…In previous posts, we have studied the question David asked before he faced Goliath, the giant of his day: “Is there not a cause?” We’ve discovered that the Hebrew word translated “cause,” also means “history.” Therefore, David was very possibly asking his brother and fellow Israelites, “Is there not a history [to write]?” But David may also have been referring to past history. “Don’t we have enough history with God to give us confidence in His faithfulness? And are there not promises from Him in our history that we can stand on?” Roots are essential; foundations are critical…

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In my book An Appeal to Heaven, I mention an important phrase spoken to me several years ago by Holy Spirit: “the synergy of the ages.” This phrase was shared with me during a season when Holy Spirit was emphasizing the importance of connecting with past generations. In short, the synergy of the ages is multiplied power through generational agreement and honor.

Scriptures clearly teach that the generations are connected, with both blessings and curses flowing from one generation to the next (see Deuteronomy 5:9, 7:9)…God sees the generational connection so literally that He routinely makes a promise to one generation, knowing it won’t be fulfilled until a future generation (see Hebrews 11:39-40)!…What my ancestors have done—my family history—affects me, and what I do impacts those who come after me…

The power and importance of understanding this connection to history can be seen through a stirring dream given to Julie Meyer, an internationally known worship leader and seasoned intercessor…As the dream began, Julie saw 7 ambulances lined up, each with lights flashing. Growing very concerned, she looked into the back of one of the ambulances and saw a non-responsive person on a gurney. Next to the patient was an attendant working feverishly to revive him.

Julie immediately knew the attendant was an angel, who looked at her and said, “I can’t find a heartbeat.” She went from one ambulance to the next, finding the same scenario…—patients on gurneys with angels attending them, trying to restart their hearts. Suddenly, one of the angels looked directly at Julie and confided, “It’s the intercessors.”

Many intercessors have prayed years for revival, but revival hasn’t materialized, and some of them have experienced what Proverbs 13:12 refers to as “hope deferred.” And as this verse teaches, hope deferred has made their hearts sick…

As Julie’s dream continued, suddenly one of the angels shouted, “I found a heartbeat, but it’s very faint!”

The other angels grew excited and inquired, “What did you do?”

The first angel’s response was surprising. “Tell the old stories. When I started telling her stories of what God did in the past, her heart began to beat.”

With that, these heavenly attendants began speaking to the intercessors about the First Great Awakening, the Second Great Awakening, and other Holy Spirit outpourings…As they did so, the hearts of all the intercessors started to beat again…

The angelic messenger then added instructions that stirred my heart even more: “Tell the intercessors to put themselves in the storyline, because the old stories are also their stories.”…

God has one overarching plan for humankind; we’re all part of the same unfolding drama. Our generation’s role in history is simply another act of yesterday’s play; our battles are conflicts in one ongoing war. Every revival in history is but a sequel in Holy Spirit’s ongoing series of outpourings, and every soul saved enters the same spiritual family…

Put yourself in the storyline, because the old stories are actually your stories!…

For too long, we Christians—even those who are students of church history—have viewed accounts of past moves of God as, well, history…They are past tense, a dead history…

Our shortsighted reasoning has stolen from us the synergy of the ages. We’ve not put ourselves in the storyline. Since we don’t typically align with past movements or agree with past prayers, this has all too often led to the segmentation of the ages, forcing each generation’s intercession and effort to stand on its own…

However, putting ourselves into the storyline God is writing allows us to tap into the strength and life flowing from what He did years ago. We begin to understand the eternal purposes of God, not just the purposes we feel are for our present time…

Reinforced by Julie’s dream, this revelation opened my heart to a myriad of storylines we, as a generation, needed to identify with. History came alive…The great cloud of witnesses had finally become more than mere spectators and cheerleaders to me; they were an earlier leg of a relay race, waiting for someone to grasp their baton.

This truth pierced my conscience…I realized I was part of a historical chain, planned by God and built with human lives…Reaching back would not only bring added significance to my life, but also to the lives of those who had lived before me (Hebrews 11:39-40). And God’s love of relational connection would find fulfillment, causing Him to release an entirely new level of spiritual power—the synergy of the ages…

I immediately began processing this revelation in the context of my calling to America. It was obviously relevant to praying for nations. I now could connect with America’s story more personally, joining my heart to the prayers and dreams of pilgrims, colonists, pioneers, and every other generation who helped write our story…

When David said, “Is there not a history?” he was doing more than remembering; he was referring to more than preserving historical roots…He was declaring that promises made by God hundreds of years earlier were his guarantee of victory today. David was staking his faith on the synergy of the ages…

Does this inspire you to connect with the synergy of the ages to believe for God’s purposes to be fulfilled in this nation? Share below in the comments!

(Excerpt from Give Him Fifteen. Article by Dutch Sheets. Photo Credit: Canva).