The Holy Spirit and His Gifts | Page 54

life (Rom. 8:26,27). And when we receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit, a new dimension is made available in our private prayer life through speaking in tongues. My Own Experiences in Prayer I have had many experiences in prayer in which the Holy Spirit has guided me and shown me "things to come." For example, one night while in a meeting in Oregon, I was very burdened in prayer. The Holy Spirit showed me that my oldest brother was having physical difficulty, but that he would be all right. I told my wife, "The doctors will think that his condition is very serious, and from the natural standpoint, it is serious. But he is coming out of it all right. The Lord said so." In just a few hours we got a long distance call from my sister. She was almost in hysterics as she said, "Our brother has had an accident and has broken his back. His condition is very serious. What are we going to do?" Thank God, I was able to tell her, "I already have inside information on this. He is not as bad off as they think he is. He will be all right. Don't fret about it." Later the doctors said to my brother, "We don't understand it. The X rays show that your spine is completely broken. The bone is severed in two. Why you aren't paralyzed we don't know." I knew why, however. My brother was in Iowa, but there was an Intercessor inside of me in Oregon — the Holy Spirit who had already taken care of the situation. Another time I was traveling alone to minister in St. Louis, while my wife stayed at home to take care of our children. Late one night I suddenly sensed a need to pray. I began to pray in tongues, and I continued to pray, knowing that something was wrong at home. I sensed that someone's physical life was in danger. The Holy Spirit showed me that it was my mother. I continued to pray, saying, "You are my Helper. You are my Intercessor. Help me to pray for her." While I was praying, the phone rang. My wife was calling to say that they had just taken my mother to the hospital. "She has had a very serious heart attack," my wife said. "They don't know if she will live or not." I said, "I know it. And I have already been praying. The Holy Spirit showed me that she will be all right." And she was, praise God! If space permitted, I could tell of experience after experience along this line. In 1959 my wife and I were in California preaching. At that time our daughter was expecting her first child. One Friday night I was awakened during the night. Very often I would wake up and pray. I would just lay there quietly and do most of my praying in tongues, the Holy Ghost giving me utterance.