I was about nine years old when I gave my heart to the Lord in a Baptist Church. My parents did not attend church but I went with my friends.
A year or so later a newly-established Pentecostal church about 20 miles from us was in revival. The evangelist was an elderly lady, but full of Holy Ghost fire. In this church, they prayed for the sick and believed God would answer. In one of these services, my aunt went forward for prayer. She had broken her neck four years earlier in a car wreck and it had never healed right. She had to wear a neck brace 24 hours a day to support her head. When she was prayed for, she was healed instantly . . .some would say it was a miracle. Everyone in our family and most in the rural community where we lived knew about the accident so when my aunt was healed, there was no doubt in any of our minds God had moved. We knew it was not a fake healing and it had an immediate impact on our family.
My mother began attending the revival and took her children with her. My dad was a little too Methodist to feel comfortable with the clapping, shouting and other manifestations of the Pentecostal experience so he stayed home most of the time. Mom, however, got saved and a work was begun in her life.
We continued to attend the revival and when my folks couldn't go, I would ride with my aunt and uncle. One night as people were praying around the altar (those were the days when we "tarried" for the Holy Ghost), I was sitting on the front pew just taking it all in. The evangelist sat down beside me and asked, "Would you like to have the Holy Ghost?"
I answered affirmatively and she stepped forward with me to the altar. We began to pray and within minutes I was speaking fluently in an unknown tongue. So much for tarrying as far as I was concerned. I've often felt the reason the infilling was so quick for me was because I was a child with none of the inhibitions or preconceived ideas adults often have. It seemed the most natural thing in the world. I never lost that fluency. In fact, for the next several hours and even much of the days that followed, I spoke in tongues, aloud when I could and under my breath when speaking aloud would have been inappropriate.
As we left the church that evening, I was speaking in tongues. English was far from me. When I arrived at my home, I was so excited and, still speaking in tongues, went into my parents bedroom. My dad knew his little girl couldn't do this in herself and that was the deciding factor. He too attended the revival and gave his heart to the Lord. My parents were soon filled with the Spirit and serving God faithfully until He called them home (See Heritage & Honor).
We often quote the Scripture where the Lord tells us to "become as little children," yet too many times we bypass our children when we invite people to receive the Holy Spirit. I have seen children as young as four and five years old speaking in tongues. If a person is old enough to love the Lord, he is old enough to receive the Holy Spirit. Since the night I received, there has never been a time I could not speak freely in tongues. For that experience and the prayer language it brought, I will always be grateful.
A year or so later a newly-established Pentecostal church about 20 miles from us was in revival. The evangelist was an elderly lady, but full of Holy Ghost fire. In this church, they prayed for the sick and believed God would answer. In one of these services, my aunt went forward for prayer. She had broken her neck four years earlier in a car wreck and it had never healed right. She had to wear a neck brace 24 hours a day to support her head. When she was prayed for, she was healed instantly . . .some would say it was a miracle. Everyone in our family and most in the rural community where we lived knew about the accident so when my aunt was healed, there was no doubt in any of our minds God had moved. We knew it was not a fake healing and it had an immediate impact on our family.
My mother began attending the revival and took her children with her. My dad was a little too Methodist to feel comfortable with the clapping, shouting and other manifestations of the Pentecostal experience so he stayed home most of the time. Mom, however, got saved and a work was begun in her life.
We continued to attend the revival and when my folks couldn't go, I would ride with my aunt and uncle. One night as people were praying around the altar (those were the days when we "tarried" for the Holy Ghost), I was sitting on the front pew just taking it all in. The evangelist sat down beside me and asked, "Would you like to have the Holy Ghost?"
I answered affirmatively and she stepped forward with me to the altar. We began to pray and within minutes I was speaking fluently in an unknown tongue. So much for tarrying as far as I was concerned. I've often felt the reason the infilling was so quick for me was because I was a child with none of the inhibitions or preconceived ideas adults often have. It seemed the most natural thing in the world. I never lost that fluency. In fact, for the next several hours and even much of the days that followed, I spoke in tongues, aloud when I could and under my breath when speaking aloud would have been inappropriate.
As we left the church that evening, I was speaking in tongues. English was far from me. When I arrived at my home, I was so excited and, still speaking in tongues, went into my parents bedroom. My dad knew his little girl couldn't do this in herself and that was the deciding factor. He too attended the revival and gave his heart to the Lord. My parents were soon filled with the Spirit and serving God faithfully until He called them home (See Heritage & Honor).
We often quote the Scripture where the Lord tells us to "become as little children," yet too many times we bypass our children when we invite people to receive the Holy Spirit. I have seen children as young as four and five years old speaking in tongues. If a person is old enough to love the Lord, he is old enough to receive the Holy Spirit. Since the night I received, there has never been a time I could not speak freely in tongues. For that experience and the prayer language it brought, I will always be grateful.
