Monday, April 11, 2016

THE PASTOR OF PRAYER



Praise the Lord everybody, I pray you are all enjoying God’s blessing. I have been sitting here for a few hours now thinking back to when I first got saved. It was a hot summer day in August 1992, I had been running the streets of New York for almost four years chasing the “dragon” known as crack cocaine. This day I walked into a large church someone told me about called Times Square Church, with the hope of scamming them out of some money but God had another plan. As I told the lady at the desk my story she looked deep into my soul and then she said: “We don’t give money out anymore.” My heart dropped and then she picked up her bible and read to me “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you”(Matthew 6:33) I immediately broke down and began sobbing uncontrollably. I was a broken man. As I cried she led me through the "sinners’ prayer" and I gave my life to the Lord and then she sent me to see a man that would change my life, Pastor Billy White.

Pastor White was a true believer and a man of Prayer. He held the unofficial title of “Pastor of prayer” at the time and also pastored the churches homeless outreach and soup kitchen. Billy White taught me the importance of prayer and the power of prayer. He taught me how to “pray through” in other words to pray until something happens. Pastor White was a little pale looking man about 35 years old who was constantly fighting off some kind of cold, drinking hot tea and knocking back ginseng and cold medicine. Despite these things he was a powerful man of God.

Before we would open the doors to the soup kitchen / coffee house ministry he pastored to let the homeless and those in need come inside to eat, Pastor Billy would give us a sort of pep talk sermonette and then he would lead us in prayer for what seemed to be about two hours. We would be in their corporately praying, tearing down strongholds and binding up dark spirits and losing the power of the Holy Spirit so that our outreach would go forth without incident. Pastor Billy taught me the importance of spiritual warfare. After all the prayer that went on in our little Chapel/ cafeteria you could feel the prayer as soon as you walked in and we never had an episode of violence there in all those years.

Pastor white was the first to recognize my calling and it is because of him I am known as a praying man today. Billy White passed away about ten years ago but I will never forget his zeal and his fiery prayers. He had a burden for the homeless and addicts. Getting them into discipleship programs including myself who he got into a place called Timothy House, one of the best programs in New York at the time. I flourished there as God groomed me for such a time as this. I thank God for Billy White and the training I received under his ministry and that training is still with me today. I pray you all find your own Billy White someday and if yours is still alive send them some love their way while you still can.

              God Bless you All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off the Wall

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful testimony. It's good to know that someone cares
about you .