We recently had a brief but beautiful encounter with an African American lady named Tammy. We prayed with her a couple of days ago during our travels in California, and she received the Holy Spirit in a very interesting way. This is how we met:

We were exiting a Walmart store in Los Angeles where she was collecting donations for the homeless. She saw our group and instantly got up out of her chair and came over to us, to compliment one of the children. Within minutes, we were in a conversation with her in the middle of the Walmart parking lot, telling her about our travels and our work in the name of Jesus. We offered to pray with her, as she was a church-goer and already baptized in water, but she wasn’t yet filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. She was keen, so we went to our vehicle (where it was more comfortable and peaceful to be able to focus), and we all piled in to pray.

Tammy definitely received the Holy Spirit the first time we laid hands on her and prayed because she spoke out in tongues very clearly, but not for very long. She then went back to praising God in English, but she was clearly touched by the Lord. Her whole body seemed mesmerized and she was crying. After a while of enjoying the feeling of this new power, Tammy exclaimed, “I feel like I’m brand new!” We asked her if she had heard herself praying in tongues and she said she hadn’t. So, we prayed again, explaining that it was important for her to connect with praying in tongues so she would continue to do so daily, to build her relationship with God.

This second time we prayed, Tammy prayed long and strong in tongues, and she cried some more. It was very moving for both her and us. But, interestingly, Tammy also expressed concern that she didn’t know what she was saying. This is the first time we’ve ever experienced this level of concern. So, even though we had shared with her – after getting in the car – the scriptures about speaking tongues (that are highlighted in the book of 2 Corinthians), we reassured her again. We also explained that just as Moses came down from Mount Sinai (with his face shining the glory of the Lord so much so that he had to wear a veil – in order to appease the people who could not bear to see it), we also cannot bear to know the fullness of the glorious things we’re saying in tongues while we remain in our fleshly bodies for this present time.

This made sense to her and it relieved her worry, and she also eagerly regarded our advice to be sure to pray in tongues every day – both during quiet worship time prayer, and also at other times of the day when she’s alone (or with other Spirit-filled brethren). We emphasized the importance of this in order to active the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, and to strengthen herself in the Lord.

We only had a brief amount of time with Tammy as she had to get back to her donations post, and we were only in that area for the afternoon, but please join us in praying that Tammy will now draw nigh to God, using the precious gift of the Holy Spirit that was just given to her through Jesus.