The Ministry of the Holy Spirit in My Life

I would like to share the following testimony from an anonymous person, regarding the work of the Holy Spirit in his life.  This brother chooses to remain anonymous, so only the Lord would receive the praise.  I think this will encourage you. He states:

After I gave my life to the Lord Jesus Christ in 1986, my friend invited me to visit his church.  I accepted and went with him.  The church was different than any other I had ever been to.  Rather than meeting in a traditional church building with a steeple, they met in what was formerly a nice restaurant with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, which had been renovated and converted into a church.  They had chairs instead of pews.  And up on the platform, the members of the worship team were playing many types of musical instruments, including keyboard, tambourine, drums, and guitar. 

The worship and music was so full of joy!  It was vibrant and lively.  People were speaking in tongues, as well as prophesying.  You could feel the presence of the Lord.  The preaching was excellent. There was an emphasis on prayer.  And when you walked into the church, you were greeted and felt so much love from everyone.  I remember one night after a mid-week service, feeling like I didn’t want to go home, because the presence of the Lord was so wonderful.  It was a foretaste of heaven.

I asked Alan, who had invited me, what these people had, because whatever they had, I wanted it, too.  He said, that it was the baptism with the Holy Spirit.  I had never heard of that, so I asked about it.  He gave me a little booklet that explained it from the Bible.  I took that home and read it more than once, searching the Scriptures to see if these things were really so.  Once I had become convinced this was Scriptural, I asked at a mid-week service for prayer to receive the Holy Spirit. 

So after the meeting, they took me to the prayer room and had me sit down.  The intercessors and Alan stood around me.  They asked if I understood what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is, and I asked them to explain it to me once again, which they did.  Then they laid hands on me, and I spoke with new tongues with my hands uplifted to God, giving Him praise in a heavenly language. That night when I got back to the military post where I was stationed, I went out into the woods to my favorite prayer spot, and stood out under the stars and prayed in the Spirit for a long while in my new language. That was the beginning of my awareness of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in my life.

What follows are some testimonies, which are only examples of the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit in my life. There are too many incidents to include them all, so these will have to suffice to make the point.

One morning in Bible school, the Lord spoke to me in prayer and told me that if I delight myself in Him that He will give me the desire of my heart to reap the harvest in Eastern Europe.  A few moments after leaving my prayer closet, I met a friend who said to me, “Delight yourself in the Lord…and He will…use you mightily in the ministry and give you the desires of your heart.”

One day I went into my favorite submarine sandwich shop in my hometown of Manchester, NH.  I was home on break from Bible school.  I happened to meet up with a man whom I had known in high school.  This was the second time I happened to meet up with him out in public without planning to do so, during one of my rare breaks from Bible school.  As I was waiting for my sandwich to be prepared, I prayed for a word of knowledge for him, so that I might lead him to Christ. 

I closed my eyes and waited.  Then the Holy Spirit showed me an impression of a man sitting with his feet in the water. I asked the Holy Spirit for wisdom and when my sandwich was ready, I asked this man if I could sit with him.  He obliged.  As we ate together, I asked him if he had been having any problems with his feet lately.  At first, he did not recall having any problems.  Then he said that a couple days earlier he had bought a new pair of snakeskin boots, and wore them to work as a delivery driver for a water cooler delivery company.  He said he feet had been really bothering him.  So this was an opening that enabled him to see that God cared about him, and after I presented the gospel to him, he gave his life to Christ right there in the middle of the restaurant crowded with people.

One day while working at a Christian resort hotel in Virginia Beach as a bellman, I checked into the hotel the Seegel’s, a missionary couple whom I had never met.  Without my mentioning a word to Mrs. Segel about Eastern Europe, she indicated that I wanted to go there. 

A couple months later, I had the privilege of checking in a Romanian couple from Bucharest.  Their names are Mr. and Mrs. Richard Wurmbrand, whom I had never heard of before then.  I later found out they were famous, and had been in prison for Christ in Eastern Europe for many years before I was even born.  Before I even told Mrs. Wurmbrand that I was studying for my Masters degree in World Missions, she said to me, ‘You’ll make a good missionary,’ because I was able to explain to her how to use her electronic room key.

