While in the midst of a prayer meeting for revival one night, the Lord showed me something so disturbing that I hesitated to share it with the others there. We had gathered together in a home with a sincere desire to pray for revival in our area, but I noticed that the prayers only seemed to be directed to each other, their pastors, their churches, and Christianity in general.  No one had even mentioned the lost and unsaved - they were only praying for themselves.

While I sat there, the Lord showed me this vision.  While I am sure that everyone would have said that they agreed with the vision, I fear that few would have been cut deeply enough in their hearts to make a real difference... 

I saw a large wharf set out over the ocean.  It was long and wide and stretched out a good distance over the ocean.  It filled with a crowd of people up and down its length.  It was a bright and sunny day, and I remember feeling how pleasant the weather was.  What a wonderful day for a stroll along the pier in your Sunday's finest, meeting and greeting all your friends!

As I looked closer, I realized that these were all Christians. You could see in their bright and smiling faces the joy of salvation and how much they enjoyed being there on that wharf with everyone else.  They would gather in little clumps and pray with each other, raising hands and proclaiming blessings upon everyone.  Several would drift from group to group edifying others and speaking a word of faith into each other's lives.  Often I would hear groups lift up praises to God, glorifying His name.  Others would be praying for a greater passion to serve Him and a deeper sense of holiness. Still others would be praying for their pastors, their churches and anyone else they could think of that needed prayer. 

In all cases, I noticed that everyone was happy, good-looking and well dressed.  What a wonderful time everyone was having in the Lord!  It seemed to be part of their Christian persona, almost as if it identified them as Christians.  That made sense to me because of the transforming difference that salvation has upon those who get saved.  I've seen hardened faces melt at the altar during Sinner's Prayers every night for years, and I can tell you that the difference that a born again experience makes on someone affects more than their soul - you can see it all over them.  These people on the wharf had that same appearance of joy and peace that only Salvation brings.

As I looked around at the ocean, however, I could see that the sea had a very different look to it than the wharf.  The sea was the color of a gun-metal grey and looked very cold and dismal.  The waves were choppy and tumultuous, almost tempestuous in nature.  What a different picture this was from what I had seen on the wharf!  One was bathed in a warm glow of brightness while the other was overcast in a chilly shadow.  The contrast was so stark that it seemed as if it had been determined that way, as if this sharp difference was portrayed to be that way on purpose. 

As I looked out into the sea, I could see masses of people drowning, crying out for help.  Their cries would often be choked as another wave splashed over them, and then they would pop up again, waving their hands and crying to the people on the wharf to help them.  It was a desperate scene.  Masses of people were in the sea scrambling over each other in a desperate attempt to escape drowning.  I could hear the voices of the screaming and hollering as they mingled together into a chorus of misery and desperation.

But no one on the wharf paid any attention.

I was shocked.  These were real Christians -- I could tell they were.  They not only looked like Christians, I could hear them praying over each other, praising God, and admonishing one another to a walk of godliness.  But why didn't they help these drowning people?  Why didn't they stop praying and throw out some life lines or dive into the water and pull them to safety?  Why didn't they do something?  Why were they just completely ignoring these desperate cries for help?

And then I realized why.  It wasn't because they didn't want to. 

It was because they couldn't even hear them.

Brother Dale