I recently did a television interview with Philip Cameron that was a great blessing to me personally. It was great to meet Philip and serving his vision was truly an honor. The anointing flowed during our time together, and we were both blessed along with the thousands watching live and those who will see it.
As we were talking, the Lord gave me fresh insight, on our authority to occupy through prayer, from my Dad’s story of redemption. When Dad was just three months old, his biological father tried to smother him in the crib. Thankfully, he was stopped. He left, abandoning his family, and never returned.
Later, when Dad was five, his mother married a truly demonized man who unleashed hell into Dad’s world. The next five years of his life were horrible. He and his sisters experienced abuse in almost every imaginable way, and intense hatred grew in his heart.
Just before the downward spiral in Dad’s life, he had an encounter from God that marked him for his destiny. His great uncle, Robert Self, was a Freewill Baptist minister who won 20,000 people to the Lord in 20 years of ministry in the mountains of Western North Carolina. When asked about what was happening among the Pentecostals in regard to tongues and other supernatural manifestations, he simply replied, “I don’t understand it. But let’s not fight against it, lest we fight against the Lord’s work.”
It wasn’t long after “Uncle Bob” passed that his dear wife, Ally, received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in a Church of God meeting. Most in her family thought that she had gone crazy since they didn’t understand what came over her now as she would pray, speak in languages they didn’t know, shout, dance and prophesy.
One fateful day, Dad was told that Aunt Ally was going to visit. He and his sister were warned that she was known to have crazy fits but assured that they would be protected. Well, she came and had a “fit” but now we know it wasn’t craziness but the moving of the Holy Spirit upon her.
Standing in the front yard, she suddenly began to speak in tongues and praise God. Dad’s sisters managed to run away, but Aunt Ally grabbed him before he could get away. She looked at his mom and said, “Be careful how you treat this one. He is special. Bob’s mantle to preach the Gospel will rest upon him but He will minister in the power of the Holy Ghost with the gifts of the Spirit and signs and wonders.” She continued to pray over Dad just before he was able to escape. They all, including him, thought it was just the strange antics of a crazy woman. But Dad later understood that she wasn’t crazy at all. She simply knew things that others didn’t.
I’ve heard the story and laughed with hundreds of others as Dad described the scene, but this past week it hit me – I saw it! Our prayers and prophetic declarations under the anointing avail much. We have authority from the Lord. Even times that may feel insignificant to you have great significance in the Kingdom of God!
I don’t know if Aunt Ally thought much about that brief encounter with a little great, great nephew. I don’t know if she knew about the hell that began in the home soon after her prayer. If she knew, she most likely died while it looked like the devil had won. But the prayer she prayed, and the word she declared, produced fruit.
Don’t underestimate the power of prayer in your life! Much of our prayer time, even when we sense the anointing, feels insignificant to us. Often we don’t see the manifestation of the prophetic word when we think we should and sometimes we never see it. But if God is in it – it’s working powerfully! Keep at it!
Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and financially. This month, for those who sow a gift of $20 or more, I want to send you a great book on prayer written by Jack Hayford. This is a true classic and will help strengthen your prayer life even if you’ve been praying powerfully for years. Click here to request your copy of this month’s special offer, Prayer Is Invading The Impossible, one of my personal favorites!
Your prayers and financial contributions are more needed now than ever as we prepare for this year’s YOUTH CAMP! Can you help? We know that every time you pray you are giving a piece of your life to help us fulfill His call on this ministry! Every time we receive your offering we receive a portion of your heart. Your partnership is one of the great blessings of our lives and we give thanks to God for you.
Margie and I, along with Isabella and our team, love you much! We consider it a great honor to walk this road with you!
In Him,
Keith Nix
Keith Nix is the founding lead pastor of a thriving congregation, The Lift Church in Sevierville, Tennessee. [Visit www.TheLiftChurch.tv] He has traveled internationally since 1993 carrying a unique prophetic message of awakening to this generation. He and his wife, Margie, have one daughter, Isabella.
