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In the Presence of the Holy Spirit

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Before ministering, William Branham made a statement during his public prayer to the Lord that has stuck with me to this day. He said, “I take every spirit in the hearing of my voice under my control.” In other words, no other spirit except the Holy Spirit would be allowed to speak or manifest during the time of ministry. I thought, “How can the man be so arrogant to make such a statement?”

 

“Judge not least you be judged and by the measure you judge it will be measured unto you”  (Matthew 7:1,2)

 

Sure enough, not too long after I had that thought, I was about to pray before ministering in a service and I heard, pray this: “I take every spirit under my control that can hear my voice, and no other spirit shall speak except the Holy Spirit.”

 

I prayed the prayer as commanded and we had a great time experiencing the supernatural revelation of God among His people. Unfortunately, I must report to you that there was another time I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray the same prayer, but I was not sure if it was Him or me. So, I did not pray the prayer of ‘spiritual control’ and I have regretted it ever since. For a few years I started praying; “Lord, if anything I prophesy is not of you strike me dead.” This really got the people’s attention; however, after a while they ask me not to pray that prayer in fear of me losing my life. Well, I’m still here, twenty-plus years later.

 

Not praying, ‘the spiritual control’ prayer of the ‘strike me dead’ prayer left me and the congregation vulnerable to other spirits that interrupted the meetings. The first meeting I ministered I did not pray either prayer, while ministering in Norway. Oddly, a man jumped up and began rebuking me in front of the whole congregation about a prophetic word I had given. The pastor did nothing to stop the man and even began to chime in, agreeing with him. I had to stop ministering, pick up my Bible, and lead them into what the scriptures had to say about the word. The argument was over Psalm 105:15, “Touch not my anointed and do my prophets no harm.” I had prophesied to a young man that as David did not go against Saul, God’s anointed, neither should this young man go against those who are anointed over him. The man’s argument was that Saul was of the Devil and not of God. My point is that if I had prayed the prayer of ‘spiritual control’, I am positive this episode would not have happened.

 

“But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things” (I John 2:20).

 

Another statement that William Branham made troubled me as well, until I received confirmation through my own ministry experience. Branham was about to begin ministering to an elderly lady. He seemed to notice she was very uncomfortable. He said, “Do not worry; that is just my angel you feel and He is going to contact your spirit.” Wow, what is this? I thought to myself, this must be ‘New-Age’ statement I was hearing. But not so. We know that if we are born again we have the Spirit of the anointed one, the mind of Christ, the all-knowing One. Why would it be so strange to have knowledge about another Christian’s spirit?

 

“For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God” (I Corinthians 2:11).

 

The Holy Spirit searches the mind and will of God who lives in the hearts of believers. “Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27).

 

Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4,5).

 

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14:12).

 

We know Jesus gave personal prophecies to many people while He walked the face of the earth. (Ref. Matthew 28:34 & 68, etc.) If we believe the works of Jesus, we too will do the works He has done, including giving words of knowledge, wisdom, and prophecy.

 

If Christ could see the words of destiny written on the tablets of another man’s heart, then why shouldn’t we be able to do the same when we believe? So, for William Branham to say that he would contact the spirit of another is simply to say that he would find out from his ministering spirit what was going on within their spirit. It is like communicating with one’s inner-self without depending upon any of your physical senses. In fact, when you are deep into that spiritual communication with someone’s spirit man, you are unable to hear clearly with your physical ears.

 

“But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. And the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you” (I Corinthians 14:24,25)

 

Many times, when I am ministering prophetically, if someone tries to talk to me I will not hear them. It is not because I am hard of hearing, but it’s as if I am not even in the same sphere. I can see their mouth moving, but all that I can manage to decipher is the sound of a distant gargling noise. On the other hand, if I am not in the Spirit I can hear their natural words very well, but I probably will not be able to hear the message within their spirit.
 

Written by, Apostolic Prophet, Kent Simpson

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