From heaven The Lord looks down and sees all mankind; Psalms 33:13
By Becky Keener
I dreamt I was setting in a restaurant after closing hours. We were having a church service. I believe it was a revival meeting. The guest speaker was a known pastor in the area and he came to preach to us. His name was Rodney. This preacher had a lot of anointing around him . I could feel the presence of God as he moved through the room preaching the gospel, and speaking to the people. At one point, I leaned up against my mom, and she put her arm around me as I wept. I felt the presence of the Lord and the anointing. I could not keep from weeping. For some reason, I could not hear what he had to say, but I could feel God. It was like his words had no sound or perhaps they had little volume. Everyone else seemed to hear him and was praising God and cheering him on because he apparently had a message they liked. It was obvious he was anointed. He could hear the voice of God and speak to people prophetically, although he was not a prophet. He was a shepherd in the area and our guest speaker. He came to the back row where my mom and I were setting. He touched our hands and squeezed them a little. I suppose to bless us. I’m not sure. I was thankful he came to us because there was an anointing on him and I wanted to be close to that. He continued ministering in the room and maneuvering back-and-forth amongst the people preaching and speaking the Word of God to them. He came toward us again in the back row and he asked this question. “Who back here travels on a regular basis? It’s part of what you do.” He was sensing that there was someone the Lord was sending out in travels and he had a Word from God for them. I raised my hand as my mom elbowed me and said, “That’s you.” A man that was seated to my left, about four or five chairs down, also raised his hand. The preacher asked the man, “What do you do?” The man said, “I am a traveling Evangelist.” He looked at me and he asked, “What do you do?” I said, “The same. I am a traveling Evangelist.” The pastor had an odd look on his face when I said that. He never said a word. Then he went over and sat down beside the man. There he spoke with the man and gave him the Word of the Lord and spoke into his life. Again, I could not hear his words. Once again it was as though there was no sound or little volume. Yet, those around him could hear him, and I could hear the people praising God and celebrating what the Lord was speaking into the Evangelist. I waited for the preacher to come over and share that information with me, but he did not. It was clear that he dismissed me and rejected me as a woman Evangelist. I never said anything. I simply waited to see if he would speak with me later or perhaps in private. The meeting ended and people were leaving the building, shaking hands and elaborating on how good the meeting was. I wanted to give the preacher a chance to talk to me about what the Lord said about traveling Evangelists. However, he avoided me and made it clear that he did not want to share the information with me. I knew he had heard from God and that he was an anointed preacher, however it was evident that he did not believe in women Evangelists or women in ministry in any capacity. I was not angry with him, but I was hurt. It was obvious how he felt. It was obvious that many in the room followed him as a Shepherd and respected him as a preacher. Many believed as he did. He clearly influenced them with his beliefs. It was a public rejection to me as a woman. Again I was not angry, but I was hurt. I was disappointed and dismissed. The incident did not cause me to question the call of God on my life. I knew I was a preacher and that I traveled, and that I was an Evangelist. That’s not all I was, but it was a part of who I am. I was hurt and very disappointed in his attitude toward me and the belief system of those that were in the room. Again, it did not cause me to question the call of God on my life. I never questioned God, not one time. Once everyone was gone, I was left in the restaurant with my mom and a few ladies cleaning up the kitchen area. I then noticed my dad was there. I did not realize that he had been in the meeting, but he had been. He was there to listen and to observe. It was obvious to me that my dad was upset in the way that the preacher had publicly treated me. It was clear the preacher avoided me because of my gender. He was anointed by God and called by God to preach the gospel. However, when it came to a woman preacher or a woman Evangelist, he deliberately dismissed that because he believed it was wrong and unbiblical. My dad called him on the phone to discuss the matter with him. He explained to the preacher that he was disappointed and hurt over the way the meeting went and the way I was treated. It hurt my dad to see me publicly dismissed. My dad shared his heart with the preacher in honor and sincerity. He observed the meeting and discussed that thoroughly with him. I could not hear the preacher talking to my dad, but I knew by my dad‘s facial expressions that the preacher said things to my dad that upset him. I knew the preacher was being sharp with his words and that he was probably telling him something like , “women cannot be preachers.” I had a sense that the preacher was taking a bold stand in his opinion, and it was upsetting my dad. Then my dad sat down at a round table with a Bible and a notepad. He attempted to talk with the preacher about scriptures and offered to explain the truth in the written Word of God. I could tell by my dad‘s body language, and the tone of his voice that the preacher was not hearing him. He was not listening to him at all. He did not have an open mind to hear or receive what my dad had to say to him. At one point, I heard my dad say, “You don’t really want to learn this. I can teach you, but you don’t want it.” My dad was now agitated because the preacher was unteachable. Yes, he was anointed. Yes, he was called by God. Yes, he could hear the voice of the Lord and speak into peoples lives to help them and encourage them. Yes, he could do all those things. However, he was unteachable in one area and that was the area of women in ministry. He had a stubborn wall in his mind, and he was not willing to study the scriptures to dig out the truth about God’s women. At one point, my mom said to my dad, “Just leave that alone. He does not want to hear it.” However, my dad did not stop. He continued in his conversation with the preacher and wanted to teach him the truth about the scriptures. He asked the preacher, “Do you even study your Bible?” The preacher was taking scripture out of their intended context and was not open to learn the truth. I said to my mom, “Just leave that alone because this conversation needs to take place.” I woke up. This is not the first dream I have had about Shepherds in the recent months. I believe this is self explanatory and there’s no need to elaborate. It is obvious that our Heavenly Father is observing our gatherings right now. Things pertaining to his sons and daughters are hurting his heart and He is addressing this issue. I do not know what that will look like, but I trust The Lord to reconcile His people. He is a good Father to men and women alike. FYI: Rodney is believed to mean "joyful." I believe his name was speaking of the anointing. My dad represented our Father. My mom represented the Church. The local restaurant represented a local church community. The phone call represented a "calling out." Pray for our current Shepherds and rising Shepherds. Becky Keener
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Author Becky Keener and her husband, Jim, have been married since 1993 and reside in Summersville, West Virginia. They have two young adult children, Casey (wife Martina) and BreAnn (husband Jack). They are the proud grandparents of two precious baby boys and look forward to having many more. Archives
February 2025
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