Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

the body of Christ, as breaking news had announced the moral fall of a world-renowned minister. As I was in a spirit of prayer at 3:00 a.m., I heard an inner voice say, “Mannafest.” Then these words followed, “This is the title of your television program.” At the time I did not have a studio or studio lights; I had no cameras and tripods, no taping or duplication equipment. In fact, I had no interest in a television program and had not been a guest on any programs up until that time, so I could not comprehend the words I heard. The next morning I told my wife about the name Mannafest and the word I received. We said nothing to no one but did as Mary did when she heard Jesus at age twelve talk about doing His father’s business; she “kept all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:51). Although I knew the Lord had spoken to me, I did not go out and begin purchasing equipment and running up a bill for television airtime. The future was hidden in my heart but was not yet activated in my spirit. The delay of twelve years from the time the word of the Lord came in Zephyrhills until the first telecast of Mannafest in the year 2000 was preparation time for me. During this time my office manager, Charlie Ellis, taught himself how to tape programs, edit them, and produce a completed program. We also met a wonderful woman, Dorothy Spalding, and her husband, Russell, who were experienced in designing and building television sets, and they constructed our first television set in a small studio. In those early days we