Sam
05-05-2011, 04:18 PM
Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009), usually just known as Oral Roberts was an American Pentecostal televangelist and a Christian charismatic. He founded the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University.
As one of the most well-known and controversial religious leaders of the 20th century, Roberts' ministries reached millions of followers worldwide spanning a period of over six decades. His healing ministry and bringing American Pentecostalism into the mainstream had the most impact, but he also pioneered TV evangelism and laid the foundations of the prosperity gospel and abundant life teachings.
As a teenager and new Christian I read his autobiography back in the 1950’s. Over the years I’ve read several of his books. Then a couple of years ago I read the last book he wrote before his death. He was condemned by some and loved by others. I personally think he was a man of God with great gifting and anointing.
His mother and father, Ellis Melvin Roberts and Claudius Priscilla Roberts (nee Irwin), were ministers with the Pentecostal Holiness Church. His mother was a Native American or an American Indian as they were called back then. She was also a gifted and anointed person and her prayers had a great influence on his life and ministry. Before his birth she dedicated him to God. She died in 1974.
So, in honor of Mothers Day which is coming up this Sunday, I wanted to pass on these couple of thoughts about Oral Roberts and his mother. The attached picture of Oral, his wife Evelyn, and his mother Claudius was taken in 1938. This email is meant to honor all praying mothers. This, of course, includes praying grandmothers because they are mothers also. It also includes others like aunts, and cousins, and sisters who have taken on the responsibility of caring for and praying for children. If you had a praying mother or have a praying mother or if you are married to a praying mother, or if you know a praying mother, be sure and thank God for her. And, it wouldn't hurt if you personally told her you appreciate her and her prayers.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States is quoted as saying, "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."
1 from the forward of The Ultimate Voice by Oral Roberts copyright 2008, pages VIII and IX
My talking, on the other hand, was quite unnatural. I grew up a stutterer. I couldn’t imagine hearing God’s voice when I couldn’t even clearly hear my own words. My attempts to talk embarrassed me, some times to tears. Most of the time when I attempted to talk, the words would freeze in my throat. One year on the first day at school, the teacher asked each of us children to stand and give our names. Scared out of my wits, I stood and tried to say, “My name is Oral Roberts,” but the words wouldn’t come out and I fell back in my seat, crushed.
The kids laughed, then the teacher laughed. It drew me further inside myself. Anything the teacher asked me to do in writing I could do quite well, but trying to talk publicly tore me apart.
One day a group of school boys hemmed me up to get me to talk so they could hear my stammering and poke fun. I remember that I broke loose and ran home with them at my heels.
My mother heard me coming and met them at the gate and shamed them and sent them away. She led me into the house, and I sat down beside her and she said, “Oral, you were the last of my five children. Before you were born I asked God to give me a son with black hair and blue eyes who would be a preacher and carry His Word to the ends of the earth. Before you are grown, God will loose your tongue and you will talk just fine.” I learned much later that my name, Oral, which my mother’s niece gave me, means “spoken word.”
Near my eighteenth birthday, a man of God, George Moncey, prayed for me and I was healed, and since then I have fulfilled my mother’s words to me; my life has been built around the spoken word.
2 Another thought about Oral Roberts:
I heard (here on AFF) that the last church Oral Roberts preached in, just a few weeks before his death, was a little American Indian church. There were about 40 people there, no limelight, no fanfare, just a well known preacher speaking to a small group of struggling people about God still being a good God. There were no TV cameras, no paparazzi, he didn't accept an honorarium. Of course that won't be told on the various web sites people can go to to find negative material about him.
As one of the most well-known and controversial religious leaders of the 20th century, Roberts' ministries reached millions of followers worldwide spanning a period of over six decades. His healing ministry and bringing American Pentecostalism into the mainstream had the most impact, but he also pioneered TV evangelism and laid the foundations of the prosperity gospel and abundant life teachings.
As a teenager and new Christian I read his autobiography back in the 1950’s. Over the years I’ve read several of his books. Then a couple of years ago I read the last book he wrote before his death. He was condemned by some and loved by others. I personally think he was a man of God with great gifting and anointing.
His mother and father, Ellis Melvin Roberts and Claudius Priscilla Roberts (nee Irwin), were ministers with the Pentecostal Holiness Church. His mother was a Native American or an American Indian as they were called back then. She was also a gifted and anointed person and her prayers had a great influence on his life and ministry. Before his birth she dedicated him to God. She died in 1974.
So, in honor of Mothers Day which is coming up this Sunday, I wanted to pass on these couple of thoughts about Oral Roberts and his mother. The attached picture of Oral, his wife Evelyn, and his mother Claudius was taken in 1938. This email is meant to honor all praying mothers. This, of course, includes praying grandmothers because they are mothers also. It also includes others like aunts, and cousins, and sisters who have taken on the responsibility of caring for and praying for children. If you had a praying mother or have a praying mother or if you are married to a praying mother, or if you know a praying mother, be sure and thank God for her. And, it wouldn't hurt if you personally told her you appreciate her and her prayers.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States is quoted as saying, "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."
1 from the forward of The Ultimate Voice by Oral Roberts copyright 2008, pages VIII and IX
My talking, on the other hand, was quite unnatural. I grew up a stutterer. I couldn’t imagine hearing God’s voice when I couldn’t even clearly hear my own words. My attempts to talk embarrassed me, some times to tears. Most of the time when I attempted to talk, the words would freeze in my throat. One year on the first day at school, the teacher asked each of us children to stand and give our names. Scared out of my wits, I stood and tried to say, “My name is Oral Roberts,” but the words wouldn’t come out and I fell back in my seat, crushed.
The kids laughed, then the teacher laughed. It drew me further inside myself. Anything the teacher asked me to do in writing I could do quite well, but trying to talk publicly tore me apart.
One day a group of school boys hemmed me up to get me to talk so they could hear my stammering and poke fun. I remember that I broke loose and ran home with them at my heels.
My mother heard me coming and met them at the gate and shamed them and sent them away. She led me into the house, and I sat down beside her and she said, “Oral, you were the last of my five children. Before you were born I asked God to give me a son with black hair and blue eyes who would be a preacher and carry His Word to the ends of the earth. Before you are grown, God will loose your tongue and you will talk just fine.” I learned much later that my name, Oral, which my mother’s niece gave me, means “spoken word.”
Near my eighteenth birthday, a man of God, George Moncey, prayed for me and I was healed, and since then I have fulfilled my mother’s words to me; my life has been built around the spoken word.
2 Another thought about Oral Roberts:
I heard (here on AFF) that the last church Oral Roberts preached in, just a few weeks before his death, was a little American Indian church. There were about 40 people there, no limelight, no fanfare, just a well known preacher speaking to a small group of struggling people about God still being a good God. There were no TV cameras, no paparazzi, he didn't accept an honorarium. Of course that won't be told on the various web sites people can go to to find negative material about him.