A Woman of Prayer

By Sherry Burke

For over five decades Charlotte Matthews has been a woman of prayer, but in 1967 she was a woman in crisis. 

It was at that time that her mother suggested Charlotte visit and talk with a prayer warrior named Irma White who lived in Florence. Mrs. White was known to have her prayers answered and she also heard from God. She had God dreams with words in the night to pray for people she did not know, who’s faces appeared before her in those dreams. 

Mrs. White was part of a group of 12 ladies who prayed together. It was those ladies who had been instrumental in bringing CP Melton (father of former Faith Tabernacle, Pastor Henry Melton) into the Kingdom of God. 

Charlotte took her mother's advice and met for prayer with Mrs. White. She prayed with Charlotte, and after a time of worship together, the presence of God was heavy. In that instant, Mrs. White became Charlotte's mentor, teaching her to worship until she felt the anointing.

“She was a friend of God." Charlotte said of her.

Over the next few years, Charlotte began praying with her sisters - hosting the small group in her home. Eventually, she led a Spirit-filled Sunday school class while she attended Highland Baptist Church. 

After Charlotte joined Faith Tabernacle, she led a large prayer group of women hungry to see the power of God manifested as in Norman Grubb’s book, “Intercessor” - a biography of Rees Howells. Howells was a Welch coal miner who learned the mastery of intercession during the Welch revival. His prayers were wide reaching, especially for the nations during World War II.

In 1996 John Kilpatrick came to Faith Tabernacle. Kilpatrick had led the Brownsville revival in Pensacola, FL. Grace House’s founding pastor, Eddie Lawrence, attended the meeting and received a mighty touch from God, being baptized in the Holy Spirit.

It was around this time, in the late 1990’s, that Faith’s pastor, Henry Melton, began to consider retirement. The search was on and Charlotte's Ladies Prayer Group had someone in mind - a minister she met in 1998.

Since 1993, Charlotte had suffered from severe back pain from ruptured discs. Eddie Lawrence, who had been filled with the Holy Spirit and recognized as having the gift of healing, was still in Haleyville, Alabama pastoring. In May 1998, close friends, Jim and Anne Bevis, suggested they drive her there for prayer. 

 Pastor Eddie prayed for Charlotte with laying on of hands and had two words for her and husband, Hillard - “Israel", and  "kingdom real estate."  He didn't know the couple had a trip to Israel already booked and Hillard's business was real estate. Charlotte said during prayer she felt a warmth in her back and the pain was better.

The next day, Pastor Eddie called her and added a word that she was in spiritual warfare and needed to quote healing scriptures. For two weeks, that is what Charlotte did with prayer. After two weeks the pain was totally gone. Charlotte and Hillard Matthews went to Israel in November of 1998, flying there and back with no recurrence of pain. 

As earlier stated, Charlotte and her ladies prayer group had a God dream - that Eddie Lawrence would come to Faith Church as pastor.  He was holding meetings in Haleyville for unity among all the churches. Elders at Faith agreed with God's plan and began negotiations to ask him to move to Florence, which he did. Praise the Lord.

Since the birth of Grace House, Charlotte Matthews has continued her ministry of gathering people to pray. She stands on the scripture found in Mark 11:23-24, "[23] For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. [24] Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

Tuesday evenings at 5 p.m., at Grace House, you will find Charlotte and co-leaders Roger and Denise Humphreys, leading a group of intercessors in prayer and worship. Weekly attendance varies. But Charlotte reminds her group of  Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

Some weeks are packed, sometimes there are just a few, but worship brings his presence and his presence brings miracles.