David Diga Hernandez - Symbols of the Holy Spirit: Water

So, years ago, my grandfather took me to see a powerful man of God preach the Gospel. This man, whom we went to see, has been in my life as a spiritual father and mentor, and I have learned many things from him. My grandfather and I attended this service, which was actually held here in Southern California at an arena that could seat, I think, around 20,000 people or more. When we arrived, thousands of people were already filling the stadium. We walked in and tried to find a seat, only to be informed that the level of seating we entered was completely full. We ran up to the next floor, but they said that level was also completely full. We ran up again to the next level, and they were filling that area too. Eventually, we found a couple of seats that we could use. While sitting in the service, the power of God was moving, the worship was awesome, and suddenly this man of God called for every preacher of the Gospel to come forward. Mind you, I was 14 years old at the time and had already started preaching at 13, so I was eager to get down there and receive an impartation. While the Holy Spirit can touch you anywhere at any time, God often uses people to flow through. I knew God was going to touch my life in a special way. I started running down, but I soon realized that by the time I was halfway down, the crowd was pushing onto the platform. By the time I reached the arena floor, the stage was several dozen feet away from me, and I felt I wouldn’t be able to get closer at all. I maneuvered around the crowd and found myself pinned between them and the stage, with no way to access the stairs as this man of God moved back and forth, laying hands on people. I will never forget what I sensed in that moment; it was the first time in my life that I had ever experienced anything like it. I was standing right against the platform, feeling the crowd press me into the stage—not to the point where I couldn’t breathe, but to where I couldn’t move. I stood against the platform, which was about shoulder height, watching this man of God go back and forth and seeing the people react to the power of the Holy Spirit as he laid hands on them. The choir and the worship team were singing, «Holy, holy, holy are you, Lord; the elders and angels bow; the redeemed worship you.» In that moment, I realized my body was trembling—the power of God had physically manifested, and I sensed this shaking overtaking me. Off of the platform, I could feel what felt like waves and currents. I am telling you before God, I sensed this in my physical being; it was like waves were coming off the platform, waves of water, as if there was a river on that stage and I was standing in it. Suddenly, I looked up and saw a security guard standing over me. For some reason, he broke protocol, stretched his hand out to me, pulled me onto the platform, and then helped me receive prayer. I remember that as I walked toward that man of God, I felt as if I couldn’t stabilize my stance because it was as though the ground was shifting beneath me, as if I were standing in an actual river. All I can remember is seeing that man of God approach me, praying in tongues, his face flushed because he was fervently praying. I closed my eyes, lifted my hands, and he barely touched the side of my face. I hadn’t realized that I had fallen out under the power of God. When I opened my eyes, I was on the floor, seeing my body shaking in that current of power. Next thing I knew, some people were picking me up from the sides, and I couldn’t even feel them lifting me. They took me off the platform and walked me down the stairs. I could barely stand. I remember looking around and seeing chairs laid out for people unable to return to their seats because folks were shaking—so intensely, I should say, but not violently, as it did not hurt them; they were simply shaking very powerfully. Once we came off the platform, they sat us in those chairs, and I looked around—there were several people who couldn’t even make it back to their seats. That experience in the presence of God marked me in a way I can never fully explain. In that moment, a refreshing came over me, a life-giving manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power touched my life. It was that refreshing flow of the river of life. In John chapter 7, verses 37 to 39, the scripture says, «On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, 'Anyone who is thirsty may come to me. Anyone who believes in me may come and drink, for the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'»