Preparing for Battle

Dream: I awoke early the other morning from a dream that stirred me in a mighty way. I was standing in a room that had a closet in it. The door of the closet was opened and I saw spirits and influences come out and then run back in. There was so much happening around me. I saw a variety of spirits or presences preparing for battle. I watched as David took his group of men and prepared as well. I remember being worried about David because I knew he didn't have the gifting in praying through spiritual warfare.

I said to him, "Remember to cover yourself with the Blood of Christ."

He said, "I"m okay. I can fight using my gifting." He had his following of men who all had the same gifting. I understood his gifting - prayer, knowledge in the word - counsel.

I felt uneasy - worried - the intensity of it all was horrendous. I understood in my spirit that the battle was going to be big - enormous - serious. I woke up and have been praying endlessly. A battle is coming.  

Dreams

I have had many dreams this past week. They are too personal to share. I guess I am still trying to figure them out as well. I will continue to seek - listen - watch - and wait. The Lord always reveals in time.

An American Soldier

Sunday Morning - 7:30am - a stirring in my heart. Tears flow. I need to pray. I put my "I'm praying" sign on the door, locked it, and fell to the floor. I prayed swiftly and urgently in my prayer language. I understood that I was asking the Lord to cover me with the blood that Jesus shed for me on the cross. I could feel his presence flowing through me - shivers as if I were cold flew over my whole body - yet there was warmth.

I asked God to clear my mind and heart. I told him that I accept the task. Suddenly the vision began to unfold. I could see a foreign country. People were scattering. It was still dark there. I saw a woman dressed in a veil and head covering running away from the battle and to the south. She was carrying a baby. There was fire and explosions. I saw large trucks. Gin fire in the streets. It appeared to be happening in some kind of town or community on a main street. People scattered. A large hand held missile was shot. I'm not sure what they are called. It barely missed the woman.

My vision then turned to an American soldier in a cave like area. He had somehow gotten separated from his group. I could see that he was scared. I understood that he had called out to God for help. He did not appear to have his weapon. My view went toward another American soldier squatting beside a large army truck. He held his weapon up and began to fire. He was shot and killed. It was as if he were trying to protect the soldier in the area where he was trapped.

At that moment a group of rebels - or soldiers - they did not wear any markings - just black head dresses - began to approach. There was a group of about five or six of them. They were looking for the soldier in the cave area. He stood to the right as you enter the cave and leaned into the rock - almost as if he were to become attached to it.

As the rebel soldiers approached, my prayer language increased and I began to cry even more. Everything intensified. I understood what I was saying. At one point as the soldiers approached the outside of the cave area, I knew I was saying, "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, may the Lord's protection fall upon this man."

At that moment, the group of rebel soldiers came upon the entrance to the cave. They started to walk into the cave to search for the man - but they stopped at the entrance. They all looked into the cave but because the soldier was hiding to the right they could not see him. The soldier heard them approaching and stood very still and silent.

The rebel soldiers stood outside of the cave and wanted to go in but for some reason to them they did not. They spoke in their language a bit and then left. I understood that the Lord's hand was placed in the entrance and no one could enter the cave.

I continued to cry and pray in my prayer language thanking God for his amazing protection. I saw the soldier sneaking through the field and I saw angels walking with him. There was a glow brighter than the sun. He was safe. I knew that he would be safe.

Update: After hearing the news about the deadly attack over the weekend, I have no doubt that the prayer had something to do with that.

"KABUL, Afghanistan — Seven U.S. troops have died in weekend attacks in Afghanistan's embattled southern and eastern regions, while officials found the bodies Sunday of five kidnapped campaign aides working for a female candidate in the western province of Herat.

