Praise the Lord!

One morning in March while I was reading God's word and praying, I paused for a moment and told God, "I'm going to quit studying your word and praying. I'm no closer to you now than I was six months ago."”But immediately the Spirit convicted me that I had to keep on studying, continue praying, so I relented and said to Him, "I can't quit, because I know there's more. There's more to you than what I have, and I intend to get all you have for me."

I continued reading and studying the Bible and praying, seeking his guidance in my life every morning. On a May morning, Jim and I were sharing and praying when he asked me if I'd like to go to the Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship meeting on Saturday night at the community building. He said there was a Lutheran pastor who would be sharing his testimony and he'd like to hear him. I told him yes, I wanted to hear him, too. Neither of us had ever been to one of these meetings, but we were interested in what he had to say. The pastor shared how God had drastically changed his life when he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. After the meeting was over, an elderly lady asked me if I had ever been baptized in the Holy Spirit. "I don't know," I told her. "I don't know anything about it." She told me to get Jim and go to the clubroom; the preacher would be sharing about baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Jim and I listened to the pastor, but I didn’t really understand what he was talking about. Over the weekend I prayed and talked to the Lord constantly about what the preacher had spoken about in the clubroom on Saturday night, but I still didn’t understand the essence of his message.

When I went to my shop on Monday morning, May 15, 1972, I was still confused, but once again I started reading in the word of God. I started reading in the gospel of John--just where God wanted me--chapter seven, and when I come to verses thirty-seven and thirty-eight, this is what I read: "On the last day, the climax of the holidays, Jesus shouted to the crowds, ‘If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink for the scriptures declare that rivers of living water shall flow from the innermost being of anyone who believes in me."

At that very moment, God called me by name and said, "Leland, I baptize you in the Holy Spirit."”This was the first time in my life I had heard God's audible voice speak to me. There are not words that can describe what took place in the next few minutes. I was enveloped in a cloud of love and it seemed as if I was floating in this cloud. From the depth of my belly, waves of glory started emanating through my body. These surges felt like ocean waves pulsing up through my entire being and out through the top of my head. These waves continued one after another, until twenty seconds or more passed and I cried out, "God this is so wonderful, but I can't take it anymore!"”The presence of God was so magnificent and powerful, I realized that my mortal body could not survive being in His presence except for a few seconds. I started praying and praising God for this wonderful experience. I realized I was not speaking in English but in tongues. I don't know how long I prayed in tongues; I was totally immersed in God’s love and it was all encompassing.

That day I went by Jim's office and told him about the experience. He said he knew something had happened, that there was something different about me. Over the next three or four days, I had three other men approach me to ask what had happened. They said I looked different. I told them about the encounter I had with the Lord, and how it had affected me in a powerful, wonderful way.

Things were going very well for the next month or so, and occasionally when something great happened, the Spirit within me would leap and a wave of glory went up through my body. This was such a blessing to me. I said to God, "You have been so gracious to me; I must honor you somehow. From this moment on, I will say "Praise the Lord"’to every person I greet.”

But I argued within myself, "What will people think of me? They'll probably think I've gone crazy or maybe something worse."”But that's what I did, and I continue to greet people like this today.

“Praise the LORD!”