A Prophetic Dream Helped Me to Fight for My Mother's Miracle

In 2009, my wife and I took a position at a church as student pastors. It was the first time I entered the ministry as full-time staff at a church. I left my job in the textile industry behind, and with a huge leap of faith we left our families nine hours away as well. It was a very difficult move leaving our parents and siblings behind. Very few understood why we were doing what we were doing. I was questioned multiple times about how I could remove our children from their grandparents and aunts and uncles. It seemed like no one understood the importance of being obedient to the call of the Lord. It was easy for others to play the devil’s advocate and declare we were wrong while never considering the fact that God had called us to say yes. That yes involved out lives being uprooted from the place I had always known to be home.

We returned back home in 2013 for a brief period of time only to relocate to another town in the state and eventually another state seven hours away. Our lives became the existence of saying yes to the Lord no matter the trials that we had to endure. There were times that I missed it, and more times that those around us missed it. Those hardships taught us to withstand the storms of life. Those difficulties taught us to learn to put more and more faith in the Lord rather than trust in man. It’s not that we can never trust man; it’s more that our trust in God can never be compromised.

It was the first Sunday of the year in the very back my dad’s church. The Lord whispered to me, “You don’t understand faith the way that I need you to know it.”

Honestly, that statement from the Lord did not please me. It actually frustrated me. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Faith was one of those areas that I took a lot of pride in. Over the years of my walk with Christ, I strove to have a strong walk of faith. It was this mindset that drove me to take those huge steps in obedience. You might even say that my faith had become something that I was a bit arrogant about. I took pride in my faith, and now God was telling me that I understood nothing about faith. That’s a difficult pill to swallow.

In over twenty-one years of being a follower of Christ and in ministry, I never once connected faith and the prophetic. Every example I had of faith was in the realm of saying yes to what God was saying to do or where to go. Although I had been involved with prophetic ministry for a number of years, it never once registered with me that prophetic dreams, visions, and words had to have faith applied to them. I know that sounds crazy. Many of you will read this and say, “How could you not connect the dots of faith and the prophetic?” There is a difference between believing in God and applying faith to fight for the fulfillment of our prophetic promises. Most people will have faith in what is given to us (whether through a dream, vision, and/or word), but we fail to apply faith to see it through.

That same year, three months later, my mother called me in tears to report that the doctors had told her she had cancer. What I am about to say may sound a little crazy to some, but the very moment that my mother told me that she had cancer I immediately had a rush of faith come all over me. I instantly remembered a time many years prior. I remembered my mother calling me when I was about 25 years old and our oldest daughter was 4 years old and our youngest daughter was a baby. My mother had the same dream for many nights in a row. Although I was young in the Lord, I had already been a senior pastor and was then serving as an associate pastor. My mother called me seeking advice to why she might be having the same dream every night. The dreams keep occurring for about two weeks. In my mother’s dream, she was playing outside with her grandkids. She was a lot older than she was in real life at the time, and there were over a dozen grandchildren with her, but they weren’t little kids. The grandkids were grown in the dream.

The very moment I heard my mother crying, I remembered her dream. I remembered that she was older and the grandkids were grown. What my mother didn’t know was that the Lord had been preparing me for this call. When He spoke to me on that first Sunday in January, he had taken me on a very specific journey. For those three months, the Lord was teaching me about the prophetic and how to fight for the promises in dreams, visions, and/or prophetic words. The Lord had prepared me for this, and I realized that the cancer was an attempt from the enemy to prematurely take my mother from this world. The enemy had a plan, but the Lord gave me a strategy.

I had learned that many times in our lives the Lord will give us a dream, a vision, or a word in which we are a lot older than we may be when we receive that word. The Lord gives us those words as encouragement to get us to live our lives in hope and expectation. This happened in the life of Abraham when the Lord gave him a vision of Jesus on Moriah. Had Abraham not been given that vision, he may have never gone through with the sacrifice of Isaac. The Lord provided a ram, but not without the price of a test. You are going to be tested. Many times, those tests will be from the enemy, and other times they may be from the Lord. Yes, contrary to what we want to believe, the Lord will test you.

Because of the research that I had done concerning faith, trust, hope, Abraham, and the others mentioned in Hebrews 11, I was prepared for the phone call. When my mother told me she had cancer, I instantly knew that the cancer would not be her death certificate. It wasn’t me trying to be strong for my mother. It was faith connecting to the prophetic promise of her life. I knew that the enemy was trying to prematurely take my mother from her destiny through cancer. But the enemy failed to realize that the Lord had prepared me.

I remember telling my mother on the phone, “Mom, it’s okay to cry. You have been given news that has shaken you and God isn’t mad because you’re crying. Go ahead and cry, but know this—you will live and not die. Mom, listen to me, the Lord has already given me a word and it’s because of that word that I know that you are going to get through this. Mom, you are going to live.”