Two servicemen died in bombings Sunday in southern Afghanistan, while two others were killed in a bomb attack in the south on Saturday, and three in fighting in the east the same day,"

The Gazelles

Yesterday I woke up with a very strong and powerful headache. I have had the headaches before and they have left me paralyzed in the bed. After an hour or so of trying to function my heart started to stir and I began to weep and shiver. I knew and understood that I needed to pray. A part of me wasn't sure that I was up to it because of the intensity of my prayer times. It is not uncommon for me to come away from my prayer time feeling drained. I know that must sound unsettling but when the prayer involves intense grieving, crying, and aching - they can be overwhelming.

On this particular morning my head hurt with a pain that was almost unbearable. I started to weep and quickly ran to my room to fall before the Lord. I cried, groaned, and ached before the Lord. Suddenly the Holy Spirit took over and there I was praying in an unknown language. I understood that I was calling on the Lord to come and help me - help my head. The Holy Spirit was praying for me! For my headache!

Then a picture began to unfold. This is what I saw:

I saw myself kneeling before Jesus. I was on the ground and Jesus sat on a throne. The area was dark except for a fire to the right of us. I cried with great intensity. My head and forehead was bent over toward the Lord's hands. As I cried and prayed I could feel the pain and throbbing of my headache.

I saw Jesus take his hands and place them on my forehead. He took his thumbs and placed them  at the top of my forehead in the center right at the base of my hairline. He then pressed his thumbs firmly into my forehead and rubbed them down toward my nose - as if to massage my head. In an instant he took his right hand and thrust it out to the side toward the darkness and I could see a demon falling back into the darkness.

He again placed his thumbs on my head and began to press firmly into my skin making an outline of a cross on my forehead. Down and to the side he went with his fingers. Again - one more time he took his right hand and thrust it out into the air. I saw another demon fall back into the darkness. That was the last demon -

Jesus kept rubbing my forehead in the shape of a cross. I could feel the intensity of the headache leaving. The pain began to ease until almost nothing. I continued to pray in my prayer language - thanking God for delivering me and rescuing me from such pain. I saw myself still on the ground at his feet, the fire to the side, and then two gazelles began to run and bounce around me. They had long thin horns. They bounced back and forth - like a dance. I didn't understand the meaning of the gazelles. After a while the prayer was finished and my tears stopped. The pain in my head was relieved. I stood up from my prayer time and was able to function the rest of the day. There was great relief. Thank you God!


I shared with my husband about the vision and asked him about the gazelles. He suggested that I look in the Bible to see what it has to say about gazelles. I came across this scripture.

"Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net." Proverbs 6:5

I understood then that that day my head hurt because of an attack from the enemy. The Lord rescued me from the enemy as I began to intercede for myself. Like a gazelle I had escaped the enemy's grasp - thanks to the Lord God Almighty - our Deliverer and Conquering King!

Woman and the Beast

On this day my emotions began to get the better of me and I couldn't understand it until I realized that I needed to pray. There was a stirring in the air- it was thick and upsetting.

This is what I prayed through and saw:

I saw a girl standing right in front of me. She appeared unconcerned - not upset or anything like that. Behind her was a massive beast of some kind. I could not see its head because it was hidden behind hers - but I did see its body. The body was that of some kind of beetle or insect except that it was not smooth on top over its body. Its was enormous in size towering over her entire body. The body was rigid and sharp. Hairs stuck out from the body - short, thick, and firm almost like a piece of wire. They stood straight out - strong - unrelaxed.

The beast had many legs almost like an octopus but not. The legs were thin, long, and wiry. They stretched behind her - up - and around her - never touching just in constant movement. All of the legs looked the same except ONE. One of the legs had a ball of what looked like hair at the end of it - almost like what you would see on the tail of an adult lion. The hair wasn't hair it was thin blades that could cut. It looked like it was made out of the same thing the hair on the body was made out of which explains the stiffness.

While all of the other limbs were moving this limb moved too. None of the other limbs touched this girl except the one with the blades on the end. The limbs would flail around and then this one would come down and strike her lower right leg - cutting it. It kept happening over and over again. The girl did not try to move nor did she try to stop it - she just stood there and allowed the strikes to continue. Allowing the cuts to continue.

