Beloved American entertainer Denzel Washington recently recalled when he was “filled with the Holy Ghost” during a church service in the 1980s.
“I was filled with the Holy Ghost and it scared me,” the 65-year-old celebrity said during an appearance on Instagram Live, according to Fox News. “I said, ‘Wait a minute, I didn’t want to go this deep. I want to party.’”
Washington added, “I went to church with Robert Townsend and when it came time to come down to the altar, I said, ‘You know this time, I’m just going to go down there and give it up and see what happens.’ I went in the prayer room and gave it up and let go and experienced something I’ve never experienced in my life.”
The “Fences” star told Pastor A.R. Benard of the Christian Cultural Center that he surrendered his life to Jesus on three separate occasions, recalling one of the occasions as a “supernatural” encounter with the Lord.
Washington, who has been outspoken about his Christian faith, remembered telling his mother at the time, “I felt like I was going up in the air, and my cheeks were filled.” In response, his mother said, “Oh, no, that’s the devil you’re purging.”
At the time, he said he “couldn’t completely understand” the experience.
“It kept me grounded in spite of myself,” Washington explained. “I mean, I accepted it. I definitely experienced it, but I wasn’t ready to live it. I don’t how how old I was then, but I wasn’t ready to live it then. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s gone through that kind of experience.”
The “Flight” actor admitted in 2017 that it is sometimes difficult to trust the Gospel message because the “mind never shuts off.”
“I was reading about this today in my prayer and meditation,” he said during an interview with The Christian Post. “It is so difficult to trust that Jesus died for our sins because the mind never shuts off, especially in this world when you’re given all this information.”
In this second part of his career, Washington said he is solely focused on spreading the truth and promoting good with his work. The entertainer noted he has given up drinking alcohol and said he is “unashamed and unafraid” to speak about his relationship with God.