"The day I got the Holy Ghost was a day I will never forget. I went to the altar which was very hard for me to do. I repented of my sins and that's when it happened, God's saving grace took hold of me. It started from my feet and went clear to the top of my head. It felt like electricity went right through me! I started speaking in a language I had never heard before. I felt like a new person. Life started looking different. Everything I looked at looked different. Flowers were more pretty! The sky was more blue! The air smelled better! Life was so much better after that! I will never forget what Jesus has done for me and in me. So, I was born again October 2001, and baptized December 31, 2002. I have been serving him ever since, and I will continue to do so until the day he calls me home. Amen!"
-Gerri Zimmerman's Testimony
"At an Apostolic Church in 1985, the truth found me. I was 18 years old, raised Roman Catholic, but had questions that centuries of tradition could not answer. All I knew was that I needed 'something.' When Jesus found me, I knew that was what I needed.
Filled with the Holy Ghost baptism on June 23, 1985 and water-baptized in Jesus' Name later that same evening. I have found rest for my soul!"
-from ApostolicFriendsForum user Withdrawn, post 5
"My Great Grandmother Mandy Dedmon was filled with the Holy Ghost in Spanish Fort, Mississippi in the early 1900's under the ministry of Bishop A.J. Tomlinson...
She had seven daughters that played musical instruments and prophesied and 'Mama' was given to dreams and visions.
My Grandmother was filled as was my mother and I was born and raised in the Church of God of Prophecy and was saved and filled with the Holy Ghost at the age of 5 in a camp meeting in Eupora, MS.
I have lived for God all my life because of the keeping power of the Holy Ghost!
...After a 21 day total fast in 1982 God gave me a mighty revelation of who He is and I have never wavered from that Revelation since that day.
I am thankful for Pentecost and for preachers that preach the power of Pentecost.
...I love the Pentecostal church and would rather be in a black church with the Hammond Organ going 100 MPH and people dancing up a storm than anything in this world!
There ain't NOTHIN' like Good Black Pentecostal CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!!"
-from ApostolicFriendsForum user ThePastorsCoach, post 22
"God, You amaze me.
Every time You forgive me, Every time I experience a moment of Your grace, Every time I experience something beautiful I know it’s the touch of Your hand, My eyes light up, I’m filled with joy and my heart is drawn closer to You. I don’t understand why You’d do this for me especially when I’m unfaithful to You. But I know that You do. And when I feel Your presence, I fall deeper in love with You. I turn around and suddenly, like a rainbow in the clouds, Your beauty is revealed and my heart is filled with joy. I dance, I sing, I praise You and I live for the touch of Your hand."
-Amanda's Testimony
"I heard a small voice say, 'Call Ann.' I ignored it. It happened again, 'Call Ann.' I thought, 'What does she know?' It happened one more time, so I called Ann, and asked if I could come visit her...
This time was different. We had a heart-to-heart talk. She told me her testimony, witnessed to me, invited me to the next church service, and I accepted.
My first visit was a Wednesday night. All I remember was the singing, and a missionary report. There was no altar call. But the Lord knows our heart. The songs of worship and praise brought tears to my eyes, and a hunger for more of what I felt. At the next service there was an altar call. I went forward and poured my heart out to the Lord.
I was baptized in the name of Jesus on March 5, 1980, and God filled me with His wonderful Spirit on March 16, 1980. Jesus saves, keeps and satisfies!"
-Darrelette Souders' Testimony
"My heart was struck by this great love, and I began to cry. The altar call was given, and I practically ran to the altar. As I stood there crying with the multitude of people gathered around, I made a vow to the Lord. I didn't know what to say after I repented, but I was so grateful that I told the Lord that no matter what came my way, I would always serve him.
