Water of Life Ministries

In November 2005, I went to Plano, TX for the weekend to attend the Water of Life Church meetings. I had been to Plano a number of times prior to this but this time God worked it out for me to visit during the day with Doyle at his home. I had not spoken with Doyle much one on one prior to this point in my life. As I was there, we had a lot of discussion and I told him about a number of things that God had done and was doing in my life. God especially brought up out of my heart how He led me to deal with the Jezebel spirit. After a while had passed, we were standing outside and as I was getting ready to leave and I told Doyle that I know that God has a calling upon my life and that He has something for me to do but I just don't know what it is. Doyle looked at me and told me that he didn't know either.

Later that evening, I was going to dinner with close friends of mine before church. As we were walking into the restaurant, I received a phone call from Doyle asking me if I would speak that night at church. I told him sure and then I asked him what he wanted me to talk about. He told me whatever God puts in my heart.

I went to the table where the group I was with was sitting. I know they could see I was somewhat bothered. I'll be plain, I was afraid. I told them that Doyle asked me to speak. I then asked them to excuse me to go to the bathroom. When I got in the bathroom, I started praying and asked God to deliver me from fear and to put the words in my heart that he wanted me to speak and not to let me speak a vision of my own heart.

I did speak that night and from that night on, God out of Doyle's mouth started telling me that I was an apostle. (I know that when many people read this, it troubles them because of their doubt and unbelief. I've heard all kinds of wicked things from people that it was Doyle and not God telling me that I'm an apostle. Go read in Matthew where Jesus, a man, walking in the spirit of God, was walking by the sea and called two fishermen named Peter and Simon to follow him and become apostles.) Anyway, I did not believe Doyle. Throughout 2006, I did everything I could to ignore the subject of me being an apostle when it would come up I wouldn't pay any attention to it. I was not seeking to be an apostle nor did I ever have a desire to be one.

The day came when I was praising God and believing on him for something that I've watched God do numerous times for me before in my life but this time it didn't happen. I was upset and I couldn't understand it. I cried out to God and told him that He needed to tell me why this thing that I was seeking Him for did not happen. I decided to go read the Psalms. I was reading for a short while and as I got to Psalm 19, God said to me, "You don't believe you're an apostle."

This was an amazing thing that I could believe Doyle was an apostle and a man of God speaking God's words for 10 years. And I believed it because when I adhered to what he taught, I watched God work in my life and I profited greatly. And now after 10 years of believing Doyle was speaking by the spirit of God, I did not believe him when he by the spirit told me I am an apostle. 2Chr 20:20 "...Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper."

I went out to dinner with my mom and step-dad on Friday, December 29, 2006. During dinner, we talked about a number of things but then the conversation turned to the current condition of the United States and how this country has changed over the years. I spoke about how I have noticed drastic changes, and not for the better, in just my short lifetime and how if a person has any eyes, the future doesn't look good if something doesn't change. After dinner, we came home and I went on the computer and started to update my website with a couple small things. While I was doing this, God had put a prayer in my heart and I sat there and just started to type. The following is the prayer that came out of my heart by the spirit of God:

"Father, I give you thanks for the United States of America and that you, you only made it what it is; you made it a mighty nation, the most powerful nation on earth, and you have given us our freedom, the freedom to preach the gospel - Jesus died, was buried and rose again the third day. I thank you for your grace and mercy on this country and pray that you do not let it depart from this nation. Without you Lord, this nation is as nothing. I pray that you continue to uphold this nation and that you turn men's hearts from darkness to light, from the power of the devil to the power of God, that you open their eyes to see and their ears to hear. Turn them from their hypocrisies and lying tongues who profess to be a godly nation but deny you every chance they get. The currency says, "in God we trust" and the Pledge of Allegience which can no longer be said in schools states, "one nation under God". Oh Lord, you are denied from the classroom to the Whitehouse. Forgive them Lord, cause them to see he (Jesus) whom they pierced. I pray that you give them understanding and wisdom and that you cause all men to seek you with their whole heart. I thank you that I'm alive to worship you this day, and that you planned from the foundation of the earth to raise me up in this great nation that you created. For you are the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, you are the King of Israel, you are God; you are the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and I worship you. You are JEHOVAH and I praise you. I thank you Father that surely, you have heard and answered my prayers. Amen."

