God Showed Me This Tasbih — The Holy Spirit Said ‘Share It with My People
The message delivered by Kathryn Kuhlman addresses the profound hunger in the human spirit for a key or secret to divine power, often sought through physical tools like the Tasbih (prayer beads). Kuhlman cautions that while this “holy hunger” is from God, believers must prioritize the foundation over the promise of power itself to avoid building their house on the “sand of superstition”. The true source of power is not in the beads, the stones, or the religious ritual, but in the revealed truth of God.
The teaching emphasizes that the power, the life, and the miraculous transformation are not in the repetition but in the revelation of God’s Word, activated by the Holy Spirit.
1. The Unshakeable Foundation: God’s Holy Word
The foundational principle for all spiritual experience is the Word of God. Kuhlman insists that authority begins and ends with God’s holy word, which is the “one unchanging source”.
- Final Authority: The Bible is the final authority, the lamp unto our feet, and the light unto our path.
- Testing Truth: Every spiritual experience, every claim of a touch from heaven, must be held up to the unwavering light of this holy book. If it contradicts Scripture, “it is a lie”.
- Source of Creation and Transformation: The entire universe was spoken into existence by the Word of God, and any breakthrough or transformation in a person’s life must come from that same source.
The power associated with the Tasbih is a revealed power, unlocked through specific holy words that God Himself has inscribed in His eternal Word. When using this tool, the individual is not engaging in “incantations” or “magic,” but speaking back to God the very words He has spoken, aligning their spirit with eternal truth. The power was, is, and always will be in the Word.
2. The Tasbih: A Divine Technology for Human Weakness
Kuhlman explains that the Tasbih is a “divinely appointed instrument” and a “vessel” to carry the living water of God’s Word. God, in His infinite wisdom, remembers that humanity is “flesh and blood” and easily distracted, hence He provides this “helper, a tool, a divine technology for the soul”.
- Anchor Against Distraction: The world, the flesh, and the devil constantly conspire to pull attention away from the throne of grace. The Tasbih is God’s gracious answer to this human weakness.
- Physical Anchor for Spiritual Practice: Each bead serves as a “stepping stone across the river of distraction,” guiding the soul from one truth to the next. The physical sensation of the fingers touching the bead is a gentle “tug on your heart,” urging focus.
- A Sanctuary of Remembrance: The practice is defined as the sacred practice of dikur—the constant, loving remembrance of God. The Tasbih brings the body, soul, and spirit into alignment in a unified act of worship, transforming “erratic heartbeat of our anxiety into the steady strong pulse of faith and trust”.
The practice is about focused, intentional, engaged repetition, which is a “laser beam of worship” cutting through the fog of the world, rather than vain, empty noise.
3. The Holy Words: A Complete Diet for the Soul
The words spoken upon the beads are not man-made mantras, positive affirmations, or clever inventions. They are the “very substance of this prayer,” drawn directly from the heart of God’s book and breathed out by the Holy Spirit. They carry the “DNA of divinity” and the creative power that spoke worlds into existence.
The sermon focuses on three core phrases (which are frequently used in Islamic prayer practices, adapted here for a Christian context):
| Holy Phrase | Meaning & Spiritual Function |
|---|---|
| Subhan Allah (Glory be to God) | The foundational cry that shatters idols and puts every problem in its proper place. It is the declaration that God is holy and “utterly separate from this limitation”. It deals with the past and the holiness of God. |
| Alhamdulillah (All praise belongs to God) | The key that unlocks the “prison of discontent”. It is the divine command to praise Him in the storm. It is an act of war against complaint and self-pity, shifting ownership back to God, leading to miraculous peace. It deals with the present and the goodness of God. |
| Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest) | The “nuclear weapon of faith” and a cosmic reality. It is the confession that expands the heart for a miracle, proclaiming that “My God is greater than this mountain,” and puts every other fear or sorrow in its place. It deals with the future and the greatness of God. |
These phrases form a “holy cycle,” a “divine ecosystem of worship” that cleanses, heals, and empowers the human spirit.
4. The Divine Conductor: The Holy Spirit
Kuhlman stresses the “great mystery” that the tool and the words remain “dead things” without the Holy Spirit. He is the power, the life, and the one who reveals the truth.
- The Revealer: The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is the “spirit of truth”. His glorious work is to take the words of Christ and reveal them unto us, making them a “living fire” in the heart.
- Transformation vs. Religion: In the hands of a religious person, the Tasbih is a duty or a burden, but in the hands of a hungry heart surrendered to the Holy Spirit, it becomes a portal to the divine and a place of encounter.
- The Anointing: The Spirit takes these holy phrases and makes them personal, applying them to the individual’s specific wound or need. The transformation is not in human understanding, but in the Spirit’s anointing. The difference is between religion (you working hard to reach God) and relationship (the Holy Spirit revealing God to you).