“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m doing fine, man, just leave me alone.” Those were the words from the legendary singer, songwriter and producer William “Smokey” Robinson in 1986 when his friend, Leon, could visibly see that Smokey was abusing drugs.
It’s hard to believe that the founder and front man of the vocal group the Miracles, as well as songwriter and producer for Motown that brought us hits like “My Guy” for Mary Wells, and “The Way You Do The Things You Do” and “My Girl” for the Temptations was on the brink of dying because of drug abuse, but it’s true.
“No, I’m not leaving at all. I’m staying here and I’m praying for you. I don’t care how long it takes,” Leon persisted.
“Leon stayed and prayed for me all night; he prayed till the sun came up; he wouldn’t leave me; he stayed at my house all the next day and that night insisted that we go to a place called Ablaze Ministry,” Smokey said.
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Ablaze was just a small building on Florence Avenue in Los Angeles where people were up and singing. The leader was a heavy-set black woman.
After preaching, the woman pointed at Smokey and said, “You, would you please come up here?”
Looking around tentatively, slowly, he made his way to the podium where she stood. She hugged him and said, “I know who you are. I didn’t call your name because not everyone recognized you. You look so bad. I been praying for you for a year now. The Lord put you on my heart. He really loves you. You’re one of His children. And He sent you here tonight so I could heal you in the name of Jesus.”
“The drugs,” she said, still in a whisper, “have eating away your stomach lining. If you hadn’t come here, you would have died.”
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“And just like that, the desire left me. I haven’t touched or wanted any form of any drug. Being in show business, I’m always around the stuff. There have been endless opportunities to get high. Miraculously, I’ve not even been tempted. Miraculously, I was saved. The Lord washed me clean.”
Smokey’s Tips For Being Drug-Free
1. “Unless you get your spiritual self together – because we’re not just flesh and blood, we are spiritual beings. Unless you…
