Dreams

By Ellen Prohaska
Guest Columnist

CBN.com – Recently I had the opportunity to hear an out of town speaker. This gifted anointed teacher/speaker talked about dreams. God places dreams within us. Our dreams or deep desires are part of His plan for our lives. He gives us dreams and no one can take them away. However, we have a vital part if they are to be fulfilled. Using the life of Joseph (Gen. 27) she took us through four steps that are essential to our dreams becoming a reality.

I was concerned that I didn't have a pen or pencil to take notes. I saw a friend across the room was taking notes and decided to ask her if I could get a copy. Now I realize that not having a pen was a great thing because I really got the information into my spirit. I needed to hear this word for my own life and, as I listened I thought of others that I wanted to hear this.

It was the beginning of some very unusual happenings for me. That night I was talking on the telephone to a friend who had recently been laid-off from work. I found myself giving her a complete run through of this short teaching on your dreams. She listened attentively and then said, "you really did a good job of repeating this for me." I knew I had been excited when hearing it; now I realized how excited I was about wanting to share it with others.

A few days later I had the opportunity to again repeat this teaching to one of the teens at church. He stood there ignoring all the distractions and listened intently. Then he said, "Thank you, I needed to hear that."

On Sunday I visited a friend's church. I had never been there before and knew only the couple who had invited me. During the service a couple was asked to come forward for prayer. It seemed that some work they had undertaken wasn't coming together successfully. Once again I was seeing those who were struggling with the death of their dreams. I visited with several people after the service, but didn't see this couple. As I was walking to my car I was thinking about the four points. I started to pull out of my parking space when they walked up to the car beside me. So I stopped and got out and asked if I could share something with them. Once again I found this teaching bubbling out of me and meeting a very current need. What a blessing!

I realized that my wish for others to hear this message was being fulfilled -- just not in the way I thought. By now I suppose you are wondering what those four steps are. In summary they are:

1. Hold unto your dream
2. Practice your dream
3. Sow into other people's dreams
4. Forgive

To find our own dreams fulfilled we must become the kind of person who can encourage others in their dreams. When someone shares a hope or dream with us, we need to understand that it is a fragile thing we have been entrusted with. We can help give life or death by the words we speak. Be an encourager! Live out your dreams and remind others that God is faithful to perform what he has promised.