There has never been a time in my life that I have been without God. He has always been with me. I am very blessed, and I thank God for this. As far back as I can remember, I have had a relationship with Jesus.

My mother took us to church regularly in the first five years of my life, and I remember being there when I was three years old. I used to crawl under the padded, church pews and lay down while the preacher would preach the Word. That is, when my mother would let me get down on the floor. The church had red carpet, and I thought it was soft. I felt safe under the pew. There is something to be said about the old style pews.

Sometimes at this period in my life, my mom would play some old Christian records late in the evening before bed. Some of the songs were Come All Ye Faithful, the Hallelujah Chorus, and The Eastern Gate among others. I remember being deeply moved by the music, and we all shed tears. Those were some worship services that I will never forget.

On April 3,1977, NBC aired the miniseries, Jesus of Nazareth. I watched the series each night that it was on. At the end of the series, I knew that I needed to have Jesus in my heart, I needed Him to be my Savior. In my bedroom, I prayed with my mother to accept Him into my heart. I remember being on my bed and the overhead light being on.

At some point shortly after, I was baptized at our church. The water was warm. The pastor’s name was Brother Smith. He picked me up, and I remember slinging water accidentally as I was waving to my mother. The crowd laughed. He spoke a few words, and then baptized me. I remember being submerged into the warm water and then being lifted upward and out. Baptismal tanks should always be warm in my opinion.

Prior to being born, my mother told me that one night after church, she was standing in the parking lot. It was then God revealed to her that she would have a son, and that my name was to be Daniel. She also prayed some specific things for me.

Before I was five and moved out of my first home, I had some very lasting, powerful experiences as a small child.

I had a very specific dream that I can still see very clearly even to this day. I was standing on some hills overlooking a town. At the time, I could not say for sure which town it was, but it was middle eastern. As I got older, I believe it was Jerusalem in Israel in my dream. While I stood there, the clouds began to come down. I realized later in life that I was actually going up into the sky. I ended up at a fence with a gate, and looking over the fence I could see a dinner party being prepared. There was a throne, and Jesus sat on the throne. It was a simple scene that my young mind could understand. Then the dream ended.

Another significant event happened one night when I woke up. My bedroom door opened toward the living room. From my bed I could see across the house to where the living room opened into the kitchen. It was dark, but I could see two forms outlined in white lines, and they were not solid. Meaning I could see through them. Closest to me was a being with wings, what I would call an angel. He was struggling with another that did not have wings. The angel had the other by both wrists, one in each hand. The one furthest from me was ugly, had a grimace on its face, had no hair, and pointed ears. I watched them struggle, not very long, then closed my eyes and went back to sleep. As you can imagine, I was frightened.

I would have thought perhaps that event was a dream, but one morning on a different day I woke up again. I looked into the living room, which was lit because the sun had risen. I again saw a non solid being outlined in white. I could see it even though it was not dark. I believe it was evil because it took on the form of something that scared me as a child. It was on the other side of the living room table from me and looked around the end of it at me. I decided it would be best to go back to sleep.

Looking back, I realize now that I was very sensitive to the things of the Spirit of God. I believe all spiritual gifts come from Him at His choosing. There are various gifts that He gives, and not everyone has the same gifts. He gives them for His purpose to build up the church, for works of service, and to glorify our Lord Jesus. He has given dreams and opened my spiritual eyes at different times in my life for a reason. I’m sure at some point, I will know the reason and understand fully.

I know I’m not the only one who has experienced these types of things.