...Then I began to attend Bible studies. I just couldn't seem to get enough of his Word. I didn't want to go home because it felt so good. In one Bible study, the man who was leading it began to tell of his desire to receive the Holy Ghost just like they did in the Bible. He said he shut himself in his bedroom, and prayed until he began to speak in other tongues. Then he asked if anyone there would like to receive it. I came forward because I wanted all that God had for me. They all laid hands on me as we prayed, and soon I had received the same experience. When I went back to church for the next service, the pastor asked me how I felt. I said it felt like a well of joy springing up in my soul. My understanding of the Bible increased even more. It was like a whole new book. I loved reading it so much I could hardly put it down. I read it every chance I could.
...After I was baptized in Jesus' name I felt a cleansing in my soul that I never felt when I was baptized before.
I felt so good. I have continued to serve the Lord in Spirit and in truth here ever since then."
-Lynda Hartzell's Testimony
"On Friday night, when Pastor Danny Thornton visiting, I was prophesied to. I was told that I was a woman of wisdom. I really felt blessed that night. God really spoke to my heart. He was so strong I felt weak in the knees and fell to the floor, literally! God's powerful, and it was nice to know that He knows who I am! - who everybody is!"
-Heather B.'s Testimony
"Before I knew you I was far away from you, I was like your story of the Lost Son. I did a lot of bad things in my life that I regret. You called me to you, you changed my heart. You forgave me, you changed my life and circumstances. I have been with you for over a year now and I've come a long way. I know I have purpose now, I have a plan for living a good life. I can't turn back now, I know you are real, you speak to me through your word, your people and spirit. You are always there, you never change, you are constant. When I feel guilty for the bad things I do I know that I can turn right back to you and apologize. Your forgiveness is much appreciated by me. Thank you. I never thought that I could know you this close. You are so amazing, your love is so great and unexplainable! I love you Lord, thank you for saving me, I know I didn't deserve it."
-from a church member testimony- "Thank you Lord for turning my life around"
"I had a great time at Acquire the Fire. The part that stuck out to me was when a few of us were singing in the car on the way home; you could really feel the Holy Spirit."
-a testimony from "Acquire the Fire 2001"
"I was sixteen. I’d only been 'born again' for about six months, and I knew I could experience God the same way people in the New Testament did. Paul talked about spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians – healing, prophecy – and I believed.
I wanted Jesus to fill me with the Holy Spirit, the same way he did for believers in Acts.
...I decided to pray at a park near my house. At night. I wanted power. Power to do miracles. Power to heal the sick. Power to raise the dead. I’d wait in silence, but eventually, the prayers came out. I cried out to God, even argued with God. And every time, I felt something: warm waves of love crashed into my chest. I physically trembled. I shook.
I kept it up for over a month. Nightly trips to the park, rain or snow. The good feelings kept coming, but I wasn’t experiencing the power I wanted. I wanted more than a feeling. So I decided to chill out on begging God to Spirit-baptize me. Every once in awhile, I’d mention it in my prayers, but disappointment restrained my expectations.
And then I was troubled. I’d stopped actively seeking my own personal Pentecost, and one night, as I prayed, my words were dry, inauthentic. It annoyed me. I remember pacing through the second floor of our house, ticked off at God, and as I stepped into the bathroom, some words fell out of my mouth. But they weren’t in English. I didn’t recognize them.
Was I speaking in tongues?
I was scared. This wasn’t the gift I wanted. It didn’t make sense. But it felt – good. So good!
I ran to my room and prayed in the most pious position I could think of, with my hands folded on the corner of my bed, back straight, knees bent on the floor. I asked God for wisdom in regard to whatever had just occurred. As a precaution, I cast out any pesky demons trying to deceive me, and I asked God, yet again, to fill me with the Spirit. I felt an urge to open my mouth and there they were, those same mysterious words.
They kept coming. And somehow these words that I didn’t understand felt truer than anything else I’d prayed that night. Somehow the barriers I’d been running up against in prayer were gone.
...The night I first spoke in tongues, I felt those feelings again – the ones that made me quake. The love rushing over me. Like I was cocooned in the Holy Spirit. After I stopped praying, and as I laid in my bed, the warmth and energy remained hovering over me, covering me; and I was at peace. I felt safe. I felt known.
