Had a strange providence happen to me this week

[Pergamum]

Sister Siti works among a resistant group. We see her only a few times per year. She does not usually call.

This week I have been faced with some heavy decisions. Yesterday was the pinnacle of the heaviness and these decisions weighed on my mind.

Then the heaviness lifted.

These were not public matters, but only a select few people knew of these things.

Last night my indigenous co-worker contacted me and told me that Siti woke him up at night. She felt compelled to urge him to call me because she had a dream that I was facing heavy decisions and was confused. This dream disturbed her out of sleep and she awoke from her dream and prayed for me all night.

When I questioned my co-workers about this, his reply was, "Oh, she is a little weird/special. She has these sorts of dreams like this sometimes and they come true."





What are your thoughts? Reactions? How would you respond?

---------- Post added at 01:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:27 PM ----------

Also,

while we are on the subject, this also happened JUST TODAY.

A co-worker talked to a hajji. He reported that he just got back from the Hajj and while there during the night on the hillside (forget the name) he dreamt that he was able to enter Mcca and inside the city saw the cross with Jesus on it. So, moved by this dream, he began to question my co-worker today about this co-workers faith and he heard the Gospel for perhaps the first time.

 

[smhbbag]

On the first story, I think anyone would be hard-pressed to be upset about a co-laborer receiving a dream where the effect was to pray for you all night, and call to express her concern.

Likewise with the Muslim, a dream drove him to question and find the gospel.

I say - praise God for His grace and call it a day.

I would not consider these things to be evidence of a special "gift" within the person, but as a special gift from God at His appointed time, not to be assumed upon in the future.

 

[nyjbarnes]

It's hard because we *want to feel special. But I go back to something that has helped me try to stay grounded.

God's work in me, is no bigger than his desire and no smaller than my personal salvation;
God has made me special, but my specialness does not exceed that or come at the expense of, and shows deference to others, first.

Certainly more glorious things than this await...

---------- Post added at 09:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 AM ----------

It's a really cool experience though, I will say that!

 

[JBaldwin]

I think it's great that the woman is sensitive enough to God's Spirit to pray when she feels burdened. God will use any means He chooses to work. I've seen similar kinds of things on and off all my life. When I get leary of this is when people use these situations for their own gain.

 

[Scott1]

You are wise to confess these as "strange providence."

Yes, God can operate extraordinarily, e.g. outside His Word and reveal things through dreams. This is not ordinary, not something to seek or rely on, especially in light of the full counsel of God's Word.

We don't want to teach or example others that this is an ordinary means, nor that a person is equipped with some "revelatory" gift (that would be a second command violation).

Every action in the universe is under its Creator's control- even the evil intentions of men. All are used toward His ends, even though on a secondary level the intentions of doing them is not what God intends (this is sometimes referred to as the theology of "concurrence.") Even those who are "flaky" or unstable are under His control (not saying that is the case, have no background).

Be thankful that God is using others to encourage you, and using means of prayer to strenthen you, give you clairity, and answers to your prayers!

 

[Iconoclast]

Hello Pergamum,

If someone wakes up in the middle of the night with a person on their mind it is a good habit to pray for that person. If it is a well ordered providence or something more prayer will not hurt anything for sure.
Dreams ,impressions, thoughts have a place in our life and experience. they happen and we have to ascribe some meaning to them. Abimelech and Joseph aside, I have learned to always go back to the protection of the word of God and not over think what a dream ,thought, or well ordered providence might mean.
What if you awake and the content of the dream is lustful in nature? Did it come from somewhere outside of us, or were we having unmortifed thoughts that like a seed have taken root.
The second providence the person claims to have seen Jesus in Mecca and now wants to study more. How did he know it was Jesus? Is this how we are to expect God to "reveal himself".
I rather think God is at work by having you there in reality.with your family ministering to those souls,and leading them back into the sure word of God.
Otherwise why should you leave the comforts of the homeland to reach out, if God was just going to give revelation and dreams out all over the place?
If God were to have an angelic being minister to a saint, I would think that it would be in a way where we will know of it until a later point in time...as in when we leave our body on the last day.
In Daniel 10 we have the account of Daniel's pray being heard, but the angelic being could not get to him for 21 days,because of demonic opposition. We can know that things take place in the unseen realm that affect that which is seen.
God has given a complete revelation of Himself and His saving purpose in the scriptures so I would be thankful for what providences take place, but I would be slow to ascribe some supernatural touch to each event.

 

[Pergamum]

About 15-20% of several people groups here trace the beginning of their journey to faith through dreams of Jesus. This is well-documented.


These dreams are not saving, but seem to be providences that open up people's receptivity to the Gospel and even motivates them to seek out people to explain the Gospel. Like a Cornelius event.

Often these dreams happen during the night prayers.

One need not postulate special revelation or demonic influence. God working on consciences dimly informed by depictions of the Prophet Jesus from another "Holy Book" (surah 3) may be a sufficient explanation.

 

[Stomata leontôn]

A dream doesn't have to be something unusual or weird; we all dream. We all know that sometimes a dream is just the mind's way of bringing out in pictures what we had in the back of our head. If God is giving the gift of faith to a Muslim, a dream just may be one way that it first comes to his attention.

 

[Glenn Ferrell]

“God in his ordinary providence makes use of means, yet is free to work without, above and against them, at His pleasure.” (WCF V:3)

Although there are no extraordinary works of God to confirm additions to His Word, a Sovereign God may use special providential means to guide, deliver or protect His people, especially in times of persecution, hardship, or advancement of the Kingdom, never as a contradiction, an addition to, or with the infallible certainty of canonical Revelation, but “as gracious intimations of the will of God, granted to them in answer to prayer, for their own encouragement or direction” (McCrie, Story of the Scottish Church).

 

[Scott1]

Pergamum
One need not postulate special revelation or demonic influence.

Dreams as extraordinary providences, yes.

The only caution here is that this not become the ongoing basis for special revelation, nor the person to whom they come. Unfortunately, fallen man will tend to do this. The basis for ongoing special revelation will be the Word of God, and that's where we disciple those whom God is revealing His Son to.

 

[Pergamum]

Glenn: Thanks for the quote. Do you see similarities between the Scottish church and the persecuted church in our day?

Scott: These believers are very Bible-bound and are not looking to "gifted" personalities but to the Word of God.

 

[itsreed]

When asked about dreams, my response is that as long as the dream is "biblically" consistent it's source/nature does not need to be investigatged further. Delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.