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Erfahrungen

Testimonies as a result of praying for the Holy Spirit

„This is the word of the Lord …: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit“ Zechariah 4:6 NKJV

 

 

Introduction
After reading “Steps to Personal Revival” by Helmut Haubeil, (Top Life, Austrian Publishing House) and/or “40 Days –Prayers & Devotions to Prepare for the Second Coming” by Dennis Smith, (Review and Herald) many believers had spiritual experiences which are compiled here by Helmut Haubeil. Most of the testimonies are from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The testimonies have been passed on to the churches via the missionary magazin “Missionsbrief” (MissionLetter). They are well suited for family worship, especially for opening Sabbath, or for reading during church service. It is permitted to copy and distribute them. 

Test prior to publication
I asked two theologians for examination. The first answer was (in excerpt):
Your work on “Steps to Personal Revival” is really a gift from heaven, first to you and through you then to all readers. Therefore, I first thanked my Lord, and now I thank you very much. Although there have recently been some very practical and deeply spiritual books in the church, “Steps to Personal Revival” is extraordinary. In such a compact and yet quite detailed way, the path to fulfillment is represented with the Holy Spirit. Anyone who reads it cannot avoid his spiritual inventory and make a decision.”    Email May 1, 2012 –
Both brothers recommended printing.

1. From the Ludwigsburg Church – My husband and I were studying “40 Days” and experienced great personal blessings praying together. Afterwards, we organised prayer meetings twice weekly at church in Ludwigsburg and read the book with our church members. We distinctly experienced God’s guidance and blessings and many miracles! God refreshed us and spiritually awakened our congregation: members who were never before able to speak to people, all of a sudden approached strangers. When we joined in prayer, God welded us together as a congregation. Praying for 5 people during the 40 days brought exceptional results – God worked in a mighty way on those people. Every so often people walk in to our church service on Sabbath off the street. One of those families now receives Bible studies. They learned about Sabbath through videos on the internet and through the book “Great Controversy” and were looking for a church for some time.     K.a.C.S. (abbreviated)

2. No regrets! –  The 40-Days-Project was a blessed time! Not only because of the joined prayer which brought Young and Old closer together, praying for the same cause, but especially because of the daily prayer time with my prayer partner. It was a great challenge and required lots of personal commitment to coordinate my shift work and my prayer partner’s daily routine, to make time for the joined prayer and the personal exchange. I did not once regret it, and always received a blessing. Now that the 40 days have passed, it could all be over, but my prayer partner and I will continue to pray together, to take advantage of this blessing!     B.L. (abbreviated)

3. Wonderful Experiences – The book “40 Days” gave us wonderful experiences. First of all personal revival: Through studying together and the exchange of thoughts in the morning, we grew closer together spiritually as a couple. After praying together we experienced God’s leading hand daily – even in mundane situations. It is indescribable, how much strength we received to get through each day. The second experience is intersession: Since there are so many people whom we want to lead to Jesus, we wrote each person’s name on a card. Each morning we draw 5 cards and pray specifically for these 5 people. With God’s help we want to continue to do so and are looking forward to God’s working, since He has promised to do so.    C.a.K.R. (abbreviated)

4. Congregation in Mannheim – Some of our church members knew the book by Dennis Smith through hear-say. The positive testimonies from all over the world made us curious to learn more about it. At last the book was available in German language! Our prayer group was convinced that we needed this book and the 40 days of preparation in view of our upcoming Evangelistic Programs, and decided to work with this book in our prayer group. Our pastor, Olaf Schröer, recommended the 40-days concept to the whole church, and invited everybody to join in. The first meeting was attended by 16 members. We left after this blessed hour convinced that God had been present, and we were looking forward to meeting again the week after. The meetings on Wednesdays were attended by a total of 30 members. We discussed not only the reading for the day, but we also heard testimonies to encourage and uplift each other. The following are testimonies by members (names abbreviated by initials):