When the ministry trip was over, we came back home to be with my mother and dad as she was facing a double mastectomy. All of the family were there that day. The doctor came in to explain everything to my dad, me, and my siblings. While my mother was in surgery, I sat my dad and siblings down. I remember saying to them, “If you want to cry you can, but I want you all to know that I am not going to cry. I’m not going to let Mom see me cry. I have a word from the Lord and I need to be the demonstration of that word; therefore, it’s important that I keep a picture of strength before her at all times.” It was never my goal to be cocky or arrogant with my confidence; rather, it was my goal to remain strong. I knew that there would be days when the faith of my mother, dad, and siblings would be tested. I had to be strong for my family and myself.

The doctor came out and told the family that the surgery went well and they had removed all of the cancer. Yep, they removed the cancer. I heard it with my own ears and it would be something that I would remember. My mother had a decision to make concerning chemo and radiation. For the type of cancer that she was diagnosed with, her medical team strongly recommend that she receive chemo and radiation treatments.

At this point, some may second-guess me and the faith that I had concerning the life of my mother. Let me be clear that I never wavered one ounce to whether or not she would live. I knew the mentality that my mother would have throughout this whole process. I knew there would be days when her faith would be strong, but there would be days when her faith would be almost gone. I kept telling my dad that it’s important that we keep mom mentally strong because the moment she gives up mentally we will never change her mind.

My mother is a phenomenal woman of God, but all of us have our weaknesses. My mother is the picture of a true southern belle. Standing five feet two inches with a petite frame and blond hair, my mother would often be mistaken for Dolly Parton. It was very funny at times, and of course I ran with it when I could. Mom grew up in an area where we often focus on the negative before we can see the positive. It came natural at times. For some people, it’s very challenging to see the rainbow because of the clouds. But you never get to see the rainbow without the rain.

I remember sitting with my mother and she was very concerned over losing her hair. I had already done a lot of research and was shocked with the stories of how people had endured chemo and radiation and never lost their hair. Although people usually lose their hair, it does not happen every single time. I remember telling Mom, “Mom, do you believe that God can protect your hair from falling out?”

She looked at me. “Yes, I know He can…but you know that the doctor told me that I would lose my hair.” I shook my head and asked again, only to get the same response. I asked a third time, and I got the same response again. I knew then that I wasn’t going to get her to agree. So I began to work diligently reminding her and Dad about the word that I got.

Can’t-cer

The days turned into weeks and eventually months. On a particular visit with my parents, we were in the living room and my dad said something as an encouragement to my mother. Instantly my mother snapped, screamed at my dad, and went into the bedroom. My mother was falling apart physically, mentally, and spiritually. The journey had become more than she could endure. From the bedroom I heard my mother call my name. I stood up and took a deep breath. Up to this time, I had not shed a single tear over my mother’s illness. Actually, I had renamed cancer to “can’t-cer.” I was my mother’s oldest son and I took my birthright as her oldest and I told can’t-cer every day that it couldn’t have my mother. I never said it could (hence the “can” in cancer).

As I stepped into her bedroom she was sitting on the edge of the bed. I looked at a frail five-foot-two woman who was weakened by the effects of chemo and radiation. She was wearing a cap to cover her bald head. I hadn’t seen my mother without hair. Months had passed but I had never seen her bald. I didn’t know if I could handle seeing her without hair. As I walked to her I kept telling myself, “Don’t cry now. Don’t let her see you cry. She can’t see you cry.” She reached up, pulled the cap off of her head and asked me to come closer. That frail little southern belle lay her head on my chest and told me what I did not want to hear. She said, “Ryan, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t keep going through what I am going through. I want to quit. Ryan, I am ready to die. I just want to go ahead and die.”

It had come to this moment, and I had to do the unthinkable. I placed my hands on my mother’s shoulders and pushed her off of my chest. I proceeded to say, “Mom, I need you to look at me as a man of God. I need you for one moment to look at me as God’s son and not your son. I need you to listen to me as a man of God and not your little boy.” Something rose up within me and I began to talk to my mother in a manner that I never imagined talking to her. It was with a voice of authority and it was directed to shake her out of where she was. “Mom, listen. You will live and you will not die. I have a word from the Lord. Mom, you are going to get through this. I am asking you to give me forty days to fast and pray for you and your mind. Mom, promise me that you won’t do anything until the forty days have passed. I will fight for you because I know that you can’t fight for yourself. Give me forty days, and after those days have passed, if you still want to die I will pray you into eternity. But for the next forty days, I will fight for you. Mom, I have a word!” She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and she agreed to give me those forty days.

We left that day with a new assignment for this journey. Forty passed in prayer and fasting. I knew that my mother was on the verge of mentally checking out. Both my dad and I recognized how important it was to keep her mentally strong. On day forty-one, my cell phone rang. It was my mother. “Ryan, I don’t want to die. I want to live. I have a reason to live. I have grandbabies to see grow up and play with.”

