Skip to main content

A Wake-Up Call from God

January 23, 2015
Richard deLange at the 2012 Prayer Summit

Richard deLange at the 2012 Prayer Summit

Written by Richard deLange, this is the second in a series of stories about ways in which prayer has touched people’s lives. The stories will run between now and the CRC Prayer Summit 2015 set for April 13-15 at All Nations CRC in Los Angeles, Calif.

If you have a story about prayer that you would like to share, please send it to Chris Meehan at [email protected]. Any questions, call 1-616-224-0849.

I’ve always believed that the Lord builds his church. We must pray.

Since coming to Trinity Christian Reformed Church in Edmonton, Alberta, I have been stretched in my prayer life. As much as I was happy in the prayer life I had, I felt God was calling me to something more.

When the CRC’s denominational prayer summit came up in 2012, I jumped in. First, because it was being hosted by the Korean CRC, and I’ve always admired them. Secondly, it was in California!

At the California summit, one pastor from Korea struck a chord with me. He talked about how he prayed several hours each day and how God gave him that time back in other ways.

Years ago, a pastor I love said, “I don’t want to guilt people into praying more. If God wants you to wake up at four or five in the morning to pray, he’ll wake you up.”

That quote came back to mind at the summit where we woke up at 5 a.m. to get to the summit by 5:30 a.m. for morning prayer.

At that summit, I said, "Lord, if you want me to pray at five every morning, then you have to wake me up!"

Be careful what you ask for from God. I’ve been awake almost every morning at that time ever since. But it’s been a sweet hour of prayer. I don’t feel I lose time or sleep.

From April 2012 to April 2013, I enjoyed my early prayer time with the father. I've felt the Lord answering many prayers for people and situations in our congregation.  

I was excited to return to the second prayer summit in 2013.

While there, we had three busy days. Leaving Edmonton on Monday morning, arriving in Los Angeles around noon, getting to our hotel, and to the summit by 4 p.m. and then worshipping and praying along with eating until 9 p.m. Then back to the hotel, to bed and back up again at five to start the second prayer summit day from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

On that second night we got to the hotel just after 10, talked a little and then crashed. But I woke up at 4 a.m.

I said to the Lord, "No… let me sleep. I'll be praying all day." But I felt God saying, “We have to talk…”

So I prayed and listened and heard the Lord saying "You need to do this in Edmonton for your classis on January 5, 2014."

I don't recall ever getting such a clear direction from the Lord. So at lunch that day, I was talking with another pastor from Edmonton, Walt Brouwer, our classis prayer coordinator. He said, “Rich, do you think we should do this in Edmonton?”

And I said, “Wow! Let me tell you what happened this morning.”

Our classis group at the summit affirmed the idea at a meeting later that afternoon. I took it back home and our council supported it. I saw that God was giving the green light.

Lots of prayer and planning later, and the summit for Classis Alberta North came into being on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014.

It was a great blessing. The day was patterned after the California summits, with worship, testimonies, sermons and prayer. Approximately 400 people attended either all or part of the day and all the feedback was positive.

We're planning our next summit here for Sunday, March 15, 2015. Classis has backed it up with money as well. We are thankful and excited to see where God leads us.

Richard deLange is the pastor of Trinity Christian Reformed Church in Edmonton, Alberta.