I have frequently fallen asleep while praying (I used to feel guilty about that, but have since decided it’s not always a bad thing because it is often to me like a child falling asleep in a loving parent’s arms). I have also occasionally awakened praying. But not long ago, I had a new experience: I prayed in my dreams.
I very seldom even remember my dreams, but on this night I dreamt of someone asking me to pray for her (through an open car window). The request was different; she asked me to pray that tests would reveal her to be left-handed.
So I said I would pray, and soon thereafter prayed for her as I picked up around the house where I was staying (which was not my home).
And that was it.
I don’t know what the dream means. I’m not concerned about it (it can’t be a sign I’m going crazy, because that ship sailed long ago). And I don’t remember much else about the dream. But I vividly recall praying. And I am blessed by it.
I want to live in such a way that prayer infiltrates not only my waking moments, but my sleeping ones as well. It seems a little strange that I prayed for such an odd request, from a person I don’t know (at least not yet).
But I am encouraged, as sleep overtakes more of my waking hours, that it will increasingly pervade my sleep. I want to pray more as I day dream and as I “dream dream.” I pray for the lines between dreaming (whether sleeping or waking) and praying to become less marked for me.
What about you? Do you pray in your dreams? Perhaps more importantly, do you dream in your prayers?
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