Just when I needed it most.

I love God stories. As in, stories that are amazing or miraculous and inexplicable other than saying “it was a God thing.” I’ve had a few encounters that can only be labeled as “a God thing.” Some are too personal to share, except with those very close to me. But today I was reminded of one God story that I felt like sharing on my blog.

In the fall of 2006, I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (If you want more information or a better understanding of what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is, I would recommend checking out these two teachings.) Because it was a deeply personal experience, I don’t wish to share the details via my blog. I mention it only because it’s a crucial element to this particular story. So, with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I began praying in tongues. (Again, if you have questions, go to that link I just provided.)

The early part of 2007 was a very tough time period in our family. We were financially maxed out, struggling to keep our house, expecting our third baby, my husband had just started his own business, and, after working from home and being paid well for seven years, I had just been laid off due to downsizing. Things were not going well for us and I found myself praying in tongues quite often, mostly because I was so distraught I didn’t even know what to pray. I was clinging to Romans 8:26, “The Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don’t even know what we should pray for… but the Holy Spirit prays for us.” When I would pray in tongues, I kind of felt… ridiculous. It all sounded like jibber-jabber to me and I felt silly. But no one could hear me. It was just between me and God. So I kept praying, believing that what didn’t make sense to me, certainly made sense to Him. I knew that He had my best interest in mind, so I kept on.

During this time, I was involved in a ladies Bible study. We were going through Beth Moore’s DVD series Breaking Free. During one of the DVDs, I admit that I had slightly zoned out for a few minutes. I had become preoccupied thinking about how overwhelmed I’d felt for months. Out of nowhere, I heard her say the “jibber-jabber” of my prayer language! My attention was immediately drawn to the DVD. I didn’t want to distract anyone or interrupt the message, so I jotted down a quick note and remained silent. After the DVD was finished, I mentioned to my friend Kelly that I had heard Beth Moore say something on the DVD and I was wondering what it meant. Kelly said she had a book with all the names of God, so we looked it up:

El Elyon – means “The most high God” and “My deliverer”

What sounded like jibber-jabber to me was in fact me praising God for being the most high and asking Him to deliver me! I was totally blown away.

Not long after this God story took place, our family had major breakthrough in all areas of our lives. It has been amazing to see God bring us from point A to point B and beyond. I’m so thankful for Him revealing my prayer language to me just when I needed it most. He is amazing!