The Wailing Wall
I have shared numerous times over the years about my experience at the Western (Wailing) Wall on our trip to Israel in September of l984. I will express that God used this experience to convince me that he had called me into the ministry to serve him with my spirit in the Gospel of his Son. God sent us on this tour, and I was encouraged several times prior to the trip that it would change my life. That is absolutely a fact. This trip led by the spirit of God brought lasting changes in my life.
We traveled several days through the northern part of Israel, especially around the Sea of Galilee, where much of Jesus' ministry occurred. When we were coming down toward Jerusalem, I recall the road was extremely winding through what is known as mountains. All of a sudden, the terrain changed from virtually no population, to a completely populated city. We entered from the north on the east side of the city. We were coming down from the Mount of Olives, and I saw the massive wall of the "Old City". Immediately, tears began to run uncontrollably down my face as my heart was overwhelmed. Kathy asked, "Are you okay?" and I exclaimed, "It's real!" She replied, "Of course, it's real!" I retorted, "You don't understand, it's real!!!" God was filling my heart with His love for Jerusalem. I had heard about it previously, but now I was experiencing it.
The next day was full of scheduled tour events, and we concluded the day at the "Wailing" Wall (commonly known as the Western Wall). I recall walking up to a short retaining wall, and beyond that wall I was astonished to see a huge crowd of Jewish men and women praying with all their might toward the Wailing Wall. The women were on my right and the men on my left, also separated by a short wall. They obviously had been laboring in prayer for many hours from the visible perspiration on their clothes. At that moment, the Father spoke to me, "You see my people standing before you?" and I replied, "Yes." He said, "Because my people have not received my Son as their Lord and Savior, their prayers go to the wall, but because you have received my Son as your Lord and Savior, your prayers go over the wall. Pray for my people that they receive of my Son." Immediately, without considering where I was or what I was doing, I began to rejoice and praise the Lord singing in other tongues at the top of my voice. I soon realized that there were about thirty Jewish men standing in front of me that began to raise their hands and shout. I asked a lady standing next to me what they were saying. She rudely replied, "They want you to stop!" I turned motioning to them with my hands trying to apologize, because I was under the impression that I offended them by my worship. Without hesitation, they began to shout even louder, raising their hands toward me. I asked the woman, "What does this mean?" And she regretfully replied, "I was mistaken. They want you to continue." Actually, she wanted me to stop. So, I lifted my voice with all that was in me, and the Jewish men shouted for joy as well. We stayed there rejoicing for over thirty minutes. I reluctantly stopped when I was told it was time to get back to our tour group. Later, I realized they understood what I was singing in other tongues. This is described in Acts 2 when the disciples were baptized in the Holy Ghost, spoke in other tongues as the Spirit gave the utterance, and Jews from all nations understood the Galileans speak in their language. Our tour guide's husband was a Rabbi, and he told us that on several occasions he heard us speak High Hebrew in praise which only the High Priests are taught to do. Obviously, that is what occurred and why the Jewish men became so excited when they heard me sing those songs of praise. As stated in the beginning, God performed this experience with me to convince my heart of His call on my life. Praise The Lord!