The Big Wave is Coming
Over the last three months, my friend, Clay Nash, has had two dreams about Father Nash, the great intercessor who worked with Charles Finney. Finney and Nash played two of the most prominent roles in the 2nd Great Awakening, a revival in the 1800s that preserved America. (By the way, Clay is not related to Father Nash.)
“At age 48, [Nash] decided to give himself totally to prayer for Finney's meetings. He would come quietly into towns three or four weeks in advance of a meeting, gather three or four other like-minded Christians with him, and in a rented room start praying and bringing heaven near. It is reported that in one town all he could find was a dank, dark cellar, but that place was soon illumined with holy light as he made it the place of intercession.” 1
“Finney operated on the basis of prayer being essential for the preparation of an area for evangelism. When God would direct where a meeting was to be held, Father Nash would slip quietly into town and seek to get two or three people to enter into a covenant of prayer with him. Sometimes he had with him a man of similar prayer ministry, Abel Clary. Together they would begin to pray fervently for God to move in the community. One record of such is told by Leonard Ravenhill:
I met an old lady who told me a story about Charles Finney that has challenged me over the years. Finney went to Bolton to minister, but before he began, two men knocked on the door of her humble cottage, wanting lodging. The poor woman looked amazed, for she had no extra accommodations. Finally, for about twenty-five cents a week, the two men, none other than Fathers Nash and Clary, rented a dark and damp cellar for the period of the Finney meetings (at least two weeks), and there in that self-chosen cell, those prayer partners battled the forces of darkness.” 2
In Clay’s first dream, I was on a surfboard focused and waiting on the right wave. Finney approached me and said, “Stay focused, the big wave is coming soon.” He pointed to a figure on the beach praying, telling me it was Father Nash. “He has been here praying for weeks,” he continued.
Finney then told me to keep watching Father Nash, he would alert me when “the big wave” was coming. “Don’t look back to the wave that’s coming; look forward to where the wave will take you,” he continued.
This dream is obviously telling us that the big wave of revival we have been crying out for and expecting is coming soon. It also informed us that intercession will be the key to this, just as it was in Finney’s success. And finally, there is the strong admonition to stay focused.
Clay’s second dream occurred just a few days ago. Here is the entire dream:
“I dreamed the morning of August 3, 2021, that Father Nash, Finney’s intercessor, asked me to travel with him to see something. As we were caught away to the location all I could see were people praying and interceding. There must have been at least two hundred thousand people. Their intercession sounded like the water at Niagara Falls. It was penetrating, to say the least.
“All through this mass of people, there were people waving Appeal to Heaven flags. There were also American flags, beginning with the earliest one up to today’s. I asked Father Nash who these people were and his answer astounded me: ‘These are those who came through Ellis Island to establish their newfound liberty in Christ. They came for the freedom that established America and is Father God’s original intent. Their intercession is for God’s will to not be aborted and for the ekklesia, His war brigade, to battle as they never have before.’
“As he finished speaking, an American flag, large enough to cover all the mass of people, settled down upon them. The flag was soaked and dripping with fresh blood. I asked, ‘Is this blood that will be shed again upon our soil?’
“Nash answered and said, ‘No, my faithful friend, this is the blood sprinkled on the Mercy Seat. It never grows old.’ He then signaled and they all stopped praying. He instructed them to pray for Dutch, and for the war brigade to continue to be transformed into His special force needed in America.”
End of Dream.
I must admit that I, too, was astounded at the revelation of who these people were. Holy Spirit is obviously saying several things to us through this dream. Once again, He points out that intercession will be the key to what is coming.
He then reminds us of God‘s original intent for America. It was to be a stronghold of freedom and liberty in Christ. One cannot help but recall the verse on the Liberty Bell, “Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all the inhabitants thereof” (Leviticus 25:10). America was raised up to be an evangelist to the world.
Holy Spirit then tells us that these immigrants were praying intensely for the ekklesia, God’s “war brigade,” that we would “battle as we never have before.”
We were also reminded of the blood of Jesus, the blood sprinkled on the Mercy Seat, which was soaking the American flag. Surely this is telling us there is cleansing and mercy for America, and that God is not finished with her. Again, intercessors - represented by the immigrants and Father Nash - are the key to seeing this occur.
Finally, prayer is offered for the ekklesia’s continuing growth and transformation.
We must persevere, church. We must continue to offer up our petitions and decrees. We must mature in our understanding of what it means to be the Ekklesia, and function accordingly. And we must “stay focused, the big wave is coming soon.” I’ll leave you with one final quote regarding Father Nash:
“Though he prayed in private, yet he often prayed with such fervency that others became aware of his praying. This was not intended, but simply was the release of a deeply burdened soul. The lady at the boarding house became aware of his groans as he prayed. His enemies claimed, ‘that it was impossible for him to pray in secret since, whether he went into his closet or the woods, he prayed with such vehemence that he could be heard half a mile away.’ While this was likely an exaggeration of his normal practice, there is a record of a single occurrence of note:
In the revival at Gouverneur (in which the great majority of the inhabitants, Finney believed, were converted), Nash rose very early and went into a forest to pray. ‘It was one of those clear mornings,' said Finney, 'on which it is possible to hear sounds at a great distance.’ Nearly a mile away lived an unsaved man who suddenly heard Nash’s voice raised in prayer, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake the reality of his urgent need for a Savior. In fact, he experienced no relief until he found it in Christ." 3
Church, let’s birth this great awakening!!
Pray with me:
Father, as You move us on a path toward the coming worldwide great awakening, America’s Third Great Awakening, You reminded us of Finney and Nash, two of the key players in the last great revival. One of them preached, the other provided the power behind the scenes. Thank You for this wonderful reminder of what You are about to do and the incredible encouragement it brings.
Obviously, it is no coincidence that two key players from the previous great awakening were sent in a dream to remind us of what is next. They await with batons, ready to hand off to us the assignment of the next great revival. We pledge to run our leg of the race well. As we wait for this coming wave of revival, help us to stay very focused. Help us to keep our eyes on the goal, on where You are taking us, on the great harvest of souls and nations.
We pray for the intercessors, that they will remain strong and focused. We pray for the ekklesia, that she will continue to mature and become all You need her to be on the earth. May we be wise, bold, led by Your Spirit, and filled with faith. I ask You to increase the intensity of prayer around the world for this great revival. Keep us from being distracted and enable us to continue pressing toward the mark. We ask for this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Our decree:
We decree that we will stay focused and will catch the big wave that is coming
soon!
Click on the link below to watch the full prayer.