Over the years as a Christian, I have had some very interesting experiences, and they continue to happen for the very same reason. Mainly, it’s been my desire to seek more of God or feel His presence. I’ve never listed nor written down my own supernatural encounters so not only for you, my reader, but I myself wanted to list them out for my memories sake. As I mentioned in this column’s debut, I wanted a place where not only I can write about video games but also about what God has put on my heart. Sometimes it will relate to games, other times it won’t.

As a disclaimer, for those that are skeptical of healings, deliverance, prophecies, speaking in tongues, or any other gifts of the Spirit then let me give you a little background before I totally lose you. If you aren’t familiar with Pentecostal or Charismatic churches, they are usually the ones that do what I previously listed. I consider myself non-denominational, but if you had to classify me, I would fall into one of those two categories. Which, I’m not sure, as I don’t really know the difference myself!

Beginning of the journey

My journey into the supernatural started before I was a Christian. I was not raised in the church, never been evangelized, my family does not have any history of serving God or anything like that. I was brought up in a Cuban household, so being Hispanic, Catholicism was the chosen religion (as was Santeria, which is the worship of saints and basically witchcraft). I was curious and delved into Astrology, the Zodiac and all that went with it. I almost got into Wicca but was too afraid to touch that. The unknown always interested me and I wanted to know if it was real or fake.

After giving my life to Christ at a Bible study in high school, during one of the meetings, there was a girl who would yell while praying in some strange language. It gave me chills, so while we all held hands and closed our eyes I didn’t know what she was saying. Years later I figured that she was speaking in tongues, but I hadn’t received that gift just yet.

A few years after being a believer, I visited the largest church in South Florida and stayed there for 10 years. It was everything I always wanted in a church, which was a place where I could have supernatural experiences with God in a safe environment. I learned much and dived deeper into who God is, the Holy Spirit, miracles, signs, wonders, and all that fun stuff.

The list

I’m not going to start posting Youtube videos, or talk about something that I myself didn’t know was real. I’m skeptical, as most people are, and I do not like to be deceived. Sometimes I understood what was going on and other times I didn’t. Similar to the blind man that Jesus healed who was questioned by the Pharisees, this has been my own experience. He didn’t even know how he was healed, all he knew was that Jesus did it and that was that. He didn’t need to understand it, or get into great detail, as was how I always felt about these experiences.

John 9:25-27 (NKJV)
25 He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”

26 Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”

27 He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

• I realized I was speaking in tongues while inside a Wendy’s with a few friends after church. I didn’t know what was coming out of my mouth, so after thinking about it for a bit I knew it was the gift of tongues. I’ve been praying in tongues ever since and I still do to this day! It’s an amazing way to clear your mind and connect with God.

 

• During several worship services where I could feel the tangible presence of God, I would pray on my knees or on the floor. While down there, I could feel a weight that would almost push me down to the point that it was difficult to stand up. It felt good, but just odd at the same time. Imagine the gravity machine Goku was training in, that’s what I pictured it as. I learned later that’s what is called the “kabod” or “weight” of God’s glory. Similar to what happened to John, is what I think similar to what I was feeling but not at 100%.

Revelation 1:17

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.

 

• I used to keep getting bloody noses for no reason at all during a point in my life, not all the time. I wasn’t touching my nose nor did I get hit, so I was confused as to why they were happening and it was pretty embarrassing to say the least. I asked a friend about it and he prayed for me to be healed and after that, I never had another one to this day.

 

• I prayed for a few people to be healed and God healed them, from one guy in downtown Miami who had crutches, to a lady at my church who was experiencing vertigo (you see dizzy) and it went away. I have also prayed for things like headaches, stomach pains, smaller irritations that have stopped almost immediately after prayer.

 

• During a bible study where myself and someone else was ministering to a group of young adults (ministering = praying for them), a girl started getting a little aggressive and angry even though nothing was going on for that to happen. We just had worship music playing, and I put my hand on her shoulder and started to pray. I stepped back and asked if she was OK but she started shaking a lot so I felt to rebuke any demonic spirit that was attacking her. She fell back to a chair that was behind her, and I felt led to pray for the spirit of peace (Holy Spirit) to enter her and remove any demonic attacks. Her body stopped shaking and she just kind of slumped down and almost fell asleep. That one shocked me for a few days, but I knew God had just used me to minister deliverance for the first time.

 

• When I lived with my mother, I was praying for an interview that was coming up and I really needed a job! My mom isn’t Christian, so she had several objects around the house that represented different religions like a Buddha statue, Chinese good luck charms, and all sorts of other things. I felt to pray against this small frog statue that had a little coin in its mouth. I wasn’t sure why, nor did I ever pay attention to that little thing. I rebuked any spirit blocking me from getting a financial breakthrough through that idol statue. I then Googled what that frog was, and read that it was used to get “good fortune” to attract money in a home. Instead, I threw the thing away and the same week I got the job I went to the interview for! It wasn’t helping me get money, on the contrary, I feel it’s what was preventing me from getting my blessing (Daniel 10:12-14)

 

• Many times, I have had words of knowledge for people while I pray. A word of knowledge is when God reveals something to you about someone else, mainly to pray for them about that situation. It’s like getting insight into a situation, whatever it may be. I often get a word or phrase in my head while I am praying for the person, I pray for what I saw and I ask them if what I said made sense. Most of the time they say it did, and I am more shocked than they are! God is good and knows all things.

 

• I prayed for a lady to receive the gift of tongues during a bible study gathering we were having. Myself and a few others were asked to pray for those that wanted to receive the gift, and I prayed a simple prayer for the lady and she had her eyes closed. I told her to just open her mouth and let out whatever God wanted to say, and she started to pray in tongues. She stood there praying in tongues for so long that I stepped away and she kept on going and going for like 5 minutes without any help at all.

There are many more that I forgot about since I’ve never stopped to actually write them all out. Have you ever had any supernatural encounters before? Whether you understood them or not, I would love to read them! Share in the comments below, and God bless.