During his coming of age, every Nez Perce male had to go on a Vision Quest (Wey-ya-kin). Tribal elders provided direction, oversight, and took the young man to a remote location and leave him there alone for 2-3 days without water and food.
During this time a vision was sought by fasting and prayer. Sometimes the vision seeker would see animals, like the wolf, bear or eagle in his dreams. This was taken as a sign, that the spirit of the animal would now be his protector, counselor and giver of power.
Oftentimes the one granted a vision would display supernatural abilities, such as being excellent hunters, warriors, trackers, or even having protection from arrows and bullets.
The fact that a coming of age ritual is important to the formation of any person is displayed by people groups around the world. To seek vision for ones future, to have a clear goal, a call is also very important, one that we as Christians have to consider as well. God is inviting us, to seek His face, to let Him give us wisdom and direction for the work and challenges before us, work that he has prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians. 2:10 b).
During November and December we held our first „Quest“. Our theme was: „Hearing the voice of the Lord“ Watching instructional video, spending time in small groups for discussion and prayer, and most importantly practicing to hear the conversational voice of Creator God. During those times we were able to identify and overcome individual weaknesses and hindrances in hearing the voice of God and to experience the thrill of having the Creator communicate with us.
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