...I’ve been praying in tongues. Most of the time, I just don’t know what to pray, and words fail to carry what God is stirring within me, so I lean on the Spirit and let her pray for me. In that place, I find rest. The syllables and noises can be clumsy and strange, but as they roll out (or burst out) I feel my spirit breathing, I feel life pouring in.
This act of holy-foolishness grounds me in Christ’s faithfulness, gives me a way to yield and be faithful in the face of my own confusion. The truth is, I still want power. But God knows what I really need."
-From "On Speaking In Tongues", by Hye Sung Francis
"The Lord reminds me of a time a friend from Finland and a friend from solomon islands prayed over me in tongues for a specific deliverance. They had no common human language but as they prayed they soon were speaking the same language in tongues. They actually conversed back and forth, then in unison. My ailment left and I was free… and very in awe of G-d."
-From comment on "On Speaking in Tongues", by user PrayThroughHistory
A miraculous healing:
"He asked the congregation, 'Do you believe God can heal this young woman?' With his faith, mine and theirs working jointly he anointed me with oil, laid his hand on my forehead and prayed for deliverance.
As Josephine and I left the tent I felt something different — I was being healed as we walked toward the bus stop!
The next day the doctor examined me and told me I was fine. When I got home I watched steam rise from my mother's stew and my mouth salivated. The potatoes, tomatoes, beef and onions smelled delicious. My appetite had returned.
During the next few weeks my weight returned to normal. I had been healed by the power of God. Thank you Jesus for healing me! After X-rays revealed that I had no TB, my husband returned and I got to raise my children. He became a Christian before he died many years later.
Now, at 83 I am a great-grandmother. I give God all the glory. I won't tell how much I now weigh, but by looking at me, you wouldn't believe I ever had TB!"
-Opal Capaldi's Healing
A vision:
"It was on a Sunday night in 1999 that I stood singing in a choir much like I had done countless other times. We began to sing a song very familiar to us called 'Jesus, We Crown You With Praise' and we had sang this song many times over. It was a beautiful song sang by a beautiful choir just like always but this night, there was something different about the singing. I can't begin to describe to you how deep the presence of God was and the more we sang, the more we felt God's presence like you could literally reach out and touch Him.
All across the building, people began to pray and God was changing many, many hearts.
I can't tell you how it started or how it ended but all of a sudden, I was in a place where I was totally unaware of who or what was around me and I became aware of a presence that I knew was Jesus Christ. I looked up and I saw Jesus leaning over looking down from Heaven and even though I could not see His face, I knew there was a look on His face that said He was extremely pleased with the worship and praise that was being offered up in that sanctuary. It lasted only seconds but it felt like an eternity where it was just me and God.
That night when the service had ended, our visiting preacher sat down with the pastor and told him what he saw. He said that when the choir was invited to the platform, he saw people from all over the congregation get up to sing, but there was something strange about some of them in that a lot of them were dressed in pure white clothing and it wasn't until the choir began to sing that he realized he had seen angels get up to sing with the choir that night. It was an incredible experience that I will never forget...
I have experienced a lot of great things in my life including the one I just related to you but the one of the greatest experiences I've had was receiving the Holy Ghost at the young age of 9 in my parents living room and to know that the experience of receiving God's Spirit was just the beginning of many to come gave me all the more inspiration and faith to follow what the Bible asks of me.
I could relate to you other things that I have seen but the greatest part of my relationship with God is, everyday, He comes near. He comes near when I am happy, He comes near when I am sad, He comes near when I'm pleasing to Him and he also comes near when I don't deserve it.
God is ready and willing to come near to anyone that would ask and if you would allow Him to fill you with His Spirit, you can't get any nearer than Him living inside of you."
-When God Came Near, by Rev. Andy Hines
A former Pentecostal man cannot deny his spiritual experiences:
"I can not deny basic facts and things that I experienced, they have become part of my core. For example, feeling the anointing of God in the church, His power coming down in there and His presence in my life. For me, this was very real and to this day, I still hold fast to it."
-from reddit post, "I left 9 years ago and I feel sort of guilty and lost"
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