On September 28, 1982, my wife of 13 years, Jan, was killed in a single car accident in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As you could imagine, I became angry and bitter toward the Lord. I blamed Him for letting Jan die. After all I had done and endured for the gospel, I thought this was terribly unfair to me.
About three weeks after the funeral, Oral Roberts called and asked me to come to his office. He had just lost a son in Tulsa, and we sat, talking about our pain. After about two hours, Oral stood up, pointed his finger at me, and said, “Terry, I’m going to tell you something that could save your life if you do what I say.” He said, “Go home, get down on your knees, and start to pray in the spirit. You have got to begin to praise the Lord.”
The next morning, my alarm went off before daybreak. I knelt by my bed and tried to enter into praise. It was one of the most excruciating spiritual experiences of my life. The inner pain seemed unbearable. I said the word “Hallelujah.” It sounded hollow. It echoed in the room.
Gradually, I came to a moment of truth. The words of Psalm 34:1 came to me: “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” I said out loud, “Lord, I will bless you at all times.” Something happened way down inside my spirit. I had taken the last step toward God.
I praised for thirty minutes… then an hour… then two hours. Sometime between two and two and a half hours, I felt a pressure building up inside. It was like water building up behind a dam. Then it did. With a mighty rush, I began to cry with hot stinging tears. I was being healed. Obedience in praise and worship had brought healing to my inner man.
— Terry Law, “The Power of Praise and Worship”
