Sid: You know what I’m reminded of I have Tommy Welchel in the studio right now and Tommy is the last living link to the Azusa Street Revival. Because as a young man he got radically saved by; what did you call those women with the buns in their hair; what were they called?
Tommy: Holiness.
Sid: They were holiness woman with the buns in their hair.
Tommy: Yes.
Sid: And he got radically saved; radically set free from drugs and alcohol and they knew that God was going to have him at a certain time about 100 years after the revival start talking about it. Because they prophesied that there would be a greater revival. Even William Seymour prophesied; that’s the man that started that God used to start the revival of Azusa Street. Prophesied about 100 years later there would be a new move of God’s Spirit and that they would need this information. And they poured themselves into Tommy; knowing that he was going to say this. But you know what I find interesting as I’m reading your materials here? There was certain people in the revival that had great faith for specific miracles. Like there was one person that liked to pray for people that were bound to wheelchairs; tell me about that person.
Tommy: Sister Carney and she set the Carney rule. Well, she’d come up to someone in a wheelchair; she’d pick up their legs and put the flaps up. That was a lack of faith if you didn’t because she knew that they were going to get healed. No doubt in her mind; she’d pray for them and they got healed.
Sid: And then tell me about some other specialties; how about the person that liked to pray for a bad or missing teeth.
Tommy: That’s Sister Lucille, she was a little bitty woman 4’10” and at one time the secretary to Amy McPherson. Now Lucille…
Sid: Now all these people I just read about are the true heroes of the great move of God 100 years ago in America.
Tommy: Yes.
Sid: That’s neat; so tell me.
Tommy: She would tell me about different… back then they didn’t have as good a hygiene as we have now keeping the mouth clean and everything. And she said she brought handkerchiefs with her to wipe stuff off of their gums. And I said, “Lucille was there ever anyone that had no teeth at all?” And she said “Oh yeah, those are my favorites.” And I said, “Why?” She said, that she would take her finger put it over where the tooth was press down, pray and let that new tooth push her finger up. She could have prayed for all 32 teeth, not Lucille one at a time and let them push her finger back up. It was kind of a game with her.
Sid: What about people that had gum disease and…
Tommy: Some of the gums would be missing teeth very badly crocked; she would pray for them and wipe corruption off their teeth, boils and infected. Pray for them and they’d be instantly healed.
Sid: Tell me about the person that liked to pray for blind people.
Tommy: He’s the sad sack; he’s the one that kept crying about the loss of the Shekinah glory. But he still; I couldn’t quite understand his sadness because there’s two blind people at Pisgah that Bill prayed for that got healed right in front of my eyes; I saw them.
Sid: So some of these saints even though the revival lifted after 3 ½ years they still had the anointing to pray for miracles.
Tommy: Fifty years later.
Sid: Fifty years later.
Tommy: I would set and watch many of them. Sister Dun Dees. She became Sister Beck. A couple from England came over from a very ill child that had a blood… I would assume leukemia. Well, they came looking for Sister Lucille, the Greenish had brought them over there. And they said they were looking for Sister Beck because she loved to pray for children. And I went and found Sister Beck and said “There are some people from England; they’ve got a baby that you’ve got to pray for.” I got her by the hand and I believe her husband is following behind her and by then I had been around Pisgah quite a while and I knew them like they were my mother and father. And I bring them out there and she says “Give me the child.” And they gave her the child and they started praying for it and all of a sudden, the child had a blanket on his face. And she looked up and smiled at me and she could see the baby and handed the baby back to the mother of the child and said “The child is healed.” And the mother took the baby and sister Beck went into the church.” Well, I wanted to see the baby. She pulled the blanket up and here was a perfectly well baby. All the coloring had come back into it; it was just gooing and it was hungry.
Sid: What about tumors? Was there anyone that really loved to pray for tumors?
Tommy: Yes, one of the most astonishing ones was Brother Lankford. A woman had come up with a tumor; a very large tumor on her back. You could see it through the dress; couldn’t hide it. And he laid hands on her and prayed for it and that tumor with his hand on it started shrinking and within seconds it was gone. He’s also the one that prayed for; we called it harelips; palate lips would be missing. During his time there at Azusa over 100 he prayed for these missing teeth.
