The testimony of Beth C,
Greensboro, North Carolina
I was hungry. That is why I went every single
night that Gil was in town and sat until the lights were turned off. I was hungry, I am
hungry, for the presence of the Lord.
Yes, I was sick. I had medically documented
hypothyroidism. I had pulled every muscle in my body. I caught every virus that came
around. Yes, I was poor. I had medical bills and college loans beyond what I could pay.
Yes, I was heartbroken. A man I had loved for 12 years had been removed from my life.
But mostly, I was hungry.
Entering into the praise was such a joy. I would
set aside thoughts of work or people or myself. I told my mind to shut up, and I told the
Holy Spirit He was welcomed. And then I worshipped.
Gil taught from Nehemiah 8:10 that "the joy
of the Lord is our strength" and on the Word that says a "cheerful heart is like
a good medicine." When he spoke these scriptures, I thought...
"Well, I certainly need a lot of
medicine...." And it made me laugh.
At earlier services, I had cried and cried and
cried. But, as I sat in the presence of God, and as Gil spoke, my spirit would quieten
within me and I would hear from the Holy Spirit. Often I closed my eyes throughout the
entire service, because it kept out distractions. I could listen better. As I tuned my
heart toward the Lord, I could hear Him speak.
Maybe the scripture Gil spoke on would cause my
soul to rejoice, or the Lord would speak words of revelation to me. Sometimes he taught on
a non-related topic, but there was such liberty in the Spirit. God's presence was so
tender that it did not matter what people were doing but what God was doing.
I know that, during these weeks of revival, I was
changed from the inside of my spirit to the outside. Gil faithfully instructed as the Lord
led him. He taught us the Word on the
rivers of living waters flowing from our bellies.
Then he ministered from the eternal spring.
I went up every night for prayer to just be
closer to the Father. Whatever the call for prayer, I would find a way that I could
justify going forward. And often, after being prayed for, I would lie on the floor,
content, at peace, crying, laughing, or silent and would hear from the Lord, sometimes
about me. He told me one night that my heart was totally healed and that it would never be
broken again. It would stretch, but not break. I felt my heart tangibly strengthened and
made whole.
Sometimes my spirit rejoiced for others. One
night the Lord spoke to me that the gentleman sitting next to me was there for a purpose.
I began to laugh; and, as I laughed, the man was called up front. As he walked past, the
glory of the joy of the Lord doubled and overwhelmed him. He got drunk in the Spirit on
his way up the aisle.
Sometimes the Lord spoke to me about Himself. In
a series of puns, which caused me to laugh sometimes for over two hours, the Lord took me
in the Spirit through every room in the house. He explained what each room meant to me.
The bathroom, for example, contained his medicine cabinet which contained a cure for every
ill known to man.
The Lord taught me through Gil's ministry that we
do minister to one another, and that the same power of the Holy Spirit goes with us into
the world. At work, the Lord touched one of my patients who was on her way for neck
surgery. She was healed. After six months of intense pain and several weeks of medicines,
she wanted prayer. After that day, she never had pain again.
Gil and Loraine and their children minister as
Christ did, as servants. They were willing to worship, instruct, or be "fools for
Christ" in a heap on the floor. I love them and what the Lord in them is doing for
others.
Yes, I received full documented healing of
hypothyroidism over a time period of several months and am off all medication. Yes, I no
longer have medical bills. Yes, my heart was healed.
Primarily, I sought the Lord and He answered me.
He has let me step deeper into His precious presence and has let me dwell in His courts
with praise. Since the weeks of revival, I sense the Lord's presence and am attuned to His
desires in a more sensitive way than before.
I love Him and give Him all glory for these
things and for His servants, the Gil Howard-Browne family.
Beth C,Greensboro, North Carolina