What a beautiful day today! While going through my normal checking of emails today, I read a blog post from my good friend, Genikwa Williams on the topic of ‘Speaking in Tongues.’ There has been quite a bit of scepticism on this subject for years, but a topic that to me is a no-brainer. Read it for yourself…
http://genikwawilliams.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/
~I posted this comment on her blog~
Her experience reminds me of a time when the Holy Spirit gave me utterance-I’ll never forget the day, time, and event in which this true miracle from God was given to me. I highlighted it within the pages of my book, The Life of a Lily. Here’s an excerpt:
While my ex-husband and I were going through our difficult period of emotional and physical abuse with each other, God still helped me to get two degrees: a master’s in reading education after the divorce in December 1999 and an education specialist in educational leadership in 2001. I was able to obtain a 3.8 grade point average throughout school. I received a job promotion to Language Arts Department Head at the school where I taught. Then God did a miraculous thing in my life: I received the gift of tongues on November 12, 1999, just a couple of weeks after my grandmother passed away. It happened at an E.C. Reems International Christian Convention that was held at my church. That was a true blessing, one for which I asked the Lord. Days before I had stopped and asked two Holy Spirit-filled women in the church what I needed to do in order to receive this gift. Still pretty much a babe in Christ, I asked them, not knowing that all I had to do was ask God for it. The Lord said, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14). It also says in John 15:7: “If ye abide in me, and my word abides in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” These are the promises of God. He also said, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you…whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you” (John 15:16). So they prayed with me and told me to go home, set the atmosphere, and ask God for what I wanted. I let God handle the rest. That night, on November 12, a turning point in my life occurred. As I was standing up front in the choir stand, the speaker asked us to turn and hold a neighbor’s hand and start praying for them. As I started praying, I felt a warm tingle go through my body like you would never believe, and I felt myself go up in the Spirit. I could actually hear myself, but it was an utterance that I’d never heard before. First it sounded like gibberish, as if first learning to speak.Then it sounded like actual words from another language. The Bible says:
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4
I finally returned back to my first love from the age of thirteen, when I had first received the gift of salvation. From that point on, I made sure to talk and confess to God everything that weighed on me. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). From that November night, I had an intimacy with the Lord like I’ve never had before with anyone. My husband, lover, and friend were all wrapped up in Jesus. Instead of coming to Jesus with frivolous requests, I just wanted more of him. When I got off from work, I’d rush home and through the door to him. My new apartment was indeed a sacred haven in which Jesus resided with me. It contained unspeakable peace, love, and joy. I would have dates with Jesus, cooking for my Lord, talking daily with him.
God can and will give you the desires of your heart, if you would just ask. But before you even ask, seek Him-all of Him-as He said in His word, If you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these other things will be added unto you! (Matthew 6:33)
What an awesome God we serve!
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