Shirley Caesar Says Whitney Houston Spoke in Tongues, Loved Jesus
Shirley Caesar, pastor and godmother to Whitney Houston, recently spoke about witnessing the power of God in the late singer's life.
Houston, who died Feb. 11 at 48 years old, has been the topic of conversation for Caesar, who has honored the late singer's memory in various media appearances. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Caesar recalled an incident in which Houston started speaking in tongues at pastor and gospel singer Kim Burrell's church in Houston, Texas weeks before her death.
"Kim said that the power of God fell on Whitney Houston and she ran all around the church...and then she fell out on the floor and just began to speak in tongues," Caesar explained before crying. "For about 30 minutes (she was) lying there and praising the Lord. This girl knew that Jesus loved her."
Despite Houston's devotion to Christ, Caesar said her goddaughter may have been battling a demonic force. However, the singer said Houston's death may have been a sign that God wanted to separate her from her addiction.
"A drug addiction is a powerful demonic force to kick, but the devil is still a liar. You got to be determined that you're going to pull up and pull out of that then the God of all grace will help you out of it just like he helped her," Caesar told CBN in the recent interview. "She had a struggle but the other day her struggle came to an end. The God of grace separated that from her."
Despite Houston's issues with addiction, Caesar told CBN that she hoped people could remember the positive impact of the late singer.
"She was (a) fantastic person, and I'm hoping and praying that everybody will look past the negative, see the positive and see what she has left here for us to continue to live with," Caesar said.
In an interview with television anchor Nancy Grace shortly after Houston's death, Caesar seemed to reprimand the host for focusing on a negative incident in the singer's life that involved ex-husband Bobby Brown. A video of Grace reportedly cutting Caesar's audio short graced the Internet after the gospel singer strayed from the topic involving Brown.
"Ma'am let me just say this, everybody including all of you are facing some kind of problem. The only difference between you all and Whitney is that Whitney was a star," Caesar told Grace, shortly before the audio was cut off. "We are beating up on that because now she's no longer with us. You've got to keep in mind that there's a young girl who is motherless. There is a mother who is sick and no daughter."