Spring 2010
This story is an old salvation story that’s just resurfaced in the deliverance department. This story is significant to understanding my ministry and how The Lord works with me. How this guy get’s saved is remarkable. I want to share this radical experience with you.
“Hoops” and I have been friends and drinking buddies since high school. We’ve played sports together and became two of the heaviest drinkers in our circle of friends. Later, in 2010, living about 1000 miles away from each other, Hoops calls me out of the blue and describes his life as being in shambles. I share Jesus with him and he agrees he needs to accept Him as his Savior.
I was very young at soul winning at this point so I ask him to repeat a sinners-type, bullet-point type prayer with me. Halfway through our praying he stops repeating after me. I’m thinking to myself, “He quit,” “He’s bored,” “He went to get a beer.” I finish the prayer by myself and there’s a long pause which ends with me repeating his name – all by myself, to which there is no response. Finally, I hear the phone being picked, like up off the ground. I ask, “Are you alright?” He responds, “Yea, I passed out” while sounding as if he had just woke up. I didn’t know what to do with that, so I let it go and we got off the phone.
Years later, after learning more about my calling, The Lord reminds of Hoops “passing-out,” so I call him to confirm some things in my mind. When he answers the phone I interrogate, “Are you a Christian?” He responds, “Yea, you led me to Jesus. He’s my Lord and Savior and I love Him.” I immediately move to the “passing-out” issue and ask him to share with me what happened on the phone that day. He tells me, “When we started praying a bright light came toward me, it took me over and I passed-out.” When he describes this to me I finally understand. The Holy Spirit took him over, cleaned his house up, seared his spirit, and saved him…knocked him out! All this over the phone! No hands laid on him or nothing! Jesus did His work through our prayer, Hoops’ faith and a phone call; 1000 miles away from each other. Seriously cool stuff!
