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Tracy
Dawn
Taking God at His Word
by Michael Herman
After
grabbing my caramel macchiato, and Tracy Dawn had her … I don't know what she
was drinking, I was thinking too much about my own drink … we sat down at a lively
coffee shop to talk. The conversation quickly turned from favorite coffee drinks
to working with kids and the power of God.
I'm personally inspired
when I have the opportunity to talk with someone who lights up when children's
ministry is being discussed. Tracy Dawn's eyes do that. Her face does that.
Her life does that.
When you read what Tracy
Dawn has to say here, you'll see how important it is to her to always be looking
for opportunities to be that light for Christ each day. So, pull up a chair,
sip your favorite coffee drink, and get to know her better.
[Tracy Dawn's debut album,
Poetic
Aftermath, is available on Atlantic Records]
 "A
couple of big things in the last year or so. One is the concept of 'ask and
you shall receive,' and the other is 'we have not because we ask not.' I learned
how God is pleased with the asking we do. Asking is actually demonstrating faith,
because to even ask is to show faith—faith in his ability to give it and
faith in his desire to do so.
"The Scripture that says,
'If a child asks his father for a loaf of bread, will he give him a stone?'
also says, 'How much more will your heavenly father give good gifts to those
who ask?' I started studying Scriptures where the idea of asking is mentioned,
and I just found it everywhere. It then seemed to me that this is really God's
heart.
"Recently, I found things
I've been wanting to ask for, but I was doubting that it was pleasing to God
for me to ask for them. God broke down that lie for me and showed me in my heart,
introspectively, where I'm afraid to ask or believe for things.
"One of the lies was wondering
if I should ask God for success. A preacher I know told me to write down why
I thought God wouldn't grant me this. The only reasons I could come up with
were that maybe my heart wasn't right and maybe I wouldn't give him all the
glory and the credit. That was all I could come up with. All the other thoughts
were that these were messages that God has given to me, this is kingdom work,
this is building God's house, this is speaking life to his people. Why wouldn't
he want that to be done?
"God spoke to me through
that. One of the things he showed me in Scripture was that I am anointed by
the Holy One, and that it comes from God himself through the Holy Spirit who
lives in me, teaches me, and is in my life in so many ways.
"That was so good for me
to see. When I read those verses, I realized how much God has taught me. Scripture
goes on to say that the same Spirit who taught me will also keep me so that
I will abide in him. That was a confirmation to me—that he will keep me,
and that I won't get all crazy and big-headed and fail to give him the glory.
I realized for me to say that I shouldn't ask God for the desires of my heart
was actually a lack of faith."
"Jesus, being our elder
brother, and savior, was an example for us. We can see how he asked and how
God granted everything he asked for because he prayed God's will. He always
prayed God's will.
"I was thinking about his
prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. He prayed, 'Father, let this cup pass from
me. Not my will be done, but thy will be done.' I began to study that prayer
and the different opinions of it. My favorite was by John Rice. He said that
Jesus was praying in the will of God. He wasn't asking to avoid the Cross, but
he was asking that death would pass him that night because he knew he was going
to prison. He knew he'd be beaten, so he was asking for the cup of death to
pass him so that God's will would be fulfilled—that he would die as the Passover
lamb on the Cross.
"So when he said not because
I will it, but because your will be done so that the Scriptures will be fulfilled,
I agreed with that. I think that Jesus said he came to the earth for this purpose
—to die for the sins of man. Even when Peter suggested that he shouldn't go
to the Cross, Jesus rebuked him. So, I don't think Jesus would chicken out at
the last minute. Also, it would be sin to pray something that you know wasn't
God's will, and he was without sin. That was exciting to me, to learn so much
about Jesus through this one event."
"I work on commercials.
Every time I go onto a set, I know I'm there because Jesus sent me there to
talk to somebody. So I just wait all day wondering who it is he wants me to
talk to. And sometimes I just wait, and wait, and wait. And every time, it's
powerful—every time.
"A few of those times stand
out in my mind. One of them was with a girl who was a stripper. She was going
through a really bad time. I had been in touch with her before, but on this
day I felt I was supposed to 'get in her face.' Normally I don't, but I did
that day. She had opened up to me earlier in the day, so we talked some more.
