Richard Roberts – First of three parts
I met Him while I was a student at Oral Roberts University. I’d had my eyes on other heroes, and I had gone to another university to learn to be like them. Somehow in the back of my mind I knew that God was calling me, but I wouldn’t pay any attention because I had my mind on the heroes of this world. While I was there, I told God to leave me alone … and He did.
When you ask God to leave you alone, He will. And when God leaves you alone, then you find out what true loneliness is. You find out that all your heroes vanish and nothing remains — that nothing is worthwhile.
I began to search for a hero who wouldn’t fail, so I transferred to Oral Roberts University. The faculty and students took an interest in me, and I began to see a new Hero emerge out of their lives.
I was working at the ORU radio station, which was in the Prayer Tower in those days, and right across the hall was the Abundant Life Prayer Group. I’d see those prayer partners and hear their conversations with people who were calling in every hour of the day and night. I heard the prayer partners talking about Jesus. The Jesus in them got to me, and I began to study the Bible.
I grew up on the Bible. I could quote Scriptures left and right, but until the Word becomes real to you, it’s just another book. In the fall of my junior year, the Jesus in the students, the Jesus in the faculty, the Jesus in the prayer partners, the Jesus in the Bible got to me. It wasn’t long until I invited Him to become my Hero.
As I began to study the life of Jesus after I met Him as my Savior, I discovered Him as my Healer. I discovered Him as the One who could bring prosperity into my life — not as a gimmick as the media and some people think, but as a way of life. I saw the healing Jesus rise up out of the pages.
I discovered the Scripture where Peter said that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power (Acts 10:38). I discovered what anointing is. It’s that divine energy that comes upon you, separates you from yourself, and fills you with God’s presence… so much so that when you speak, it’s like God doing it. And where you go, it’s like God going. People see Jesus in your eyes. They hear Him as you talk. They feel Him and sense His presence when you are in the room.