Until I started listening to Doyle Davidson, I never knew that the Psalms were praises. I also never knew that reading the Psalms out loud could ever profit me. When I first started reading them, I would read for awhile and then be confused as to what I just read. My first thought was that I was crazy and just wasting my time. Before I started reading the Psalms the next time though, I prayed and asked God to give me understanding and wisdom and to hear these prayers as I read them. It was amazing! When I started reading, the words just flowed out of my mouth and I started to understand.

I remember reading Psalm 106, which I read a number of times before, but this time it was different. Psalm 106 talks about how God did great wonders in Egypt, rebuking the Red Sea and leading the people through the wilderness. And after every time God did something for them, they turned and quickly forgot his works and waited not for his counsel. As I was reading I thought to myself, "Man, were these people dumb. If they would have continued praising God, he would have taken care of them and they could have saved themselves a lot of trouble." Then God showed me something, I was no different than those people. I looked at myself and started remembering things that God had done for me, and how after each one I also turned and went about my own business forgeting God just like the people in Psalm 106 who I thought were dumb. Boy, that was humbling!

It has been pretty incredible to look back and see what I have learned and continue to learn just by reading the Psalms. I strongly recommend that you read the Psalms out loud every day. If you are wondering why I said to read them aloud, it is because that is how you pray. As you read the Psalms, you will constantly read how David cried out to God. And don't worry if you don't understand what you are reading right away or if you can only read five or ten Psalms, just humble yourself and ask God to give you understanding. If you stay at it and believe what your read, God will start revealing things to you. By reading the Psalms and believing the Gospel - Jesus died, was buried, and rose again the third day, I have overcome many things concerning school, people, sickness, and money just to name a few.

Back in January of 1999, I was just finishing up shoveling snow one night and all of a sudden I started getting some minor stomach pain. I knew it was nothing but an attack of the devil. It was at this time that I remembered reading a testimony from Ralph Edge's website called Reading the Psalms, and how God told him to read through the Psalms and then God would heal something that was ailing him at the time. He did, and God healed him. Well I figured if this worked for Ralph, it should work for me.

I went straight to my room, got my Bible, and sat down at my desk. As I started reading, the pain started getting worse. I looked over at my bed and wanted to go lay down, but I refused to give in to the devil. I kept on reading and the pain got even worse. At this point, I had only read about twenty Psalms and now my stomach felt twisted in knots and hurt so bad that I just wanted to fall off my chair on the floor because I didn't think I could make it to my bed. The pain was too much and I could no longer keep reading. I looked at the floor but refused to go down. I got off my chair and walked over and leaned up against my dresser and started praying. I started thanking Jesus for the death, burial, and resurrection. I just kept repeating this over and over. In about two minutes, I could feel the pain starting to go away and my stomach getting better. The pain didn't completely go away, but it subsided enough that I was able to go back and read the Psalms. By the time I finished reading through the Psalms, the pain was gone. Thank you Jesus!

In the fall of 1996, I was in my third year at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater and it was in November that I first ever saw and heard Doyle in South Bend. Before that trip, I never really gave any thought about praying and asking God what I should do in my life. I did pretty much what I wanted to do. I did what I thought was best and never really had any problems in my life. Yes, in the past I did pray although very little along with much doubt and unbelief. You see I believed in God but I never believed God. There is a major difference!

In early 1997, I went back to more of Doyle's meetings in South Bend and my heart was heavily influenced by the words he spoke and how he taught straight from the Bible without man's interpretation. I looked for any inconsistencies and faults but found none. I looked for any kind of religious traditions, like passing a plate or taking up offerings, but Doyle never asked for money. As I became more sure in my heart that Doyle was a man of God, I started to do some of the things Doyle said to do like reading the Psalms and Isaiah 52:13-15 and Isaiah 53 out loud.

Now you have to understand that at this time I lived in an apartment with four other guys. I knew these guys for the prior two years and we were pretty good friends. Although we were good friends, I did not tell them about Doyle and Water of Life nor that I started reading the Psalms out loud. Afterall, I didn't want them to think I went crazy. However, I knew that Doyle said that praying and believing worked for him so I figured that I would give it a shot, but I never saw it proven in my life yet. I didn't know at that time that the reason I didn't tell my friends was because of my doubt and unbelief. Oh, and one other thing, my pride.