Sid: Cleft lips.
Tommy: Cleft lips were instantly supernaturally healed right in front of you.
Sid: Now tell me about the anointing that Goldie had for tumors.
Tommy: Sister Goldie, her main was tumors with growths that came all over. You’ve seen people with growths with tumors sticking out all over their bodies.
Sid: Yes, I have.
Tommy: She even started bringing a dust pan and a towel to sweep them up in.
Sid: Huh.
Tommy: Because she had prayed for them and they’d fall off right there and she’d sweep them up in a little dust pan, put them in a towel and throw them away. And I said “Sister Goldie now you mainly went for.” She said, “I just seem to have a burden for them.” She said she had a few growths herself that God took off at Azusa. So…
Sid: That sure beats plastic surgery.
Tommy: Sure does.
Sid: (Laughing)
Tommy: Absolutely.
Sid: Now tell me about the children; were they used in miracles; children of Azusa Street?
Tommy: Ralph Riggs one of the ones in 1914 with the founding of the Assemblies of God he wasn’t quite 12 and one of my favorite stories there. He had a man that had come at about 6’4” a big man; dog drunk, slurring. Well, Ralph didn’t really want to but God said to go pray for him. So he went up there and he said “You come here to pray for?” He said “Well, they said God would working miracles;” he could see the man was blind and he had more compassion on him. So he said “Well, let’s pray.” The man got instantly healed. Later on even in my hometown was a church of the Assemblies of God that that man founded.
Sid: Hm. I imagine a lot of these people that God uses from Azusa Street went on to start great works.
Tommy: Many.
Sid: And great congregation; even denominations.
Tommy: Yes.
Sid: Okay, tell me about I understand the children use to play in the glory.
Tommy: Now, that was Ralph Riggs and C.W. Ward when that Shekinah glory would fill the building. He said “You couldn’t see more than 10 foot away from you it got so thick. And he said that him and Ralph for a while would play hid and seek until mommas’ found out about it and put a stop to it.
Sid: (Laughing) They would hid in the glory; but can you imagine what was happening to them to be playing in the glory? I mean do you really believe that kind of glory is coming back?
Tommy: Why not? I’ve seen a man myself in one of Steve Souters meetings he had his hands stuck up in the air playing the organ with one hand. And his had stuck up in the air and I couldn’t see the hand! It was stuck up the cloud was up in the air and I couldn’t see in the hand because Steve says “Where’s it at Brother Tommy?” And I said “Up there see Jimmy up there up on the platform.” He said, “I see it; just a minute God told me everybody with back problems come up here and be healed.” Sid 30 people came up and 30 people got healed.
Sid: So you’re saying that this same glory has gotten on you when you minister.
Tommy: Yes.
Sid: Have you prayed for people and the glory has gotten on them and they can pray for people?
Tommy: Oh yes, several. One little girl in Banning, California; she’s 13 years old. There 5 churches got together and had a meeting of young people; youth pastors. One of them had a cast on his knee; he had injured it in a ball game. I said “Listen I’m not going to pray for them; I want you to pray and if God tells you, you come down here and pray for them.” I’d seen this little girl; she looked 10 but she was 13. A glow around her and I believe that was the glory. She finally she got up and walked down there laid hands and prayed for him and he got so excited that he got some people bust that cast off; even got up dancing all over the church. That little girl I finally got them to bring her to me and I said “Sweetheart how old are you?” She said “Thirteen.” And I said “Look me in the eyes; you can do that anytime anywhere.” And she had a puzzeled look, “Anytime, anywhere?” I said “Yes.” She went to her school, she is what the call a towel girl in the football games. You see these little girls running.
Sid: Right.
Tommy: That’s what she done. Well the quarterback got injured; they even had him on the gurney. She walked up and says “I believe in divine healing would you like me to pray for you?” And he went “Yeah.” She prayed for him and he got instantly healed; the next play he would…
Sid: You know I’m getting sick of the news that I’m seeing lately on television. Can you imagine if the news were covering that particular football game or covering what you’re ready to do?
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth