As we journey with the King, we encounter epic moments that completely reshape the course of our lives. For me, one specific moment stands above the rest.

Read more: The Prayer That Changed My Life: A Journey Toward Truth

Immersed in the “Word of Faith”

To understand the weight of this shift, I need to provide some context. I met the Lord in the summer of 1975. At that time, the Word of Faith Movement was surging in popularity, and before long, I was immersed in it “up to my eyeballs”.

I lived and breathed the movement:

• I read the books and listened to every message.
• I surrounded myself with Word of Faith believers.
• I attended the major camp meetings and enrolled in the movement’s premier Bible school.

By the time I arrived in Canada in 1980, I was “Mr. Word of Faith”. People were drawn to the message, and I truly believed I had everything figured out. Life was good.

The Prayer of Surrender

In the summer of 1982, everything began to change. While listening to a message by one of my heroes, Dr. Lester Sumrall, he spoke about having a hunger for the truth. Something stirred deep in my heart.

After the message, I stood in the center of my small apartment and prayed a prayer that would forever define my future:

“Lord, I want to know the truth, and I don’t care what it costs me. If I find out tomorrow that what I am preaching today is wrong, I will throw it in the trash and preach whatever You give me”.

The Lord heard me. At the time, in my young arrogance, I couldn’t imagine I was actually wrong about anything—after all, I was a “man of the Word”. I had no idea how costly the answer to that prayer would be.

A Graceful Unravelling

Thankfully, the Lord is patient. He didn’t upend my entire world at once; I would have been a total mess. Instead, He began a slow, deliberate process of unravelling my theology bit by bit.

Often, this happened through my own study of the Bible. I would suddenly realize a specific point I had been preaching was off the mark. As I saw the truth, other Scriptures would click into place throughout the Bible as a confirmation. Rather than being upsetting, these moments brought a profound sense of peace because I finally knew the truth.

The Lord eventually challenged my influences, telling me: “If you only read books by these authors, you are going to miss a whole lot of what I have to say”. As I began reading outside of the Word of Faith camp, my understanding of God’s Word expanded significantly.

The Cost of Growth

This process of rethinking and adjusting continues to this day. While it wasn’t always easy, it has always been worth it. However, growth came with a price tag:

• Material Cost: I ended up throwing away hundreds of dollars’ worth of books and cassette tapes that no longer aligned with the truth.
• Relational Cost: I lost friends along the way. While that loss is painful, I recognize that I am ultimately accountable to the King, not to people.

My Challenge to You

Our world is filled with people claiming to teach the Word of God. Some are faithful to the text; many are not. This is why you must know the Book for yourself rather than being “spoon-fed” by others.

I challenge you to take the prayer I prayed and make it your own. Be warned: It will cost you. But the rewards of knowing God’s truth far outweigh any earthly sacrifice. If you are genuinely living in the Reign of God, pursuing truth is the only natural next step.

M