My Guide to Loving Relationships by Theophileous

God humbled me by a series of events. I needed him, at that time, more than ever. There were a lot of unpleasant events he had allowed to come into my life. I was seeking his presence. I was seeking his supernatural peace. I experienced a portion of his peace, on a couple of occasions, and I needed more. I wanted more. I had to have more. It had become like air and water to me. I felt I could not survive without it. I was begging him to give me constant peace. His response always was the same:

“Stay in my will. I’ll give you more.”

In the meantime, a close friend of mine went through an ugly divorce. He drifted far away from the Lord. Then, I met him one day. I noticed a deep change in him. I asked him what was going on. He told me he had recently experienced a filling of the Holy Spirit in a Pentecostal-style church.

I was always skeptical of religious extremism and emotionalism. My approach to God was intellectual. The tongue-speaking, shouting stuff, didn't seem real to me. I went with him a couple of times. I was impressed by the sincerity of everyone. Yet, the altar scenes where persons were knocked backwards, the weeping and wailing, the persons "falling-out” and loud emotional outbursts, it was all a little “over-the-top” for me. I especially didn’t like the speaking in tongues part. It sounded too much like gibberish with no one translating.

I couldn’t deny the change in my friend. He was different. He had become so spiritual. We were both from the same Bible-believing religious tradition. We had been taught all our lives that the Holy Spirit no longer worked the same today, as it did back in New Testament times.

One night in prayer, I inquired specifically about spiritual gifts. I asked the Lord if they were real. He instructed me to go to let this Pentecostal preacher lay his hands on me! I argued with him. I asked him to send me elsewhere, to a charismatic fellowship of my own religious persuasion. He insisted that is was to be THAT church and THAT preacher. I must trust and obey.

I waited until everyone left that evening after services. All that remained were a few musicians and my friend. Then, I decided against it and went to my truck to leave. The preacher had followed me out. He merely wanted to say goodbye and invite me back.

“Leaving already?”

I replied,

“Not yet. Sometime tonight, before I leave, I want you to lay your hands on me.”

He instantly grabbed me by the arm and marched me back inside the building. We headed straight for the altar. He called over my friend and a couple other brethren. They gathered behind me. They began to pray. He turned away from me, anointed his hands with oil, and stretched them toward the heavens. He also prayed. I could not hear plainly what he was saying. (He later told me that he asked God to pour out a FULL MEASURE on me!)

As he turned around, he went to place his hands on me. (I’m not sure that he ever touched me.) I collapsed to the floor. The men caught me and lowered me gently. They also began to pray over me and lay hands on me. They commanded me to relax and to allow God to have his way with me. I tried. Then, it started.

My mouth began to move. The older gentleman to my left observed that I was holding back the impluse and spoke insistently:

“Don’t fight it. Just relax and let it happen.”

My mouth began to move. I began to speak the same gibberish that I had heard from others on previous occasions. When it started, I was immediately filled with the supernatural peace I craved!

The old man leaned close and said,

“Don’t ever let anyone tell you this is not real. I want you to do this everyday.”

I have never spoken publicly about this. It is very personal and private with me. I'm not sure why God is asking me to share this now, in this forum. Maybe it is for someone who also doubts God in this matter.

I believe it was a special gift from God to me. In allowing me to experience it, he poured forth his peace. I’ve never spoken in tongues publicly (if that’s what you want to call it) or in front of another person. To this day, I can't explain what happened to me. I know only that I was obedient and God was faithful.

Is it real? Oh yes, to this day, each time I do it in my prayer closet, he still fills me instantly with that glorious peace I desire, need so much. I wouldn’t trade it for all the world!

Others may be faking. I don’t know. I no longer judge others in these matters.

I also no longer doubt.