Learning to Believe God
Posted November 1, 2005
I was born again at 5 years of age. At age 37, God told me to sell my veterinary hospital, my farms, my horses and my cows, all of my investments and obey him. In July 1970, I was sitting in bed at midnight and believing God to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and a plastic looking meter board with six oriental words on it appeared before my eyes. I started speaking in other tongues. A few days later I was baptized in water by immersion in a swimming pool, and the next day God sent me back to Sarcoxie, Missouri where I was born and raised. On the way back to Sarcoxie, God healed Patti of serious respiratory problems.
I arrived back in Sarcoxie and my farm had not received enough rain, and it was in a dry condition. It occurred to me that the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. I knew that God had sent me back there, and I determined to walk an hour on my farm and pray in other tongues. That night it rained 9/10th's of an inch. I had cleared several acres of land with a bulldozer and had thirty-six piles of trees that I wanted to burn. In two weeks, I had placed under the piles of trees, inner tubes and old tires, and had strategically located several five-gallon cans of diesel fuel. That afternoon when I had completed my work, I said, "Now it's going to rain," and I started praying for rain and that night it rained two inches. The next morning I was up early and set all of those tree piles on fire. Within five months, I had burned all of the trees and stumps, and what remained I buried with a bulldozer. Those were acts of the power of God. By now, I had confidence that God would answer my prayers if I would believe him. Over the next year, I watched God do several miracles.
In 1971, God sent me to Florida to manage a small animal hospital. There I saw God do miracles in small animals and do financial miracles as well. I had asked the owner of the small animal hospital to increase my pay and I had requested 37.5% of the gross. After several days her CPA's said they could not afford to pay me that. I knew God had sent me there, but I was considering leaving unless I received more money. I was sure that it was God that instructed me to make the request for more pay. Only a couple of days afterwards I awakened at 6:20 a.m. I know because I was looking at my clock, and I heard God say, "55% of the net," and I said, "Alright." I called the owner and told here what I would do. She conferred with her CPA's, and they agreed to that figure. It turned out that 55% of the net was equal to 37.5% of the gross. I was learning that God takes the wise in their own craftiness. My confidence continued to grow that God was with me.
In May 1972, God directed me to come back to Texas. We arrived back here on May 18th and lived in the Holiday Inn in Denton for ten weeks. There God began teaching me about the book of Romans. In early August, I purchased six and a half acres of land with a house in Argyle. By this time, I had sold both of my farms, all of my cattle, and I had about six horses left. I had a contractual disagreement with a former partner over where I could practice veterinary medicine. I ended up in court in Denton.
In September 1972, a judge in Denton issued an injunction against me, and I could not practice in about seventy percent of the territory that I needed to serve. The injunction was in effect for seven months, and I went to court. When I went to court the judge instructed the jury that he had already determined that I was guilty, and they should just assess the damages. Needless to say I was surprised that I could not have a trial by jury. They brought in two of my colleagues that testified against me and both of them are now deceased. During the night following the first day of the trial, I was aware that the judge was determined to punish me. About 3:00 a.m. as I was praying, the Lord gave me three verses of scripture, Isaiah 51:21-23, "Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: v.21
Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: v.22
But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over." v.23
I arrived in court that morning in late March 1974 very encouraged expecting that God would do a miracle. While the jury was deliberating, the judge was seated on his bench. My attorney, my opponent's attorney, and myself were all seated. I simply said, "Your honor, I have four questions that I would like answered." The attorney's were amazed, but that judge wrote the four questions down. His head, face, and neck were red. It was easy to see his anger. He said, "I will go to my chamber and study this, and I will be back."
In about forty-five minutes he returned to the bench, and as he entered we all stood up, and then we were seated. He answered my four questions one at a time. Upon completion of his answers, he totally reversed himself and changed the bounds of the territory that I could serve. My attorney said, "My God I never heard of a judge doing this," and he began to weep. I said, "Jerry, please, please, get a hold of yourself." My thoughts were don't even give this judge an opportunity to think anything about this. Let's just get out of here before he changes his mind again.
I really could not tell you that at that moment I believed God changed that man's decisions. The jury returned and assessed their punishment, and the case was over. I was very thankful that God's power worked on my behalf again. After I got out of the courtroom, I was convinced that God did change the man's decision.
Shortly thereafter, I was attending a Kenneth Copeland Sunday afternoon meeting at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas, and God told me to put $50.00 in the offering and he would send me to Israel. I only had $75.00 in my checkbook. Just a few days later I received a phone call from a person that I knew in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He told me that Derek Prince was leading a tour to Israel in June and had invited me to go. I knew that God had told me that I would go.
