The Lord recently gave me a powerful prophetic dream. In the dream, I was walking into a church with a group of my friends. Some of the men with me were friends from past seasons, some of them were men I am still connected with today. As we were walking down the hallway to reach the sanctuary of the church, we were all excited to get into service and go after the presence of God.
However, as we kept walking. We all started running into cobwebs. You couldn’t see the cobwebs until you walked right into one. I could see as my friends would walk into a cobweb that the cobweb wouldn’t just brush their shoulder or arm. It would cover their entire face where they couldn’t see. In the dream, one of my friends looked out of the foyer windows and said, “Look, there is a river outside!” When I looked, I could see a rushing river right outside. As we walked outside to look at the river, one of my friends jumped straight into the river. The river in my dream was teaming with life. The water was flowing with a strong current, and the water was clear and bright. The river was absolutely beautiful. So, we all jumped into the river and every cobweb we had walked into was immediately washed away.
Then, the dream shifted and we all remembered we needed to get out of the river and go to church. In the dream, I could feel a strong sense of religious duty to leave the river and get to the church service. As we walked inside, the sanctuary doors were now open and I could see the ministers standing on the stage. I could tell these ministers were performing. It was almost as if they were all puppets being controlled by someone else. As I got closer to the sanctuary, my friends started to walk into cobwebs again. They were still getting caught in them and getting them stuck to their faces where they couldn’t see. The closer we got to the sanctuary the bigger and stickier the cobwebs became. The ministers on the stage were urging everyone to come into the sanctuary for church. But, one of my friends covered in cobwebs, turned back and said, “Let’s go get back in the river and wash the cobwebs off.” So, we all went back outside and into the river. We were splashing and having a great time in the river’s rushing water. Then I woke up from the dream.
I immediately knew exactly what the Lord was showing me through this dream. There are two types of churches in America today, there are cobweb churches and there are churches that are flowing in the river of God. These “cobweb” churches have become nothing but dead, dry religious activity. “Cobweb” churches have ministers on their platforms that are controlled by manipulation. In my dream, everyone on the platform looked like a puppet. I believe the Lord was showing me that when His presence is not the focus in a ministry or body of believers, manipulation and performance are common. These “cobweb” churches keep people in their congregation through religious duty. However, because the presence and power of God are absent in these churches, those that are going there are being trapped by old traditions and obligations. Just like my friends were trapped by the cobwebs in the dream. When the cobwebs would stick to my friends in the dream, it would cover their faces. I believe this was the Lord showing me how dead religious activity can blind or even paralyze people from seeing what God has for them.
I also believe that the Lord was showing the sharp contrast between the entrapments of dead religious activity and the life and joy that is available in the river of God. The river in my dream represented the river of God and the churches that have welcomed it to flow freely in their midst. There is still a remnant of true seekers who desire to flow in the river of God with the Holy Spirit more than anything else.
If you are reading this and you are currently leading or attending a church that is not flowing in the river of God, I urge you to get in the river. Allow the Lord to wash away the cobwebs of religious duty and obligation. There are those who have grown tired of dead, dry religious activities. They are looking for the river of God to refresh them. If you are a leader of a ministry where you have welcomed the river of God, I believe this dream was a prophetic promise to you that people are coming! You may not be mighty in numbers or programs but you are mighty in the presence and power of God. God values your obedience and willingness to let His Spirit move freely through your ministry. Get ready to dive straight into the river of God and watch people be set free!
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Joe Joe Dawson
Featured Image by Jon Flobrant on Unsplash