I cried more intensely as the scene unfolded and I asked God to send help. Normally God sends help and there is a great battle. But this time the Lord said, "She has to want to get better."

I heard again, "All she has to do is step out." "All she has to do is step out."

Then something happened - the Lord began to show me what would happen if she stepped out. If she stepped away from the beast. She took a step forward and then the hand of the Lord came down and picked the beast up just like you would pick up a lobster and he took it away - it was gone. It seemed so simple yet I understood it to be so difficult.

I then saw the girl with cupped hands step forward a few more steps, raise her cupped hands toward the heaven, and release a beautiful butterfly. The butterfly flew upwards toward the Lord and she smiled with a radiance - God's radiance shining upon her.

I knew after the prayer that the girl needs to step out in order for healing to occur. She would have to want to get better, do the work, work on her stuff - that is stepping out. The Lord will remove the beast lingering over her, around her, and behind her once she steps away from it. She needs to want to step away from it - and then do it.

I will continue to pray as she moves forward in her healing.

Flight to Safety

Sometimes the Lord calls us to pray at strange times. I remember cleaning - being right in the middle of vacuuming. I have learned that it can happen at any moment. As usual, I did not understand the urgency until I cried out and asked God to please reveal it to me.

Weeping and praying in my prayer language a vision began to unfold:

Vision:

I saw a very large plane of some kind. I did not know if it was from a huge airline or not. The tail end of it raised in the very back and along that on either side were two large areas that may have been motors or something. I wish I understood more about planes and how they worked. As the vision continued to unfold, I noticed that smoke started to seep out from one of the motors - only on one side of the plane. I then understood that the plane was in trouble. I prayed asking God to intervene and to please send them help. I understood that people were on the plane but I did not know how many or if it were a commercial airline.

Suddenly everything became more intense as the smoke now turned into fire and flames. A black streak ran behind the plane, fire fuming out from the side. I started to pray with more intensity. "Please help them Lord - send your angels to help them to safety." I cried.

Suddenly two large white clouds formed in the shape of angels. They were both identical - large in stature. With poise and grace they simultaneously swept underneath the wings of the plane and grabbing hold of it. The wings of the plane rested in their arms and the angels seemed to have been the guide. I prayed and prayed as the spirit of the Lord fell upon me - Tears flowed and I became in awe once again at the sight that was unfolding.

"Praise you Lord" I laughed in the spirit. The angels flew with the plane for sometime during the prayer and then at just the right moment very gently lowered it on the runway. Everyone was safe. They were safe.

The tears stopped as quickly as they came and I rested in the beauty of the Lord's goodness and greatness and came to a greater understanding of His love and care for others. Oh how we never see what takes place in the Spirit world and how often the Lord's hand is upon us. Thank you Lord! Thank you Lord!

Someone is Going to Die

A few days after the last dream, I became emotional and felt called into prayer. I went into the laundry room, fell prostrate on the floor, and began to pray. I cried as usual, my stomach and heart hurt, and the prayer language began.

I understood the Lord telling me that one of my husband's parents was going to die. It would not be in a day or week - but soon. As I continued to pray a vision unfolded:

Vision

I saw my in-law lying in the bed in a hospital room. I saw only the feet. The Lord did not reveal the face to me. I don't remember but three or four people came into the room and stood at the foot of the bed. I could only see the back of their heads. A doctor stood off to the side and said, "I'm so sorry." He then left the room. I understood that the person in the bed was dead.

A few moments later my tears turned from tears of intercession to tears of grief. I knew - I knew that one of my in-laws was going to die. I was so grieved by it all. In that moment of my grieving the Lord told me that I needed to go and tell my husband.

I cried even more saying to God, "I can't Lord! I just can't do that - he will not believe me."

"Why?" I cried out. "Why do I need to tell him Lord?"

The Lord answered, "because I want him to be prepared."