When it was time to make the first payment, God did a miracle for me to get the money. When the final payment was due I had to call Fort Lauderdale and tell them that I did not have the money, yet in my heart I knew that I was going to Israel. They replaced me with another family, and that night one of those family members died. The next morning they called me and informed me about the death, and they said, "Do you believe that you are still to go to Israel, and do you have the money for the final payment?" I said, "Yes, but no I don't have the money." They said, "Well we will put someone else in your place then." That night one of the individuals that was supposed to go in my place had emergency surgery. The next morning they called me and said, "Do you have your money to go to Israel?" I said, "No." They said, "We are not going to put anyone else in your place to go, Doyle." That evening at about 9:45 p.m. I received a phone call from a person and they said, "Are you going to Israel?" I said, "Yes." They said, "Do you have the money?" I said, "I do not." They said, "How much do you need?" I said, "Well how much to do you have." (I was always amazed with my response.) With what I had and what they were sending me, it was enough to pay our final payment. Now I was sure that we were going to Israel, and I certainly expected to have abundance of money to spend during that trip.
During this period of our preparing to go to Israel, just a few days before we went, Ralph and Debbie Edge came to our house and were born again. That was the beginning of God giving me men and women to make Christians out of.
We were to depart DFW on June 8, 1974. The night before we left, I had our tickets. The hotel rooms, breakfast, a sack lunch, and an evening meal had been paid for. We had thirty-three one-dollar bills. At about 10:00 p.m. that night, some people brought us 100 one-dollar bills. At that time, I thought now the money is coming. Needless to say, when we got on our airplane at DFW airport we only had the $133.00. I had determined that there would be no credit cards used.
We flew to New York, and I will always be grateful for Derek Prince's actions at that airport. Someone had informed Derek that I had been involved in a lawsuit, and he called me and he said, "I don't want to hinder your faith, but you are going to have to be realistic." I said to Derek, "Are you telling me that I am being disobedient." He said, "Well I don't know." I said, "Well what are you saying to me," and his response to me was, "Well I don't know."
Derek was interested in my life and for that I will always be thankful. Someone had told him about the judges decision in the lawsuit. When the plane landed in New York, Derek was there at the terminal waiting to greet us. He said, "We have a great distance to walk, so let's walk to this next terminal." He said to me, "Isn't it amazing what God did to that judge?" I said, "Yes sir, it was a miracle." I said, "I am looking forward to this trip, because I thought that by now with all of the things that had happened, that God must be preparing to do something in Israel for me." Derek said to me something that I will never forget, he said, "You have earned this trip." I said, "Earned it?" I realized at that time that Derek was appreciative of my obedience to God. Little did I know what was about to happen in Jerusalem?
Our plane landed in Tel-Aviv and we stayed overnight there. The next day we went to a Kibbutz on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee called Nof Ginosar. We spent four days on the Sea of Galilee, and then we went to Jerusalem and stayed at the Saint George Hotel. We attended a Sunday morning service at the Garden Tomb where a minister from Holland was speaking. While this man was speaking, the anointing of God moved into my heart. I was aware of what it was, and God started talking to me with Acts1:8 burning in my heart, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." I knew that God was calling me into the ministry. I thought to myself, this must be why God brought me to Jerusalem.
On Tuesday evening, Patti and I entered the dining room at the Saint George Hotel and there were only two seats available in that dining room. They were at Derek and Lydia's table. As we moved toward the table, Derek stood up and asked, "Would you like to sit with us?" I replied, "Yes." We ordered our food, and Derek looked at me and said, "Would you like to speak for ten minutes tonight in Christ's Church?" My response was immediate, "Yes." I then excused myself and went to my room. When I arrived there I kneeled down and I said, "Okay Lord what am I going to say." He answered me immediately, and I said, "Thank you." I got up and went back to finish my meal. The extent of my teaching had been a bible study in our home and teaching a men's group of about 50 or 60 men on Saturday mornings at the First United Methodist in Argyle for a period of six months.
I spoke for ten minutes and there was an attorney there from Auckland, New Zealand that came to me and said, "I am an attorney. I have presented cases to jury's, and I have heard attorneys present cases before jury's and I have never heard a more clear and to the point presentation than you just gave." I said, "Thank you sir. God bless you." That was a great encouragement to me.
At that moment, I knew why God called me to Israel. That night Acts 1:8 was fulfilled in my life, a witness to Jerusalem and New Zealand, which is considered the uttermost part of the earth.
Our needs were supplied while we were in Israel. We never were short and we never were wanting for money in Israel or London. I was in an elevator in London England, on our return from Israel, and a man gave me some British pounds. I don't recall how much. I gave that money to some young people in London, and they went and had a meal. When we arrived back in Argyle, we had remaining eight one-dollar bills.
While we were gone we had some people collect our mail from our mailbox. During that trip to Israel, I had received in the mail $4000.00 worth of bills that I owed, and I had received a little more than $4000.00 in the mail from work that I done before I went to Israel. I was encouraged that God was with us.
I was learning that God was faithful to a person that would obey him, and my confidence in him was increasing with every miracle that He did.
God bless you,
Doyle Davidson