Yes! I knew that Mom was on the turn-around. I never once told her about the word that I had received. I never reminded her about the dreams she had so many years ago. I simply stood on the prophetic promises of her life. I know that somewhere during those forty days, the Lord reminded my mother of the dreams she had so many years prior. That’s exactly what happened. My mother came out of those forty days with a different mindset. It was like she could see herself getting through everything for the first time. She was recognizing that she was going to live and not die. Although she still had weeks of radiation remaining on her time frame, she was different. She was going to live.

It was a fight, but it was from the place of a prophetic dream. When my mother originally had that dream night after night, she only had three grandchildren. During her journey through can’t-cer, she had ten grandchildren with the oldest being very young teenagers. While I am writing this, my parents now have eleven grandchildren with the oldest being 21 and the youngest being a small infant. We are still a long way from the grandchildren being grown. It’s why I was so strong in my faith of the prophetic promise that God had given to her through a dream. I knew that because the children were so young, this disease trying to destroy my mother was not from the Lord. By the way, my mother has been can’t-cer free for years now.

Now, when you read this Hebrews 11:13 and Hebrews 11:39-40 may cross your mind. Those heroes of faith never lived to see their promises fulfilled. There may come a day when my mother leaves this world and she never gets to play (in this world) with grown grandchildren, but I knew that it was way too early for her to be taken out. When I first received the call, I just instantly knew that it was not her time. Holy Spirit discernment told me that this was an attempt to prematurely end her life. I looked at the ages of my children and thought about the ages of my niece and nephews. It wasn’t adding up. This was the enemy, but the Lord gave me a strategy. I had a key to the revelation of faith in our prophetic promises. This was an Abraham and Isaac moment. Like Abraham, we had to endure the test, but with the test came a glimpse from a distance that would get us beyond where we were.

The Fight for Fulfillment

God had given my mother a prophetic dream; we just had to fight for the promise. God has given you a prophetic dream. God has given you a prophetic vision. God has given you a prophetic word. The question is, will you fight to see those words come to pass? We can’t continue to put these words up on a hypothetical shelf where we fail to cultivate these words and see the promises activated by our faith. For many it isn’t as challenging when we see those things come to pass, but what if our journey comes with only what can be seen from a distance? In other words, would you be okay with the Lord giving you a word and you never seeing it fulfilled in your lifetime?

For most of us we would prefer to see that word fulfilled in our lifetime. And yet, here is where we miss the point of our journey. Let me explain it this way: as mentioned in Chapter 5, over the years I have met men and women who have become bitter and angry toward God late in their lives. Why where they angry? They had prophetic promises involving their child bound in addiction. They were encouraged that their child would be set free, but over time their faith has been eroded while their anger has increased. How could someone endure the hardships that they have endured and not become bitter? God gave them hope. God gave them a glimpse. God gave them a promise. And now it appears that God lied.

This is why connecting our faith to prophetic promises is so vital. When God gives us those dreams, visions, and words, we have to recognize that it’s His Word. Because it is His, it could never be something that it is not. The Lord cannot lie, nor would He give you false hope. It’s not that God would show you something and then rip it out from underneath you. The problem is when we validate it based on whether or not we see it in our lifetime. You can’t get into the habit of determining that your dreams, visions, and words are only accurate if you see them fulfilled during your life. Though we know this, sadly it happens every single day. It’s overwhelming at times when you are striving to have the faith to see something revealed. I’m not saying that the journey is easy, but I am saying that it’s worth the fight.

I want to stress that I do not always understand why certain things unfold the way that they do. I know that some may be reading this and asking why their loved one died. Honestly, I don’t know. There are a million reasons that I don’t think, see, nor understand as the Lord does. I realize that there are times we fight for those we love, and yet they step into eternity. I don’t have the answer to why this happens.

This is what I do know—regardless of what you or someone you love is going through, there is a prophetic promise to fight for. There is a reason to fight and sometimes that fight is done with them, and sometimes it is done in place of them. We have to get to the place where we are okay with the possibility of not seeing it. We need to get to the place where we learn how to fight for the promises through faith, with trust, and by hope because we have seen them prophetically being fulfilled. We can’t become angry at the Lord because the journey is too difficult. We need to learn how to fight for the promises. Whether we see them now or from the distance, we know that God is not a liar. Therefore, when He gives you that dream, that vision, or that word, you have a reason to fight for the fulfillment of the prophetic promises. The journey may be filled with ups and downs, but your journey is marked by the promises of the Lord!

I know that there will be a day when my mother steps into eternity. But until that day comes, I will fight and help my mom fight for the fulfillment of the prophetic promises. I will contend!

Ryan Johnson