I remember lying there in the hands of God grieving over the loss of something that I knew was going to come and then grieving over the fact that I needed to go and tell my husband something so difficult. How would he ever believe me!

The Lord eased my tears as I found my husband and told him the news. I am not sure what he thought about it all. He didn't say much. I wanted him to know that I told him because the Lord wanted him to be prepared. That was one of the hardest things I had to do. So began the waiting of truly what would happen.

For the Love of a Child

June – 2005

I once again became emotional tonight. A vision came to me as I was praying.

Vision:

I first saw a small child. I had no idea if it was a girl or a boy. The baby was between 15 months to 18 months old. I then saw a friend of mine who is a nurse practitioner. The vision continued as another person appeared. I only saw the back of this young lady. She had blond hair that looked as if it came down to her shoulders. The picture then moved to my mother-in-law and father-in-law. My father–in-law was sitting down as my mother-in-law stood beside him. In the vision she looked very upset about something. She was crying. She did not appear to be upset with my father-in-law but with something else. The emotion seemed to affect me as I prayed and cried over this situation. I did not fully understand what was happening, nor did the Lord reveal to me during my prayer what I was praying about. I only understood that it had something to do with that child, the other woman, and my mother-in-law. I also understood that it might be a medical issue because I saw my friend who is in the medical field.

When my prayer time was done my husband asked me if I was all right.

“You might want to give your mom a call,” I said.

He asked why and I stated that she was upset. We both knew that was unusual for his mother. He did not truly believe but called her anyway. He spoke with his dad and as he expected his dad said that everything was fine and that my mother-in-law was doing well. My mother in law was not there at the moment so he hung up the phone feeling as if everything was fine and there wasn’t anything to worry about.

The very next night around 9:00pm the phone rang. I heard my husband trying to console and comfort someone on the other end of the line. After a lengthy conversation he hung up the phone. I asked if everything was all right.

My husband said, “That was my mom and she was upset.” It was just as the Lord revealed.

His great niece was just a baby – around fifteen months old. She had been having seizures. She was the baby I saw. The doctors put her in the hospital and ran some tests. The tests showed that there was a tumor on her spine. That is what his mother was so upset about. The young woman I saw with blond hair was my husband's niece.

It seemed to all fit into place now. We continued to pray for the baby and the family. Soon more tests revealed that the tumor on the back of her spine was nothing – almost like a small air pocket. God is good.


Update:

2007 - One year ago A- (the baby) was diagnosed with leukemia. She has been doing a great job of fighting it. It has been difficult for the family.
2008 – A - is not doing well – we will continue to pray.
2009 – A - is doing fine and in a special school now. She continues to fight the leukemia.

A Moment of Fear and Healing

My fear of sharing this with you is that you will think I have completely lost my mind. If I had had someone who could have helped me understand this while going through it then it would have made all the difference in the world for me. I was not prepared. I didn't feel I could do any praying for God. I even cried out to God more than once with, "I can't do this Lord!" But somehow He helped me through it.

I want to help and I feel the need to share. If you are going through any of this perhaps my experiences will let you know that you are not alone and you are not absolutely out of your mind.

Diary - March 29, 2005

I was awakened at 5:30am. That is very unusual for me to rise so very early. I could not sleep. I got up after my husband got into the shower and poured myself a cup of coffee. I took it back to my bed and pulled out some books to read. I had been having trouble with a growth or swollen lymph node on the right side of my body under my arm. The swelling has increased. Although last week I had an MRI, I did not fear. The swelling caused me pain this morning.

The moment I settled into bed, an emotion came over me as it often does. I am learning that this is God calling me to pray. I recognize that the emotions that I experience during these times are very different from when I am sad or grieving about other things in life. While still in bed, I began to cry. I began to speak in a language that I do not understand. I am still in awe about that. I feel that it may be Latin for I sometimes hear myself saying the words, “Christu” – “Spiritu”

Soon the Holy Spirit took over and I fell to my knees beside my bed. Tears flowed with such agony that I cannot contain myself. I asked God to clear my thoughts and my mind and reveal to me what was going on. I then began to take my own hand and touch the area of my body that is sore and sick. I understand that possibly the Holy Spirit was praying through me over that. I had a strange feeling that the Holy Spirit was interceding for me. Faces began to appear and flash before me. I saw a friend. She is a Nurse Practitioner. I do not understand what I am praying about yet. I just feel the emotion of it all.

