What I am sharing with you here is a personal testimony from a Christian woman. To give you some background, she has been in and out of church (mostly ‘out’ in adult years) and recently (at the time this happened) had come back into a close relationship with God. She was attending a Baptist church, studying the Word fervently and had come to a point of doing a complete turn-around in her lifestyle…

This personal testimony was written down and then reprinted here in obedience, as she felt compelled (by the Spirit) to share this with anyone who would listen… in hopes that it might enlighten and encourage them as much as it did her.

In my own personal study time, I was beginning to see some incredible truths in the Word. Not things I had been taught in church, not even things I had noticed before when I had read the bible. And that is when I started to realize that studying the Word was much different from reading the bible.

My life started to change from that point forward. My desires changed, my daily thoughts changed - and I became conciously aware of myself and everything around me. I dont know how else to explain it… but it’s sort of like if you never knew something, it would never affect you - but once you knew it, it changed everything!

There was one major struggle that I had in my quest to ‘clean up my life’. And each time I would do this one thing, something that I had asked God to deliver me from, the Holy Spirit would come upon me afterwards.

From the beginning I felt guilty and disobedient when I did this thing. And after going in sincere prayer to God about it, I knew that I should believe that God had delivered me from it and that I shouldnt even consider going against that. But I did.

And when I did, the Holy Spirit came over me and I began praying in tongues - much to my own surprise.

Now this happened to me in my own home, while I was in shorts and a tee shirt. Not at church, or at an alter, or ‘wearing my Sunday best’, or during a revival. It happened to me in my home office, at the foot of my bed, even in my bathroom as I was standing at the sink.

That first time it happened in the kitchen, and I fell to my knees in the middle of the floor and began to pray aloud in tongues. Now mind you, I’m a conservative woman that goes to a Baptist church and prays quietly to myself! So if you are reading this in disbelief, imagine how I felt!

I was overwhelmed and amazed with this experience and I felt a joy come over me. Laughter welled up in the depths of me and flowed out of my mouth. And I said, with my hands raised in awe and praise (not fully understanding ‘tongues’ and longing to know truth on this matter), “God, what is this beautiful language?! I want to know what the Spirit is speaking!”

The next thing that came out of my mouth was the most beautiful and graceful prayer I had ever heard - and in plain english. It was so pure, and so appropriate… sent up to God on my behalf. And I knew this was the interpretation to the tongues I had just spoken moments before.

I was so touched and so humbled that I began to cry and laugh at the same time, and I thanked God for making this prayer known to me. I was in awe of the things the Spirit said for me. It was unbelievably amazing.

I found myself conciously aware from that point forward, of what a beautiful and powerful thing that dwelled within me. Every time I thought of it (which was quite often), I smiled and praised God. It changed me, and I am grateful to him for that!

Immediately after this experience, I got my bible and opened it up. I needed the Word to minister to me, specifically about prayer and tongues. I went to a page in 1 Corinthians and my eyes fell on the verse by Paul that said “let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.”

It was instant confirmation that what I experienced was purely biblical. I am totally and completely in love with God! I have since come to realize that our God does great and miraculous things - the same today as he did in the days the bible was being lived instead of read. That He can show us incredible signs. And that He will go to great lengths to bring us into a closer fellowship with him!

Praise God!

Next: See the Bible Study on Speaking in Tongues 
 

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