting God. 

He is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. He is everything. 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” ~Romans 15:13