When I am submerged in prayer the world disappears and I am some other place. Time passes and what so often seems to be but a minute becomes an hour - An hour becomes two and before I know it - three have passed.

Suddenly, in the deep midst of my prayer, a tormenting sound pierced my right ear. I felt a brush of hot air brush against my face and I am fearfully startled. A terror came over me as I have never known before. I am so taken back by it that I immediately began to scream. I felt a fear that I cannot explain. I will never ever forget the deep rustling voice growling in my ear as if to stop my praying. The crazy thing is – I seemed to understand what it was. I recognized that it was the enemy; a demon that has come forth to torment. I screamed with such force and terror. My whole body began to shake. I know that I should have no fear. I know that I have nothing to fear, but I was so caught off guard.

My husband who was downstairs at the time, came running up to me. He grabbed me to calm me down. “Shhhhhhh - Sarah, it’s okay.” My body shook as I cowered against the wall. I stood up, still sobbing with such depth that my body hurt. I could not speak at first, but found the words to shout, “Get away from me!” I was extremely frightened and shaken.

My pour husband said, “Okay, okay – he then began to step back away. “I grabbed him and said, “NO! There’s a demon in here!” “It screamed in my ear.” “I felt it’s breath upon my face.”

He tried hard to calm me. I stood against the wall holding on to him as hard as I could and said, “Get me out of here!” My body shook and tears streamed down my face as he escorted me out into the hallway.

He escorted me down stairs and I knew that he thought I was losing my mind. I felt it too. “What just happened to me?” I thought trying to regain some kind of control. But I knew. I really knew what it was.

We spoke about what had happened and he comforted me the best way he knew how. At some point I settled and the tears slowed to where I could actually speak with normalcy. He needed to get to work.

“You know when you leave, I have to finish praying.” I said to him. He tried to encourage me and remind me that the enemy has no control over our lives and that somehow I needed to get control over this. It is a difficult thing to explain. I was new with this and still trying to understand everything that has been happening to me. Sometimes it feels as if the Holy Spirit takes control and I have none. I am learning to yield to the Holy Spirit and allow God to use me as a vessel. I am only the vessel.

After I calmed down and my husband left for work. I again, felt the calling so strong to fall upon my face. I went into my office and fell upon my face, tears streamed before I could reach the floor. I began to pray in my language again. Still not understanding what I am saying.

Suddenly - a vision:

I saw before my eyes a flock of demons flying in the sky. They were circling like a flock of buzzards over my head. I prayed and spoke out loud, asking God to send his mightiest warriors to come and help me. At that moment, a light from the sky fell full force into the midst of the flock and then another and another. The lights turned into white clouds as the buzzard like flock turned into black clouds. The white clouds moved swiftly like lightning. The dark clouds immediately broke away, shooting out into the sky in different directions. The white clouds followed after. It was over, the sky was clear.

I continued to pray as my vision began to become clearer. I saw my friend once again. She was holding her right arm out and coming towards me, as if to lay her hands upon me and heal me. I remember saying in my thoughts, “But God, Lindsey cannot heal me, you can.” I just felt that she was praying for me.

I stood in a dim place as if I were in space. There were no other markings around me. Lindsey continued to come towards me with her hand stretched out towards me. When she finally reached me, she took my right arm, the one that is ill, and raised it up above my head. With her other arm she took her hand and opened up the area of the swollen lymph node. There was no bleeding or pain. I continued to pray and at that moment my heart hurt deeply and my tears intensified.

