I was born again in a small Pentecostal church in 1970, because I wanted some of the joy those people had on their faces when they were praising the Lord during worship service. I knew I was different inside even though I did not know the vocabulary of being saved or what having a born again experience meant for my eternal soul.
Two weeks later, I was at a home prayer meeting hosted by a Catholic charismatic couple. The man was teaching about the importance of praying in tongues. A lady, who was a guest, said she really did not understand about praying in tongues. She suggested that maybe if she heard tongues, she would understand the concept. I vividly remember that we all stood up and raised our hands. Our hosts prayed in tongues and I prayed in tongues. When I received the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues, the Bible became alive to me.
Many people receive the Holy Spirit and even speak in tongues, but they are not taught to pray continually in the spirit. They do not realize that they could be praying in the spirit– praying unselfishly–interceding according to the Holy Spirit who lives in us. All we have to do is open our mouths and let the Holy Spirit flow through us in a perfect prayer.
Shortly after I was born again and had received the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, I moved back to my hometown of Hereford, TX. I wanted to start a prayer meeting so I could witness to my childhood friends. My new Chiropractic Office needed my name painted on the door and I heard about a Christian sign painter named Morris Means. As he worked, he asked me if I prayed. Of course, I said. Yes, I pray. Then he asked, for how long do you pray? Oh, at least 15 minutes, I answered. Then he told me that I needed to pray more, and as he put it some more.
Whenever I talked to Morris about my problems–my wife was divorcing me and would not let me see our three children–Morris’ advice to me was a question: Have you prayed? Regardless of my answer Morris always said “Well, go pray some more.” He trained me to pray to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Because I sought the Lord in prayer, I noticed that my problems seemed to diminish. Morris did not send me to a counselor or a church leader, but directed me to the dusty prayer road outside his rural home. I had lots of time to pray so I spent hours and hours in prayer mostly in tongues.
I observed in Morris Means a life transformed by prayer. His home prayer meetings caused a revival among the high school teenagers of Hereford, TX in the early 1970s. When as a pastor, he prayed 8 hours per day for the church. It grew to over 400 members, all because he understood his job description as a fervent seeker of God.
If you want to become prosperous both in business and in Christian ministry or leadership, let me give you the advice I received from Morris every time I talk to him: Have you prayed today? Well, go pray some more! I want to encourage you to reconnect with the Holy Spirit who abides in you. Go pray some more in tongues!
Dr Terry H Peters, Chiropractor 04/28/2008