A TRIBUTE TO MY FRIEND ROY ROGERS

Roy Rogers   Billy Long   1967
It was September 1967, my freshman year at ORU. There was a prayer chapel on the ground floor of the men’s dorm. It was a small room with an altar and a few short benches. I would often enter it at night to pray. The only light I needed was coming from the lobby and shining through the stain glass windows of the door.


The first time I went in there to pray, I discovered there was another student, Roy Rogers, lying on the floor at the altar. He was wrestling with God much like Jacob in Genesis 32 and was in deep intercession and literally groaning before the Lord. I don’t think he realized I was there. He was passionate but not emotional. His spirit was in travail and crying out to the Lord regarding some serious issue. His intensity reminded me of the agony Jesus went through in the Garden of Gethsemane. His prayers were deeper than simple intellect or the shallowness of typical prayers we often hear. We became good friends. I found that it was not uncommon for Roy to be in intercession even as he carried on his daily activities. I remember more than once, while standing around talking with friends, I noticed Roy’s lips moving slightly and almost imperceptibly as He prayed in the Spirit under his breath. He was not aware that we noticed it. Even in the crowd he was in “the secret place” with the Lord.
I believe those prayers were the reason for the very obvious presence of the Lord that filled the room whenever Roy sang. I remember the holy hush that fell over the auditorium as he lifted his voice in praise and worship. His anointing did not manifest in some affected style or hype. He simply stood there calmly and sang, and Jesus walked through the auditorium.
I received a message today (August 2017) that Roy went on to be with the Lord this morning. My heart is sad for our loss, but rejoice that he is with the Lord and, I am sure, singing in heaven’s choir.  ----Billy Long

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