All of the sudden as if a vacuum were held in the skies above, I felt a strong pull from my arm. I saw a string of black, almost like a cloud, being pulled from my arm as Lindsey continued to hold it up. I felt as if God were sucking all the sickness out of me. The Holy Spirit continued to pray through me – I actually felt as if God Himself were praying over me. The black looking soot continued to be pulled from my body up towards the heavens like a vacuum. It seemed to go on forever as I prayed, but soon it came to a stop. When it was all over, I saw Lindsey take her hand and stitch the open area up. I began to cry tears of joy and happiness and praise God for what He was revealing to me. I thanked Him with all of my heart. I wept tears of thanksgiving and joy for His glorious work and love.

I can remember being so scared afterwards. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before that moment. I remember calling the only person I knew who had personal knowledge of these kinds of things happening as well as being a pastor who counseled people with this gift. He was well known, well traveled, and has many books out about this thing.

I needed to speak with him on the phone about it. I desperately needed a mentor. I needed someone who could teach me and share with me their experiences. I needed someone who could help me understand and who knew first hand about how I should respond and what I should do.

I felt reassured when I heard the man tell me on the phone that I was not losing my mind. He told me to consider myself lucky because not many people get a visit from a demon like that but it does happen and he has known it to happen. He also said that the next it happens I’ll be ready and say, “Give it your best shot!”

After that vision, I never had another problem with any swollen lymph nodes or any other sickness related to that area. Praise God!

October 2004

This would be the first time the Lord called upon me to intercede in prayer involving a stranger. I have dreamed dreams and burdened for friends, family, and church members but never have I had an experience as this one.
My husband was away for military training for two months. This October, in the middle of the night, I felt something brush against me as if the wind had swept over me. It caused me to wake up. I opened my eyes and then fell back asleep. It brushed again. I sat straight up in my bed and paused quietly. Amidst the silence, the beat of my heart filled the air and fear surrounded me. I pressed my ears against the night trying to hear any sound at all. I began to pray for my children. I prayed that God would keep them safe.

“What is it?” I asked the Lord. Something was happening. I knew something was stirring. I could feel it in my heart as well as in the air. Suddenly as if someone had turned on the television a man’s face appeared before my eyes. The stranger looked as if he were in his late fifties. His hair was of a salt and pepper color and cut into a long shag. I could see that he was sitting in either a bus station, train station, or an airport. He sat in one of the rows of chairs.

I watched as if I were taking in a movie. At first his back was towards me and then slowly he turned and looked at me. His eyes were glazed over and evil shot out. I knew this man - whoever he was - was evil. I immediately felt danger from him. I started to weep and fall to my face. I became so frightened at this point because I truly did not understand what was happening to me. I prayed against whatever I was seeing or was happening. After praying for a while, the Lord allowed me to rest and so I fell back asleep.

The next day, I had a meeting at the church until noon. When I arrived back home at noon, I told my son that I was going to lie down a bit and get some rest.

The minute I closed my eyes, the man’s face appeared again. I rose up, jumped out of bed, and fell to the floor on my knees. "I accept this assignment Lord - though I do not understand it." I had been reading Beyond the Veil by Alice Smith. She shares that when God calls upon us to intercede for another He gives us a choice to accept the assignment or not. We can choose to turn away from those promptings from the Lord, those calls for intercession, and those whispers. We can choose to disregard those moments or we can say, "Here I am Lord." Though I was truly afraid because of my lack of understanding, I chose to say - "I accept the assignment Lord." As soon as I said that, the vision became clearer.

Vision

I began to pray in my prayer language. The Holy Spirit took over and like a movie I watched the vision unfold before my eyes.

The man was in an airport. He began walking with a briefcase in hand towards one of the gates to board. Others were boarding as well. I could see two flight attendants taking the tickets. As the man approached the gate, I cried out in my own voice, “Don’t let him get on!” I seem to understand in my spirit that this man was dangerous and that he did not need to get on that plane.