During my training for ministry, I met a young lady in Virginia, and we became engaged, but later had some doubts whether we were to be married.  So we separated and put each other on the altar before the Lord.  I then moved back to my home state of NH.  Then one day I called her from NH for the first time in months.  She said she was still praying for God to put us back together, just as I had also been praying.  We both still felt strongly we were to be married.  Even so, I experienced a crisis of belief in my heart.

The very next day, in my private devotion time with the Lord, I claimed her as my wife, standing on the verse in Proverbs 5:18,19.  That same day, I had a message on my answering machine that a brother in Christ had left for me.  It was a recording of him interceding for me that God would bless me with a mate.  That same night at a worship meeting, a prophet visiting from out of town, whom I had never met, prophesied that God was going to bless me with a wife.  He specifically indicated that this would occur within one week, even though he had never met me before, and he didn’t know my situation.

Meanwhile that same evening, hundreds of miles away in Virginia Beach, a sister was prophesying over my former fiancé that she was “not going to be alone much longer.”  When she returned home, she recorded an audiocassette tape to send to me in the mail.  This was the first time either of us had ever done this.

Exactly one week after that prophesy over me, I was surprised to receive her tape in the mail, in which she said she still believed we would one day be married in God’s plan.  About seven months later, once she finished graduate school, she moved to NH to become part of my home church, and we were married a little more than a year after we both received these prophesies.

While we were missionaries in Europe, I went to a revival in Belgium, where I received the baptism with holy fire.  The day after I returned home to my family in Hungary, we had family prayer late at night, and I imparted the holy fire to my wife and the children.  My hands went from being cool beforehand to very warm, even hot as I imparted the fire.  As I prayed for my youngest daughter, she felt two blazing balls of fire in her hands that were very heavy like lead balls, and she became very warm.  My oldest daughter and wife felt the same thing.  They were amazed. My son said he felt the holy fire, especially on his back, and his hands became sweaty.  Praise the Lord!

As a missionary in Eastern and Central Europe, I once shared Jesus with a man at the auto dealership, while we were both waiting for our vehicles to be repaired.  He said he does not have any spiritual beliefs, since he only believes what he can see.  After I spoke with him about the Lord, his car was ready and he had to leave, so I gave him a gospel tract.  As he was getting into his car, a vehicle pulled right in front of him with the license plate number “GOD 947”.  This car went ahead of him as he was leaving the parking lot. 

One time when I traveled to Bulgaria, I preached at a gypsy church in Kalekovits, Bulgaria.  14 people wanted healing, and the Lord healed many of them. One young lady manifested a demon that made her mute, and received deliverance after about 45 min.  Then she got saved and I prayed for her to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Praise the Lord. 

About fourteen people got healed from pain in knees, and pain in their lower back. I prayed for a young, fourteen-year-old boy who had a broken elbow from arm wrestling. Also prayed for him to be healed of hemophelia. He was shaking when I prayed for him, and he felt the power of God. When I prayed for his elbow, he felt heat there. Others were also shaking when they received prayer and testified of feeling heat go through their bodies.

I met with a precious Christian couple I know in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.  We had a great time of fellowship. I shared our testimony about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the holy fire. Then I imparted the holy fire. When I did, he was sweating so much that his shirt was soaking through. When I imparted to his wife, she felt like her feet became weak and it was difficult to stand. She also felt great joy of the Lord inside her.

I also met with a preacher in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.  He has responsibility to oversee a church plant in a town called Stamboljski.  I shared our testimony about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our family and the holy fire. 

Then we prayed for about fifteen minutes. Then I imparted the holy fire. He was standing and his whole body from head to toe became warm. He became weak and could not stand. He fell to his knees and bowed before the Lord in praise. Afterward he was very warm and praising God.

