Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting”…Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. (Exodus 33:7, 11)

Nine years ago, incredible miracles began to happen when a young man was ministering under the anointing of the Holy Spirit in Toronto. Not only were people getting healed in the meeting where he was physically present, but those who were listening to the service through cell phones were also experiencing incredible miracles. In one particular case, a Muslim man in an Asian country was not only healed while he was lying on a hospital bed, but actually gave his life to Jesus right after!

The healing evangelist was about half my age at the time. I was shocked to discover that he had been in full-time ministry for just a few years, in contrast to yours truly who had been ordained when this guy was only 5 years old!

Seeing God move in power of that magnitude through such a raw young rookie was fascinating, to say the least.  I needed to learn how he got to this point in such a short time span. Maybe this was carnal, but I had this longing to know what books he read, what techniques he had mastered, what mentorship he had received—in short, all his “secrets to success.”

Sure enough, just a few short months after my first exposure to his ministry, he offered a “School of the Supernatural” in Toronto. Guess who signed up right away 🙂

So there I was, all set to receive revelation of these secrets. He started off by sharing details of his radical salvation where Jesus got his attention through his drug dealer of all people! He shared about his hunger to know more about the Jesus whom he encountered in the gospels and his burning desire to minister as His disciples did in the book of Acts.

His satisfied his voracious appetite for knowledge by reading books written by anointed authors. One in particular got his attention: “Good morning, Holy Spirit” by Benny Hinn. When he read about how Benny would spend hours simply staying in the Presence of the Lord and let Holy Spirit minister to him, this young man resolved to do the same.

Around this time, he suffered an injury at the lumber mill where he was working at the time and had to be off work for three months. Here was the perfect opportunity to follow Benny’s example. Day in, day out, he did nothing but read the Bible and simply stay in the Presence of the Lord. For 90 days straight.

He went on to say that his ministry was birthed as a result of what he did while he was recuperating from the accident. When he started laying hands on people and praying for them, miracles started to happen.

To be honest with you, I was a bit disappointed with this “secret” that was behind his “success.” Just a few months prior, when I heard others talk about the need to “soak in His presence”, I had pooh-poohed the idea of simply lying still and doing nothing while quiet music played in the background as being “not for me”.

It was then that I realized that what Todd Bentley did was no different from what Joshua did. He stayed in the Tent of meeting long after Moses left. The Presence of God was what really got this young man started on the road to leadership.

That very day, I bought my first Soaking CD’s and made it a daily habit to spend at least a few minutes simply staying in the Presence of the Lord.

Dear DWOD friend, do you desire to move in the power of God, as Jesus and the apostles did?

Just start where Joshua did thousands of years ago and countless followers of Jesus have in succeeding centuries. Seek His Presence first. You too will discover as they did and I have that Presence Precedes Power.