I saw the man approach the attendants. My heart hurt, my stomach heaved, and tears fell to the floor. The two attendants stopped the man and took his ticket. I saw them speaking with him. I saw the attendants telling him that he could not board. I prayed hard. My body shook and hurt deeply as the scene unfolded.

The man stepped out as if to go around them and try to board anyway. “No!,” I shouted in my spirit. The male flight attendant held his arm out to stop the stranger while the other female attendant closed the boarding gate.

The man was not allowed to board the plane. Disgusted and angry, he picked up his briefcase walked away - looking back once at the attendants that stopped him.

Suddenly it was done and like a water faucet being turned off my tears stopped that abruptly, I took in a deep deep breath, and then sat up from the prayer. I had heard intercessors say that an intercessor must learn to leave the task at the alter. It was all so new to me that I had no idea how to do that. I became so upset about what had just happened that I started crying all over again. I could not stop crying. I cried the rest of the afternoon. I needed help. I needed someone to talk to. I needed to understand if this was normal. I felt as if I were losing my mind.

I have no idea if all of that was going on somewhere at that very moment, or if it was something that was going to happen in the future. Either way, God did not want that man to get on that plane. I will never ever forget his face or those dark piercing eyes.

I am amazed that God can take and use simple people to intercede on His behalf and that we can see through the eyes of the Lord and become a vessel for His ministry and work. I will continue to learn and grow in this area. Use me Lord.

My First Vision

The sky looked clear as crystal and the ocean blue seemed to have no end. I could hardly keep my eyes upon the road while driving. The splendor of it swept me upward as if I too were a cloud and suddenly it was as if I were swimming in the heavens. I have no idea how I stayed on the road for at that moment I was truly in some other place. I wanted to stay and bask in the heavens with the Lord. I wanted to dance and fly before His loveliness.

The radio played my favorite Christian songs and I found my resting place. I began to sing aloud with the music and declare God’s beauty. I raised my hand in agreement with the song that said, "How beautiful - how beautiful."

"You are beautiful Lord,” I said out loud. “Look at this day!” “Thank you Father!” I boasted. “You are so beautiful God!” I said again as the song continued. Suddenly something strange began to happen to me. It was an odd feeling. With eyes were still fixed upon the road yet I was seeing something else at the very same time. I had heard of people having visions but I had not experienced that before this instant. I saw myself standing in a dark room. I was wearing a white dress that resembled a wedding dress. The sleeves were long and the trail of it flowed out ever so gently. My face turned upward looking towards the heavens as a strong white light shown down upon me. It looked as if I were standing in a spot light. Everything else around me was black.

Suddenly a large hand came down from heaven. It was masculine with creases and lines - aged like. It was weathered and worn from the tip to the end, yet appeared soft and gentle at the same time. The realness of it scared me. I truly felt as if I were in the hands of the Lord. I could not only see it, but feel it. The hand came down and tenderly scooped me up, lifting me towards the heavens. My long white dress flowed down below the over sized hand. It seemed as if I were but a tiny jewel as it continued to lift me higher up towards the light.

At that moment, I felt the Lord’s presence fall upon me. The presence was stronger than I had ever felt before. I gazed out at the vast sky and the endless land and wondered how I could continue to drive. His presence stretched as high as the blue sky and as wide as the land where the sun rises and sets. In my flesh, I wanted to hide my face because of my sinful nature. I wanted to pull the car over at that very moment and fall upon my knees before the Lord, for His presence was too great for me. Tears streamed down my cheeks and puddled in my lap.

I tried to concentrate on the road and make sense of what was happening. Then the vision stopped. I cried even more wondering what had just happened to me. I thought mebay God was trying to tell me that I was going to die - that He was going to take me home.

It wouldn't be until years later when I came to understand that God was trying to tell me that I was a bride of Christ and that He loved me as much and more than I could ever love Him. It was a moment I will never forget, for it was the moment of the beginning of my journey of intercessory with the Lord.