by Robert Warren
Denzel Washington, winner of two Golden Globes, revealed during an Instagram Live session with pastor A.R. Benard that he had a supernatural, once in a lifetime experience, filled with the Holy Ghost in a church service in the 80’s.
He went down to the altar during a church service and kneeled. He remembered feeling a new sensation. What his mom described as the devil escaping.
“I was filled with the Holy Ghost and it scared me,” Washington said, “I didn’t want to go this deep.” Washington described the feeling as something he had never experienced before. He knew he had just experienced a once in a lifetime experience but during the 80’s he wasn’t ready to accept that meetup just yet.
“I remember my mother telling me, ‘Denzel, you do a lot of good but now it is time for you to do good the right way’,” Washington said. “She said and you know what I am talking about. ‘You can’t buy your way into Heaven’.”
Washington described being on an individual journey of not being where he wanted to be yet but seeking how to get there. After that confrontation with himself he has now reached a point to where he helps several people finish college and also get food. Contributing to other people’s success as well as his own, as he has traveled to millions of households through the television and the Internet.
Washington has been part of such works as Malcom X, Training Day, and Glory among others. He has won two Golden Globes, one Tony, and two Academy Awards. He has served as the national spokesperson for Boys and Girls Clubs of America since 1993. In 2011, he donated $2 million to Fordham for an endowed chair of the theatre department. Washington continually gives back.
“I have been prayed for by my mom and now by my wife. I have been prayed for for a long time,” Washington said. “So I have been protected.”
Washington went on to talk to the pastor about his son experiencing a Holy Spirit encounter like he did. Pastor A.R. Benard described Washington’s chat with him as an example of what Washington values most. The fact Washington was talking to the pastor about his son experiencing the Holy Spirit, like he did, and being so excited about it, the pastor describes as a great example of Washington’s values. While many celebrities often take to their success and accomplishments as their whole focus, Washington is excited to talk about the Holy Spirit and his son encountering it too in a conversation with the pastor.
“You go through life with what you think will make you happy instead of what actually will,” Washington said. “Each person’s journey is different. We’ve been blessed with everything materially but that I’ve learned doesn’t do it.”
To Washington, he describes the most important things in life to be things like time with his family. He describes COVID-19 as an opportunity where he had time to spend with his family and deal with each other in the household. The pastor described COVID-19 as an opportunity to teach us what we can live without.
Washington saw the Holy Spirit in the 80’s during a church service. Now his son has seen the Spirit too which sets an example for the siblings. Even though the world might be crazy, this is a good example of how one encounter with the Spirit can lead to an amazing person giving back.