Friends, ice cream, Jesus...it's just gettin' good! You can find Part 4 of our Faith Journey here. To read from the beginning, click here!
We were sitting in a booth at a Braums restaurant. We had met Ty and Sheri for burgers and ice cream, a few months after Jason's miracle.
I kept thinking and pondering over that night. I remember thinking, I want what they have! I don't know what it is, but I want it! I wanted to be able to pray for people and for God to work miracles in their life! I wanted to share that with others.
But, I knew this much....we can't give what we don't have.
I remember, on that miraculous night, Sheri specifically led us to Acts 3 where Peter and John came upon a lame beggar as they entered the Gate Beautiful.
The beggar was asking for money. The beggar had been lame for years. He had resigned to accept that this was how life was going to be for him. All he could do was beg for money and hope he could survive. What was it Peter said to him?
"Silver and gold have I none, but what I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!"
What I have, I give to you.
Peter and John had it. Sheri and Ty had it.
What exactly did they have?
I asked Sheri about it at Braums. She asked us, "Do you ever pray in the Spirit?"
Huh? What does that even mean?
"Ummm...I pray through the Scriptures. Is that what you mean?" I asked.
"No, I mean, do you have a prayer language?" She asked. "Do you want one?"
I had no idea what she was talking about. But I knew I wanted it. If she had a prayer language, then I wanted one too.
So we prayed again. And she and Ty reached over and grabbed our hands in the middle of Braums.
It was a short, simple prayer, and honestly, I don't remember exactly what they said.
But here's what they did... they gave us what they had.
The Holy Spirit.
I had heard about these things before. When people are baptized in the Holy Spirit, they sometimes speak in a different tongue, fall down, laugh uncontrollably and are altogether crazy. CRAY CRAY.
But not us.
Nothing spectacular happened.
I started to think maybe it didn't work.
Maybe our Holy Ghost was broke!
After that short, sweet, prayer, we went back to regular conversation and eating our burgers and ice cream. Like normal people do.
We said goodbye and went home.
A couple weeks later we went away on a retreat with our pastor friend, Terry Payne, and his wife, Tonya. They are pastors of LifeWay Church in Kingfisher, OK.
During the retreat, they were teaching us and the others attending how to hear from God through these prayer exercises. It was a little weird and scary at first, to be honest. Had they told me this, I probably wouldn't have gone!
The facilitator prayed over us, welcomed the Holy Spirit, and asked him to speak to us. It was awkward for me, but I wanted to learn, so I pushed back my fear. Clearly, they all had something I didn't have. They all had peace. Like Sheri and Ty. They carried themselves with a security and a love I had never known. And I wanted that.
We were all quiet for several minutes, while soft music played in the background.
I could hear others begin to whisper softly. I heard sniffles. Some were crying.
Suddenly, I heard it. It was like a whisper, but a REALLY LOUD whisper in my head.
"I LOVE YOU."
I started bawling. Weeping uncontrollably. Snotting everywhere!
I had never heard the voice of God before. Remember? All I could hear was the voice of the accuser.
I wept, because I realized the accusing voice was gone. I hadn't heard it in a couple weeks. In fact, I hadn't heard it since Sheri and Ty prayed over us in Braums. Now, I could hear God's voice, God's sweet whisper to me. Just to me.
Someone later approached me, "I could tell God was speaking to you. What did he say?"
"He said He loves me," as I start bawling and snotting again.
He LOVES me. HE LOVES ME!!!
What a personal, amazing, intimate God we have. I didn't have to look anywhere else for love. I didn't have to earn it. He loves me, and that's all that matters.
It was at least a week or two later that Jason calls me. He's driving home from work.
"Babe. I got my prayer language!" he said.
"What do you mean you got it?"
"I was just praying, and I started hearing these words in my head. Just a couple of words. But I can hear them over and over. So I started saying them, and then more words started rolling off my tongue."
I was speechless. This was brand new territory for us.
He said his prayer language sounded middle eastern, or maybe even Hebrew.
"JEN. I can speak in tongues."
Well, I didn't know or understand what was happening. But by golly, if HE is going to speak in tongues, then I wanted to also! I was not to be outdone here!
I began to listen to more teachings about speaking in tongues. One of the teachers said he had grown up in a very religious background, so he was afraid to speak in tongues at first. He was taught that "tongues were of the devil."
I could relate to him. I was terrified!
But I kept pursuing it. Kept studying it. Kept asking for it.
And one day, I got my first words.
I could hear them in my head. It sounded like "shama." "Sholo ma."
Did that last one sound like shalom, the word for peace in Hebrew?
I didn't know, but I didn't I care! I started saying it over and over, and then more words came.
I spoke out loud all the words I could hear. And the more I spoke, the more words would come!
I got my prayer language!!
It occurred to me that all the fear and anxiety I had had about this experience was all for nothing.
Speaking in tongues is simply God's supernatural method of communicating directly with Him in prayer.
It is a very personal, intimate thing, meant for edification. Comfort. I finally understand what it means in John 14:26, how the Holy Spirit is our Counselor, our Comforter!
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
There are some people that abuse it, some go crazy with it in church settings. But that has not been our experience at all.
I know that I'm stepping on some paradigms here. Some of you might have already shut your laptops and said, "I ain't going there."
But I'm telling you, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, prayer language --whatever you want to call it -- is REAL. It's LEGIT.
And, it's by far THE best thing that has ever happened to me!
It has opened up so many things in my walk with Jesus. I began to understand the Word of God like never before. I could understand the "why" behind a lot of things. I could understand God's heart.
The churchy term for this is "revelation knowledge." I was getting my own revelation of the love of God!
The Holy Spirit in me, is the SAME Holy Spirit that wrote the Bible.
The Author of the Word of God speaks to me.
Memorizing the Word was a piece of CAKE. I could read scripture a couple of times, and I could remember the verses, and where they are found! (refer to the above scripture, John 14:26, Jesus's own words!)
It came alive in my heart! It was wonderful!!
I began to actually BELIEVE God's Word. I had a new filter for reading His words... I filtered everything through love. This was God's love letter to ME.
As I began to know God more, to know His heart, to know His character, I began to TRUST Him more.
Remember? We can't trust a God we don't know.
I had never been so excited about God before. I didn't understand what was happening, but I didn't have to.
After all, if we understood everything, then our walk with God wouldn't require any faith, would it?
Click here to read the next chapter, Peanut Allergy Healed!
Do you have a prayer language? If not, do you want one? I would love to pray with you! Feel free to contact me personally through our contact form or you can PM me through Facebook. God loves you so much, and He desires for you to know him more!
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