One night in our home in Hungary, we had family prayer on our knees in the dark. During the meeting, both my wife and I felt the holy fire on our hands.  I felt led to pray for my daughter regarding the gift of intercession.  My other daughter testified at the end of the prayer meeting that she caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a flame of orange fire where I was reaching my hand around my daughter’s back to pray for her. It was so bright that it surprised her. As she began to share this testimony, I immediately felt the presence of the Lord all over me. It became stronger as she continued to share, and remained even after she had finished testifying! Praise the Lord!

On one visit to Romania, I was preaching at a gypsy church in Voila. After I finished the message, I imparted the holy fire to all who wanted it. The pastor’s wife testified the next day that she saw bright light when I prayed, going from person to person. She felt peace and love. Then she saw in a dream a man holding a light, saying, “Don’t look behind or sideways.” And she saw a road leading the right way. She said the message I preached about obedience to the Lord was the right way to go.

All the people I prayed for that night had supernatural experience consistent with receiving holy fire. Without exception they all had supernatural manifestations. One man felt the power of God going through him from his feet on up through is body. Another man felt warmth or heat in his body. Another man was feeling the heat in his hands and a prickly feeling.  Another person felt balls of fire in his hands. Some people were also trembling throughout their bodies. The pastor also received it and definitely felt the fire in his hand. He was thanking Jesus! He said, “I felt like the Holy Spirit was searching my entire being from head to toe.”

At the same gypsy church in Voila, Romania, I prayed for a man named Nicolae with a painful lump in right side of throat that made it hard to swallow. I laid hands on him and commanded lump to go. Afterward his pain was gone and the lump had shrunk, so it was much easier to swallow. I prayed again and the lump disappeared, so he could swallow normally.  He testified the next night at the meeting that the Lord healed him. 

I visited another Pentecostal church in Ploiesti, Romania and preached. When I imparted the fire of the Holy Spirit, most people experience the working of the Holy Spirit.

One man felt two heavy fireballs in his hands. Another man was overwhelmed with the glory of God and could not stand. Other people felt the “peace” that passes all understanding.

When we returned to the US on furlough from the mission field, we shared our testimonies at the Wednesday evening meeting at a church in Manchester, NH, and afterward ministered to the sick. One young lady had severe neck pain, and had seen doctor right before the meeting, who prescribed physical therapy. The Lord healed her instantly, and the pain left immediately. Another lady had many physical ailments and pain. After we broke the curse off her life. She felt a peace like she hadn’t felt in long time. Another lady ministers to children and asked for prayer for strength. We imparted from the Holy Spirit and she said she was overwhelmed with joy, which was very obvious.

I checked back a couple weeks later and learned that the young lady who was miraculously healed of neck pain was still perfectly healed since the time she was prayed for.  Then I got an email from another sister in that church a few weeks later that said “You prayed for a certain sister at the service at our church that Wednesday evening. Well, she told us last week to let you know that the issues with her neck and leg and knee all have improved dramatically! So I just wanted to send along this praise report to you.” Praise the Lord!

We shared testimonies at another church in NH on a Wednesday evening, and afterward ministered to the sick. One lady had scoliosis since age 14. I checked her legs and her left was longer by ¼ to ½ inch. I spoke to right leg and it grew out, so that the two legs were perfectly even. She was then able to walk around with out pain. She later said she felt a gentleness and had a vision of grapes when I prayed for her healing. My wife was led to minister inner healing while laying hands on her chest. She later said she felt a lump come up in her chest as Jen prayed. We imparted holy fire to another sister. When we did, she felt tingling all over her body.

I shared about what the Lord has been doing through us in Eastern Europe at a small group in a home one evening.  I mentioned the fire of the Holy Spirit and a sister came up to us after the meeting to receive it.  She said she had always wondered what the fire of the Holy Spirit was in the Bible.  When we imparted it, she saw white and felt heat running from the top of her head down the back of her neck.  Her hands also felt warm and numb.  We prayed with her, led her to forgive some people, we broke fear off of her, and drove some evil spirits that were in her life.  She was bright eyed and full of hope after we prayed with her.  She said she felt “lighter” and she had a “new hope” now.

The next day she wrote: “I am so thankful and overjoyed at the healing/ministering work The Lord blessed me with through you both last night!!!!  I have not encountered faith and the power of the Holy Spirit like that in a very long time, so I felt refreshed, invigorated and revived with hope, healing, and faith.”

