Vaden loved God but had never accepted Christ as his Savior. Once, after I had begun my healing ministry, I was in the middle of a service and saw a man come walking down the aisle toward me. As he got closer, I realized it was Vaden. He threw his arms around me and began weeping, saying, “Oral, I want to accept Christ…and I can’t wait until you finish preaching!”
Vaden was gloriously saved that night. I was able to help lead my brother–who had spoken such encouragement into my life–into the greatest miracle of all, eternal life.
The last time I saw Vaden he said, “Oral, I’ve got to go,” as he pointed upward. “You know what that means, don’t you? I’ll meet you on the other side.” I said, “Yes, Vaden. I’ll meet you there because we both have Jesus and eternal life.”
The Power of Your Words
Many people don’t know the power of encouragement, especially to someone who is sick or hurting in some way. The Bible teaches that the words we speak can be a powerful source for bad or for good. According to Proverbs 18:21, Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Let’s make the words we speak a source of good to those around us.
Encouragement can mean everything to your life. I know. Because it meant everything to me.