Have you ever experienced the spirit of laughter?
I can remember at least two or three times being in the presence of God, and Holy Spirit brought upon us the spirit of laughter.
It is like you have been captured by the spirit of joy. It is such an amazing experience. The first time it happened to me, I was worshipping the Lord in a small church with around 50 to 60 people in all.
The service was awesome, powerful, simple and sweet. Oh, the presence of God was in that place. The room was filled with God’s glory. It was like a mist covered the room, as if we were in a cloud.
One or two people started laughing. Then, all of a sudden, we all were laughing uncontrollably. If you wanted to stop, you couldn’t. The more you tried to stop, the more you laughed.
Glory to God! I had only seen this happen in a congregation with at least 1,000 people on a video from Word of Faith Ministries in Southfield, Michigan. Bishop Keith Butler was the overseer of that ministry. This tape was from the early 1990s, I believe.
When I saw this VHS tape, I never thought I would experience such a move of God, but oh, how I yearned to.
Once the Spirit of God was lifted that day in the church with 50 or 60 others and me, we were all in awe. Simply in awe of the move of God.
The next time I experienced this incredible move of God was in a noonday prayer service in Detroit, Michigan, Living Bread Ministries. Apostle Kenneth Hogan was the overseer of that ministry. There were maybe eight to 12 others there in the sanctuary praying and seeking God.
All of a sudden, here it was again: the spirit of laughter. Oh, Holy Spirit filled this place with the glory of God, and we laughed. Our souls were being healed and filled with the spirit of joy.
We laughed so hard we couldn’t talk. I recall one young lady who was visiting for the first time. She had such a desire to hear from God.
Once we started laughing, I can remember her being offended. She could not understand what was going on. As she continued to pour out words of offense, we continued to laugh. It reminded me of when people thought the newly Spirit-filled believers were drunk:
“For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days it shall be,’ says God, ‘that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:15-17).
At some point, Holy Spirit moved upon this young woman mightily, and we saw her heart melt right before our eyes. She began to cry and smile with joy. Once the Spirit of God lifted, Mother Vassor, our prayer leader, explained to her what she had experienced. It was truly a powerful move of God. This also happened to me once again in my church, Gospel Truth Ministries in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I was overseer as an apostle. We had such a good time.
These are moments God reveals Himself to those who are so hungry for Him. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh. 8:10). Our Lord wants us to be so hungry for the move of God that we surrender all to Holy Spirit. We live, we move and we have our being by His Spirit (Acts 17:28).
We need Him more than ever right now. We need joy to conquer what is happening around us. The joy of the Lord is our strength. When we are weak, He is strong (2 Cor. 12:10).
We don’t need to understand everything. His Word says to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6).
I want more of Him. Don’t you?
It is time to be led by the Spirit of God and enjoy the fruits of the Father, in Jesus’ name.
To hear Dr. Gina’s full teaching on the spirit of laughter, click here for the entire podcast. {eoa}
Gina R. Prince is the host of The Keys Against the Enemy podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network.
See an error in this article?
To contact us or to submit an article