As that spring semester went on, I read the Psalms and Isaiah 52:13-15 and 53 (the gospel) when I got a chance, a chance where nobody would hear me. I would read for a little bit during the short periods of time when I had the apartment to myself and I tried to read a little before bed. On most nights, I took my Bible with me to the bathroom when I went to wash up before going to bed and I would let the water run while I read Isaiah 52-53. As you can plainly see, I did not start out as a bold man of faith! During that semester, I noticed a definite change in my realtionship with all four of my roommates. We always had joked around with one another and gotten along well but now something was different. It seemed like almost every day one, two, three, or all four of them were getting on my back. Now I love to joke around and I can take a joke as good as the next guy but this was different. I was always able to never usually let things that other people said bother me, but these guys would just all out attack me like never before for no reason without ever letting up, and they were my friends. I would just be sitting there minding my own business watching TV and they would just start saying things to me. There were times that nothing I could say was right without them coming against me. It got to the point where if they were quiet I wouldn't want to ask them a question because then they would just start up on me.

This school was close enough that I could come home on weekends which I definitely did just to get away and I began to dread Sunday nights when I would have to go back. I remember spending hours trying to figure out what changed in my relationship with my friends and it wasn't until towards the end of the semester that I realized they don't have a problem with me. The reason that I started having those problems with my roommates was because I had started praying and seeking God while they weren't. The spirit that they were walking in didn't like what was in me, Jesus. Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that I was any better or worse than my roommates. Even though I lost contact with those guys, I still consider them friends and I hope that they're doing well.

Anyway, it was towards the end of that spring semester before summer break that I knew in my heart that I needed to move back home and transfer schools. The problem was that earlier in the semester, my roommates and I signed a lease with a Realtor to get a house for the next school year. There was no way for me to get out of the lease except for finding someone to take my portion over. Also, if I couldn't get out of the lease my college career would be delayed for a semester because the money I needed to pay for tuition to the school that I was going to transfer to was tied up in that lease. At first, I figured no problem. Between my roommates and I, we knew a lot of people and I figured that before the semester was over I for sure would find someone to take my portion of the lease. Well, that didn't work. We couldn't find anyone and I remember one of my roommates laughing at me because it appeared that I was stuck. At that point, I became determined to get out of that lease no matter what. I went and made up flyers and posted them all over the college campus and I figured for sure someone would call me. I got one and only one phone call. Unfortunately, it was from a girl who I obviously knew would probably not be interested living with four other guys.

Well, the semester ended and I moved back home for the summer. I was sitting in my room one day thinking on how I had done everything I could possibly do to get out of the lease, now what? Then it occurred to me that I never once considered praying and trusting God to take care of it. I told God right then and there that I will continue reading the Psalms and praising him but then I expect him to get me out of this lease. For the first couple days, the devil worked on me hard when I would sit and think about what if summer ends and I'm not out of that lease? Once again you can see my great faith! Then after a couple of days of worrying and listening to the devil, I prayed again and told God that I'm no longer going to worry and think about this. Over the next couple days I still was dealing with the devil and all that doubt until finally I told the devil that I'm not going to worry about it and I reminded God that he was taking care of it. I learned to believe in my heart that God will take care of it and to no longer listen to my head.

The rest of the summer went on and I had less and less moments of doubt because I continued reminding God every time that he was taking care of it and I was going to just keep praying and believing. About two weeks before the end of the summer, I was in my room and my phone rang. It was an old friend I knew at Whitewater who I hadn't talked to in over a year. He told me that he was calling because he was planning on going back to Whitewater but didn't have a place to stay and he wanted to know if I knew of any. You can imagine the smile on my face! I told him yes I did. When I told him about the place, he already knew my roommates that he would be living with. He was very interested and I told him to give me a call to let me know if and when I needed to go and sign any kind of papers for him to take over my lease. It was amazing that this guy somehow got my home number and called me and ended up taking over my lease without me ever having to take any time to go to Whitewater to sign any papers or anything. That's God! I learned from that point on that all I have to do is pray and believe and God will perform the work. Actually, all I can ever do is pray and believe.