By the end of the day we prayed the salvation prayer together. The best part
of that story is that she became a disciple of Christ after that. She stopped
stripping and sleeping with men. She got her life in order. Well, God got her
life in order. And since then her family members have been getting saved. It's
something to see how it just goes on. So that's really exciting."
 "I
guess my prayer is that the Holy Spirit would speak to them through the songs.
Each song is about a different thing, but I pray that God would use the songs
to touch them.
"I recorded the album for
two years and eight months, so I really got to live with [the songs], and really
let them brew. So, I really felt confident that every song has a specific purpose
and was born of the Holy Spirit."
"Well right now I'm a part
of my church, the Oasis Christian Center. It's an inner-city church. I work
with the youth there as one of their teachers. One of the many things that burdens
me for these young people is how they're so bombarded by the occult. It's happening
through television shows that make it look so cool, and the movies and the music,
and you can really see the Devil going after them. And it's all dressed up so
nicely in great music and everything. That really bothers me.
"One time I was teaching
and talking with the kids. I told them that the Devil can't create anything.
All he can do is take something that's God's and pervert it. I told them we
were going to watch a portion of the television show, "Charmed." When I saw
something being perverted, I stopped the tape and asked them if they saw it.
"They have one thing on
the show where they say, 'The power of three will set you free.' So when I heard
it, I stopped the tape and said, 'The Devil is perverting a truth. What is it?'
One of them said, 'The Holy Spirit!' I was all excited. We did that again and
again through the show, and they saw what I was talking about.
"Instead of say to them,
'Just don't watch it,' I wanted them to look for the perversion, to look for
the deception. That way God will speak to them and they will be able to see
how it is demonic. It's like saying, 'This is poison. Let's take a look at it
so we know what it looks like.'
"That same day we talked
about Jesus saying 'A little leaven leavens the whole loaf.' I really wanted
them to see that just a little here and a little there counts. I showed them
that a little does matter. I had some wormwood and a glass of water. I took
one dropper full of wormwood and put it in the water. I said, 'Let's just say
this represents watching a little 'Charmed,' and this represents listening to
a little Marilyn Manson. We went through that for a bit, and then I asked them
who wanted to drink the bitter water. So, they learned about the importance
of not letting a little bit of perversion into their lives."
"I also told them that Satan
has a sort of charge account. That every time we dabble with things he's involved
in, we're sowing a seed, and we'll have to reap it. God loves us, he's merciful,
and he'll help us, but we're not getting away with anything."
"One of the things that
really inspires me is how on fire they can get when they 'get it.' I mean, it
seems like when we dig in and get some of the bad stuff out of their lives and
fill it up with the good things of God, they're so humble to receive it. I think,
'God, give me a heart like that!' Such purity and such faith. It's really encouraging.
"I really believe, from
spending time with God and in his word and asking him questions and having concern
for our country, that after God tells me things that he's doing, I start hearing
it in other places too.
"Here's an example. Generation
X is supposedly ages 12-34. And I think our generation being called X, which
means 'nothing,' is like taking something away from us. I think it is even strategic,
speaking to our generation saying, 'you are nothing.' Because I really think
our generation is the Joshua generation. I just believe it.
"The children of Israel
wandered for 40 years because they didn't seek God's ways. It seems like around
the 1960s we really abandoned the ways of God. That was around the time when
abortion became legal, the drug scene was crazy, and 'dark' music came in, and
all of that just infiltrated. Maybe there weren't as many people actually serving
God in the 1950s, but more were at least following God's principles. So there
are benefits to following God. Whether you believe or not, the principles still
work.
"So for about 40 or 50 years
we've wandered like that, and I just think that God isn't so quick to abandon
this country. That it truly was founded with a vision from God and that we could
freely worship here. I think God is raising up that Joshua generation that is
going to bring a revival, and that when they get into leadership, things are
going to change. I also think there are elders in Generation X who will bring
leadership to the younger part of the generation.
"I'm so thankful for the
leaders in the Baby Boomer generation who help us. There's a prophesy in Joel
that asks the elders something like, 'Have you ever seen it like this before?'
And that was during a time after the locusts had come through the country and
eaten everything, and it was devastating to everyone. Now I see it as totally
prophetic. I mean, look at what's happening to the youth. They're shooting each
other. We're in a violent place. The prophecy says that after that time God
will pour out his Spirit on them, and that's the revival we're looking for!"
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