Eric Gilmour’s life’s mission is to bring the church into a deeper understanding and experience of the presence of God in their daily lives.
Gilmour believes that God’s manifest presence is the distinguishing mark of the believer, and his heart’s desire is to see every Christian not only comprehend that this is normal Christianity, but to expect God’s presence to encounter them every day. In this way, Gilmour resembles a modern-day Brother Lawrence.
But it wasn’t always like this for him. He didn’t experience the presence of God for himself until he was 15 years old. On my recent podcast episode, Gilmour recounts the first time he became startlingly aware of God’s manifest presence. It was a day that changed his life forever.
His mom had walked through the front door of their home and looked like a different woman. Her face shone. She and her intercessor friends had been on a trip to the Brownsville Revival, and her countenance reflected the truth that she had been with God. Gilmour says her face reminded him of Stephen’s face as described in Acts 6:15. Her appearance was so astonishing that Gilmour’s brother ran, hiding from the presence of God. It was as though their mom had left on the trip, and an entirely different woman returned.
Gilmour’s mom asked him to attend the revival meetings with her, and he flatly refused. Up until this point, Eric knew about God and did a good job at playing church, but he didn’t have a genuine relationship with God. He explained to me that if he discovered his mother’s experience was real, it would mean there was a God, which would mean his entire life had to change.
But his mom didn’t relent. She promised that if he attended the services with her, he could bring his girlfriend, Brooke, now his wife. Gilmour agreed.
That one decision served to accomplish what he had suspected all along …God was real, which changed everything.
To find out the rest of Eric Gilmour’s exciting glory encounter story, listen to this week’s Fire Starter podcast. {eoa}
