In my last devotional I shared about my husband being healed at a camp meeting. That experience was the beginning of a real turnaround in our lives.

We returned home from the family camp we attended in Southern California with a deep hunger in our hearts for more of God. Just a few years earlier we had been consumed with building and furnishing our new home, but now our hearts were focused on spiritual things. The things of earth had faded in significance and had been replaced with a burning desire to know God.

A friend of mine began listening to Kathryn Kuhlman on the radio and shared with me about her ministry. I was quite intrigued. Kathryn was coming to the Shrine Auditorium, in Los Angeles, once a month to hold miracle services. The auditorium held 5,000 people and was packed at each service. In fact, hundreds would be turned away at each service. Skeptics would come to the service with the intent to prove that Ms. Kuhlman was a fake. However, many of these doubters were very surprised when they were personally healed!

It wasn’t long until my husband and I found ourselves making the 5-½ hour drive to Los Angeles to attend one of the meetings. The Presence of the Lord was wonderful! There was a holy awe in that place and at times you could have heard a pin drop. I shall never forget the childlike faith that Kathryn exhibited. The Presence of the Lord hovered over the people and then suddenly, Kathryn would begin calling out healings that were taking place.

We had never seen anything like it before, but we had an inner knowing that this was indeed God! I shall forever be thankful that I had the opportunity to attend some of those meetings. Whenever children were healed, Kathryn was deeply touched and tears would run down her face. She had such childlike faith and she clearly understood that it was the Lord who was doing the healing, not her! She gave God all the glory!

Eventually, the Lord led me to charter a bus and take a group of people from Central California to Los Angeles each month. To this day I have never known any other minister who has made the Lord so real and the gospel message so simple, as Kathryn did. One thing that stands out to me from those meetings was the remarkable testimonies from those who were healed. When the Lord healed people in those meetings, their lives were transformed! They were translated out of darkness into His Marvelous Light. Needless to say, again, I saw God move by His Spirit in a way that I had never before witnessed. I began to comprehend how much my Heavenly Father loved me.

As the Lord was revealing more and more of Himself to me, I started hungering and thirsting after Him as never before in my life. In the past I had tried to satisfy myself with many superficial things. Now I began to understand that the Lord was the One who could fully satisfy the longing that was in my heart!

My husband and I had five children, and I am so thankful that they also began to experience the Presence of the Lord. We were so grateful that we were privileged to raise them during the years of the charismatic renewal when there was a powerful move of the Holy Spirit.

In 1968 God directed us to move from California to Oregon. We did not know what the future held for us, but we made the move with great expectations. We knew that the Lord was doing something new in our lives.

In 1970 we began attending Santa Clara Assembly, a church pastored by Judson Cornwall.

It was under his ministry that we began to learn about ministering to the Lord and entering into worship. There was a great awareness of the Presence of the Lord in these meetings. We began to see a real release of prophecy in the meetings.

My husband became the organist at the church and became the new music teacher at Eugene Bible College. During this time he was able to impart to his students what the Lord had imparted to us. He led the choir into ministering to the Lord, and coming from praise in the Outer Court into worship in the Holy Place.

When we went on the choir tour that year we had a mighty move of the Holy Spirit. There was a powerful anointing on the choir as they ministered. The Holy Spirit moved among us with prophecy, healing and His Mighty Presence. As people worshiped the Lord many were slain in the Spirit without any one laying hands on them.

A great desire for more of the Lord and His Holiness in their lives came upon the students as well as great conviction of sin in their lives. There was no condemnation as we were all being drawn by the Holy Spirit. I shall never forget those days of refreshing in the Presence of the Lord. The Lord was so faithful to reveal Himself to us!

Prior to each service the students spent time ministering to the Lord and as they drew near to Him, He drew near to them. I remember one evening in Smelterville, Idaho, when the choir was having their pre-service prayer time, that the Holy Spirit moved and the Presence of the Lord was so strong that many were slain in the Spirit. My husband knew that soon people would be arriving for the service and told the students to get up and join hands. He knew that many might not understand what was happening. We all gathered in a circle and joined hands. It was all we could do to keep standing as the Lord’s Presence was so heavy upon us.

That night there was a powerful move of God in the service. Many lives were touched and hearts changed forever!

Yes, there is nothing like the Presence of the Lord!

Why am I sharing all of this with you? My hope and prayer as I write these things is that you will be stirred to seek the Lord with your whole heart! The Lord’s return is very near! Now is the time to prepare our hearts and be filled with the Spirit.

As the days grow darker, the Light of God will shine brighter in His People!

Isaiah 60:2 “For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and his Glory shall be seen upon thee.”

Isaiah 40:5 “And, the Glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it!”

Amen and amen!