Once a garage told us that we needed a lot of repairs on our used van, due to oil leaks, and the total came to around $1250 total.  I did not have the money to spend on all the repairs at that time, so I prayed about which repairs to do first, and asked God for wisdom.  I also asked a pastor in Belgium to pray for us.  After praying about it, I felt like we should do the one repair that was supposed to cost $780.  Then we received a gift from the pastor in Belgium, who was led to send us 500 euros.  We were so grateful to God and to the pastor for this generous gift! 

When they did the work on the van today, they were able to look closely and see that the oil leak was not coming from this part of the engine.  So we were able to avoid the expense of some of the labor and parts associated with this repair.  When they added up the cost of it all and gave me the total charges, it came to $641.39, rather than $780.  I was happy to see that we saved money.  Then I remembered that the 500 euros that the pastor in Belgium sent to us as a gift, which had converted into exactly $641.62 USD!!!  That paid for exactly the repairs we had done that day, which cost us $641.39!!!  Praise the Lord! 

At one church we visited in North Carolina, the Lord led us to lay hands for healing on a man with lung cancer that had spread to his back, which we did after the service with the pastor's permission.  The sick man, named Bob, had not been to church in eight weeks, but decided to come on that one day when we visited.  We didn't know this until afterward, once the pastor told us.  Bob said the pain left his back when hands were laid on and the prayer of faith was offered in Jesus’ name. 

The pastor said he "knows beyond the shadow of a doubt" that the Lord led us there that Sunday. The night before we visited, I had called the church telephone number to find the Sunday service times.  I called around 11:25 PM expecting to hear the service times on the church phone's greeting message, but instead the pastor's wife answered the phone at home.  On Sunday morning, the pastor told the congregation that on the previous night, he had just been praying that the Lord would send someone to the church the next morning. He said that was about fifteen minutes before I called, so he saw our visit to the church as a direct answer to prayer.  He and his wife were very encouraged by our visit. 

In fact, later that Sunday evening, he said, "I have rejoiced all day in the Lord because of your visit. [My wife] has been telling everyone about how God answered prayer today." Praise the Lord for the way He encouraged this pastor and his wife, and healed the man with cancer! 

One night as we were leaving a restaurant, there was a waitress outside smoking a cigarette, who began to talk to us.  She was talking about getting cancer from smoking, so my wife said she knew someone who could help her quit.  The waitress asked who it was that could help her, and my wife said, “Jesus.”  She said, “Really?”  So we began to talk with her about the Lord.  She said she knew “someone was up there,” because her life had been miraculously spared twice.  Once she had gotten a deadly MRSA infection in her brain and they had to cut her skull to treat it.  The doctors gave her no hope to survive and she was healed.  Another time she was hit from behind on the highway, and her car rolled four times.  The man next to her in the car was holding her hand as the car rolled, saying, “You’re going to be alright.”  When a lady came to the car to help, the man handed her hand over to the lady that came to the window.  The lady told her that help was on the way for the two of them and would be there shortly.  Later at the hospital, that lady asked the waitress where the man was, who had been in the passenger’s seat with her in the accident.  But she replied that she did not know who that man was, since she was traveling alone, and there was no passenger in the car until the vehicle started to roll out of control.  We explained to her that he was an angel of God, a ministering spirit sent to help her, because God loves her and has a plan for her life. 

Then we discovered she had never been born again, and after we explained the gospel, she said she wanted to give her life to Jesus.  So she prayed right there outside the restaurant, and we also prayed for her.  She wept as the presence of the Lord came upon her.  When my wife checked on her a week later, she was very excited and said that her whole life had now changed.

I hesitate to share any of these testimonies, because I do not want anyone to think more highly of me than they ought to.  I am merely a vessel of the Holy Spirit. I am a servant of the Most High God.  I can do nothing without Him.  All the mistakes were mine, but everything good that happened was because of Him.  He is the one who did all these things and the many other things I did not share in this brief testimony.

Author's Note: You may find my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.