C: This book enriched my spiritual journey. There is power in joined, continuing prayer.
D: Through intense prayer, the Holy Spirit worked especially on my husband and brought him back to church after many months of absence. Our prayers are not in vain. God can work mightily!
O: An elderly man, whose parents were Adventists, now attends church and other programs. After so many years, he now decided to get baptised. During the 40 days, the Holy Spirit disclosed occult connections in some people. Prayers for deliverance were offered and deliverance was granted.
M: My 2 contacts whom I am studying the Bible with have accepted the Sabbath.
D and S, separately, were able to testify of their faith at separate doctor’s waiting rooms. One doctor asked questions and later gladly accepted the book “Patriarchs and Prophets”

5. Congregation Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt – Coming home one day in autumn 2012, my wife surprised me with the idea to study the book “40 Days” by Dennis Smith together with our congregation. She had already presented the book to the church members, and most of them ordered it. We wanted to start on 1 October and exactly 40 days later, on 9 November, start our reaping evangelistic program “Last Resort 2012”. That excited me. In preparing for an evangelistic program nothing is more important than prayer. And so we got started. The church members got together with prayer partners and twice a week we met at church to talk about what we had read and exchange experiences and especially prayer requests. Many experienced these 40 days as a turning-point in their lives. Not only the prayer meetings, but also the Sabbath services were filled with reports about prayer experiences. God worked many miracles, the power of prayer was revealed. For the last few years, our congregation experienced a noticeable growth – spiritually as well as numerically. Step by step, we conducted special prayer meetings (Global Rain), revival weekends, training of members for personal witness and public evangelism. In 2009/10 the congregation decided to pray for a doubling of the number of members (to 70 members) within four years and to work towards that goal. And that’s how the evangelistic program “Last Resort 2012” began. We had four evangelism evenings a week, which were broadcast on the Internet. About eight to ten guests attended the lectures each evening – and 300 – 350 people attended via the Internet. Right on the first evening the server broke down for a short time due to the unexpected rush of spectators. Among the many respondents who reported the working of the Holy Spirit, was a priest of the New Apostolic Church of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, who declared on the last day of the lecture series his resignation from his church and wants to be baptized. A youth railway worker from East Germany, who until recently was involved with spiritualism, found the Adventist church and is now visiting regularly. He wants to attend a mission school. The number of direct decisions for baptism from this lecture series is currently at ten and may even increase. There are also some who have come to know our faith and want to continue studies. We live in a special time. If we are faithful to our message and let God’s Spirit work by submitting totally to him, he can, even though we may have little power, use us to finish his work in glory. Incidentally, our 4- year goal of doubling the number of members runs out mid 2013. At present, our church roll shows 69 members. By God’s grace, we expect several baptisms in spring. God is so good, he always gives us more than we asked for!   C.K.  Congregation Stuttgart – Bad Cannstatt (abbreviated)

6. Lively Intercessory Prayer – At first, I just read through the book. Now that I go through the devotions with my prayer partner, I realize that they are even more valuable than I first thought! I got answers to questions that I could not solve by myself. I thank God also for my prayer partner who participates openly and with lots of energy. I was impressed with the book from the first pages. We should not only pray for someone, but also lovingly care about that person. This makes the Intercessory Prayer come alive. I regret that I never saw intercessory prayer in this light before. Living, lively faith! I am convinced that the intercession is just as important for the one who prays, as it is for the one being prayed for. Similarly, I was convinced from the outset that the Community spirit is promoted in the congregation. Oh I hope that Communities arise, as described in the later chapters. Frankly speaking, I cried, because I really had been longing for such a community for a long time!
I am convinced that the book promotes “Christ in me” and frees us of our own works. I read a few books about “Christ in me”, but this book seems to be the most useful of all. I believe that through this book, prayer life is strengthened, fellowship in the church is increased, and Intercessory Prayer comes alive. Next, I will study the instructions “40-days”, which I found on www.missionsbrief.de. I will pray about it and spread it where God instructs me to do so. At first, I read the book alone. But when I went through the devotions with my prayer partner, I realized that they are far more valuable than I had first thought. In mutual exchange learned many things which I had not previously discovered while reading by myself.    H.K 

7. God is at work! – I read on the mission letter website the first 3 chapters of  “Steps to Personal Revival” and printed out all pages. I wanted to study the full article and dig into it. Because it is just what I need personally. I have now worked through it three times and always discover new things. Now I go back to it to understand it even better and implement it with the help of God in everyday life. God is at work! I am convinced this will make a difference! However I realized that I myself am not yet ready to implement the entire concept of the 40 days. I need more personal preparation and that’s why I’m aiming  to study and experience these devotions by myself at first … before I can really pass it on.     I.K 

