by Jimmy Tolle
One Saturday afternoon, my best friend, Al, and I went downtown to the barber college for hair cuts. It was a typical summer day, very hot and steamy. After we got our haircuts and were on our way home, we talked about what to do next. Maybe we could go to the stockyards or hobo town.
But as we were walking down the street, we saw this man standing in a doorway. The door was wide open, and he was bidding people to come inside. The building was the old Shellmar picture show.
As we got to the man he said, " You boys, you want to come inside?"
We just looked at one another. "You mean us, sir?"
"Yeah, you two, come on inside and sit down. We’re getting ready to start right now."
Well, we were open for just about anything, so we went in. I could hear people tuning up some instruments as soon as we got inside. Al and I looked at one another, "Like, what’s going on?" I thought maybe it’s a band or something as we walked down the aisle. I felt kind of different. About halfway down we stopped at an empty row. I sat in the very first seat. Al passed in front of me and sat down right beside me.
There were a lot of people on the stage, at least seven or eight. Out where we were sitting there were about fifteen or twenty people. They were still tuning up. Al and I were kind of laughing, but something felt real strange and bewildering in my heart.
The man that had asked us in passed by on his way to the stage. Everyone stopped what they were doing.
"I want everyone in here to pray," the man said, "And seek God right now for what He’s going to do for us today."
It was like an alarm went off inside me. My heart started racing. It was pounding like a tom-tom. I swear I could see my shirt jerking in rhythm with every beat of my heart. An overwhelming fear came over me like I had never felt before in my life.
I looked to my right. Al looked just like I felt--white as a sheet and shaking all over. I knew we were in the wrong place for sure!
The man spoke again. "Let’s get down on our knees and pray."
The people started praying out loud.
"Oh God, help us, help us today."
"Heal us. Be with us today."
Then they started speaking in some language I had never heard before in my life.
I was sweating like crazy, my heart was pounding, and my mouth was dry as popcorn. I looked over at Al and whispered to him, "I’m going to run for it as soon as I count to three."
"One, two--" But before I got to three, a very sweet, frail-looking old lady went down on her knees in the aisle right beside me. I couldn’t get past her without knocking her over. When I said "two," Al had anticipated me saying "three" and jumped to his feet. Then he sat right back down.
"What are you doing?" he said. "I thought you were going to run for it."
"I was, but, I--I can’t knock this old lady down," I whispered back.
This little old lady was just sobbing, crying, so pitiful and saying, "Oh, Lord God, help these two young boys." As she was praying, she put her hand on my left knee. "God bless their lives. Help them, show them the way to serve You, God."
I never felt fear like this before in my life.
There were people walking up and down everywhere with their hands raised up in the air, praying very loudly. Some were on their knees speaking in this strange language I had never heard before in my life.
The very first chance I had , I jumped up and ran for the door. Out of the corner of my eye, I got a glimpse of Al. He hesitated for an instant and then shot up right behind me. Just after we ran out the door, the man that had asked us in came to the door looking for us.
On the way home, Al and I talked some about what had happened.
I can never remember us talking about it again. Somehow, though, I felt different. Something had happened. I found myself thinking about that day from time to time over the next three or four years. I couldn’t shake the memory of that little old lady kneeling down beside me praying for me, crying her heart out. It was so real.
By the time I was 13, I liked a girl named Debbie who lived close to my house. One evening as we were sitting on her front porch, Debbie’s aunt and several other ladies were gathering in the front room of the house. As they arrived and greeted one another, I could see the happiness they were feeling. The joy and excitement were all over their faces.
"What are they doing?" I asked Debbie.
"They’re going to have a prayer meeting."
Suddenly, I became more interested in what was going on inside the house than on the porch. I tried to be discreet, but my eyes and ears were pinned on what was going on inside. We could just barely hear them talking and exchanging stories.
Then, all at once, something happened. Everything changed; even outside on the porch I could feel it. I had only felt like this one time before in my whole life. I didn’t feel quite as afraid as I did that time with Al. It might have been because I was outside and could run if I had to. This was the most real feeling in my life.
As Debbie and I sat there, I kept looking through the window, trying not to stare too much.
The women were praying, laying their hands on one another, and speaking in some kind of a language I had only heard once before. They went on for a long time praising God and thanking Him for His power.
There was no question in my heart about the realness of what they were doing.
Then, I could see this power they were praying for plunge into the room. It looked like a fog or a haze, and when it settled down in the room, overwhelming joy moved over everyone. They couldn’t sit still in their seats.
I watched this happen several times that evening. I was convinced these ladies would not, could not, have acted as they did unless they felt some kind of power. I was struck by how real everything I was seeing and feeling was to me.
My life was a wreck at that time. I just about never went to school. Some of the boys I’d fallen in with had already been sent to reform school. Later, many of my friends would wind up in prison for most of their lives. Some would be on death row for killing people in a robbery. Still others would be paralyzed or killed in fights.
At that time, I didn’t realize how my life would be affected by the events of that evening prayer meeting. Seeing and feeling the power of God that day was a turning point in my life. What I felt in my heart from God would begin to change my life from the path I had been going.
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