(Photo by Selma Komisky)

Praying Through Your Dreams

By Michelle Ochen

What are dreams? Those things we hold so dear and desire deeply; those things that unfulfilled leave a void we cannot explain. Dreams are the hopes of the heart that keep us beating with passion. Dreams are precious, and become of even more valuable when they are used to bring glory to the Lord. God’s word says that we are His workmanship; He formed us and placed unique desires, dreams, and passions within us (Eph. 2:10, Psalm 139:13). The greatest way to approach your dreams is to approach them with the Dream Giver and Dream Fulfiller Himself. His timing and His ways are best.

How do I include Him on my dreams, you may ask? Prayer is fundamental. When a desire comes upon your heart and you begin to wonder if it is something you should pursue or if it is just a lustful pursuit, you take it to the Lord in prayer. Ask Him to continue laying it on your heart if it be of Him, or to remove it if it is not of Him.

Okay, what if the desire does not go away but seems to grow and I begin to have more and more ideas of how to approach the desire? Next, there is wisdom in seeking the counsel of others with the desires of our hearts. Find three people you respect and who have a Godly perspective on life. Share your desires and seek their advice in them.

The desire has grown, counsel has been sought, now what? This is the point of knocking on the doors of your desires. Begin to ask the Lord to open doors for the fulfillment of the desires He has placed in your heart. Perhaps you want to go back to school? Apply! Perhaps you want a change of career? Apply! Perhaps you want to move to a new town? Go for a visit! Begin knocking on doors, praying with each knock, and see what the Lord speaks and opens for you.

Lastly, the beauty in praying through your desires is the peace that follows. It does not mean that you won’t face some fears or difficulties in the changes it may require. But when something is pleasing to the Lord and committed unto Him, there is a peace that follows. On the same hand, if the desire is committed unto the Lord, prayed through, and still unfulfilled, it is harder to recognize, but there is still a peace in the assurance that He is holding the desire in the palm of His hand and able to bring it to pass in His time (Psalm 37:5). Many desires are responded to with a call to wait, a hard answer to follow, but one that reaps beautiful fruit when sat upon in prayer and committed into the hands of the Keeper of Desires and the Giver of Good Things.