8. No longer sure – The booklet “Steps to Personal Revival” has touched me tremendously … The chapter about the 10 Virgins, but especially Romans 8,9b : ” But whoever has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” shocked me. All of a sudden I was not sure if I have the Holy Spirit and if he works in me because I sadly miss the “fruits” in my life. Today, Sabbath afternoon, I read the small volume to the end and an infinite and profound sadness overcame me. Then I read the prayer on page 69 and the deep desire that I receive the Holy Spirit and my heart be changed, and God the Father form me according to his will … Thanks for the booklet, and the words which touched me profoundly     A. P.

9. A true wake-up-call – Only now I really understand how important it is to ask for the in-filling of the Holy Spirit. In the book “40-days” this request is indeed an integral part of daily prayer. I used to ask only occasionally for the Holy Spirit and am grateful for the advanced understanding. I also became aware that fellowship is very important. The booklet “Steps to Personal Revival” really woke me up and showed me how strong and intense prayer has become through the application of God’s promises, and how important it is to consecrate myself every day to my Saviour.

10. Amazing Experiences – We are having amazing experiences using the booklet “Steps to Personal Revival”. Many sisters and brothers pray daily the recommended prayer (p. 69) in pairs, I am praying it for the last 5 months with a girlfriend. Not only in the personal area things are moving upwards for all. There are things clarified in the homes, relationships, marriages, in their spiritual life and in the congregation; not that there are giant conflicts, things just happen in a quiet way. We are very surprised and see it as God’s purifying processes that make life in a certain way easier because we feel God’s closeness more and more. The other day a sister said to me: “I have always thought of living a good life that pleases God, but too many difficulties stood in my way. At last my dream has come true. And that’s just the beginning..!” Also, two sisters from the Reformed Church are praying daily this prayer for several weeks now, and they experience amazing things. Things get clarified, which they previously did not know that there was something to clarify.     E.S.

11. Recognize HIM – Some time ago I read your article about Revival in the “Missionsbrief”. I am working on this topic for about the last 3 years. Now I have started to read  “Steps to Personal Revival”.  All I can say is “AMEN”! I am glad that I was able to find a lot of “my own” thoughts in these lines! I also have the impression that in our congregations we are missing the mark. I cannot but think that we Adventists lost focus for what is really important! How often do we ask, “what is the truth”, “how should we live”, or “how important is prophecy”, and I do not mean that this is wrong. But we overlook WHY God has given us these things! Is not the goal of truth the complete communion with God?  Should not these areas rather help us to REALLY get to know God? Is it not the goal of prophecy that we recognize HIM in his greatness and omnipotence and that we realize that, since he is holding the whole world in his hand, he can just as well guide our life! What is eternal life? John 17.3: “Now this is eternal life: that they may KNOW you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
In the parable, the groom simply said to the five foolish virgins: “I do not know you!” The goal of our faith is simply to recognize God and to have communion with HIM, so that HE can fill us, just as he filled the temple with his presence (2 Chr. 5,13.14). And if he so floods us, filling our whole being, then it is no longer we who live, but Christ living in us.     (Author known to the editor)

12. But God is there! – Our congregation is going through a very difficult time, but God is there! We motivated church members to read the booklet “Steps to Personal Revival”. On the Sabbath we heard a sermon about the worship book  “40-days”  and gave the members opportunity to describe their experiences with the booklet. The following Sunday we started studying the “40-days- book”.   Twenty days later, a get-together is planned with a sermon and Potluck. We see that many members highly motivated. We have the desire to overcome the difficult situation in the congregation, and to be open for the Holy Spirit. We must first see that we are lacking something, and then comes this desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit. By the following Sabbath almost all members had read the booklet “Steps to Personal Revival” by Helmut Haubeil. Some even more than once! Eight persons reported their experiences. Many said they sensed a new spirit. All 40-days worship booklets were distributed. Through prayer for each other arises close to each other. I’m so glad that something is moving, and I am very confident.   (Writer known to the author)

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