Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By ANNA GRACE MOORE | Magazine Editor

Decades ago, Walter Singleterry found himself washed up on the wrong side of the tracks. A lifetime of regret clung to his clothes, weighing him down with every step.

His happiness was fleeting, but his remorse felt everlasting. Skies of gray clouded his mind, whispering lies that sounded like the truth.

Losing his battle with depression, Walter puffed his sadness away on a dimly lit cig, slowly slipping into a drunken slumber one fateful day. As he drifted off, a few tiny embers caught his bed in a fiery haze.

Paralyzed in fear, Walter recalls not being able to wake up from a nightmare–one where demons fought for his soul. All of the sudden, roaring down from Heaven, a mighty voice ripped through the black bellowing, “This is your last chance.”

Walter woke with a fright as one of his family members shook him violently. Flames were rolling up into the rafters–the floorboards heaving and creaking, seconds from giving way.

The two barreled out the front door, just to turn and see the house engulfed in flames. Although the house crumbled, Walter emerged without a scratch.

He became a follower of Jesus that day.

“Once I accepted Jesus as my Savior, good things began to happen in my life,” he said. “God gave me a car. I got a house. He’s just been so good to me. I wasn’t even worth it, but He gave me all of that.”

Now, Walter has a newfound purpose–sharing the Gospel.

“I think God is using me to teach this–this is very, very important,” he said, later adding, “He sacrificed Himself for us and died on the cross. He knew no sin. He left Heaven, a comfortable place, everything laid out for Him. He gave all that up to come down here and die on the cross for (us).”

Walter said a man destined to die for humanity is a man worth living for, and he intends to do so every day he’s given this side of Heaven. 

Walk by faith, not by sight

Born and raised in Jemison, Walter struggled academically growing up, and he left high school before finishing to pursue different career opportunities. He joined the Alabama National Guard and served his country for a short time before leaving the service to travel the world.

It wasn’t long before home came calling, and Walter returned to be closer to family. As the second oldest of 10 children, he played a big hand in helping raise his younger siblings.

During this time, Walter became a Christian, but he did not know yet just how the Lord was going to use him. So, he started working, painting commercial businesses.

After 10 years, he switched gears and began building furniture for a local company–a place he worked for 18 years until the 2008 recession cost him his job. Although he struggled, Walter never doubted the Lord’s plan for his life.

“He came to me, and He said these words, ‘I want you to go to Shelby Baptist. I want you to tell the people about me. You give them something to hope for, and His name is Jesus,’’’ Walter said. “I’ve been doing that for about 14 years.”

Not long after was Walter hired at Baptist Health Shelby Hospital as a member of the environmental services team. In less than two years, Walter was promoted to cleaning patients’ rooms—a position he does not take lightly.

Phyllis Thomas, a manager in the EVS department at Shelby Hospital, has worked at the hospital for 16 years. One of her first memories of Walter was of him smiling, joyfully saying, ‘Praise the Lord!’

It was a moment she’ll never forget.

“He’s a person that loves the Lord,” Phyllis said. “He has different songs. He goes down the hall singing, ‘This Little Light of Mine.’ That’s one of his favorites. You can always tell when Mr. Walter is in the building.”

Every chance he gets, Walter talks to patients, encouraging them and offering to pray for them. In his disguise with a broom or a mop in hand, Walter is living out the ministry of Jesus Christ, ensuring every person he meets knows the good news.

The power of prayer

Equipped with the Holy Spirit, Walter prays for the Lord to speak through him to each patient he’s privileged to meet. Whether that be reciting scriptures, offering words of encouragement or praying, Walter is never afraid or embarrassed.

In fact, he is always eager to share what Christ has put on his heart.

“They tell me when I walk into a room, ‘I can see you in spirit. You light up a room,’” Walter said. “I say, ‘It’s all because of God.’ They all tell me that. I always light up a room when I come in there. Why? Because I have Jesus, and He’s the light of the world.”

Interestingly enough, as a child, Walter struggled with public speaking. He abhorred having to make speeches or presentations in front of his classmates.

Prophetic words, praying for people–those were never on his radar. It was not until he said, “yes,” for the first time to Jesus that he slowly started becoming brave.

“I’ve never met someone so positive,” said Ashley Greer, Baptist Health Shelby Hospital’s EVS Director. “I’ve never known him to have a bad day. Every word is going to be, ‘Praise the Lord. Thank you Jesus!’”

Ashley said Walter’s most defining characteristic is his gratitude for God, for the life he’s living and for the people he gets to meet every day.

“When I first met him, I was like, ‘Wow, this man is on fire,” Ashley said. “He challenges me every day to put a smile on somebody else’s face.”

She gets calls nearly every week from patients who ask for “Mr. Walter.” Patients will call or visit, bringing Walter pictures of their family members–people he specifically has prayed over and has seen Christ heal.

Years ago, Walter strolled into a comatose patient’s room, beginning his cleaning duties. As he was cleaning the room, Walter reached out his hand, and from a distance, he prayed for the man to be healed.

The patient’s then-girlfriend came to visit and saw Walter praying. Without hesitation, Walter said he told her not to be afraid and the Lord would heal him.

Not a day later did the patient wake up. The newlywed couple later visited Walter at Shelby Hospital, giving him a photo of their wedding and thanking him for his healing prayers.

Walter has prayed for hundreds of patients during his time at Shelby Hospital. He has even helped lead some to know Jesus; although, he gives all credit to God.

“I can’t make an impact on people without God,” Walter said. “Anytime you try to do something and you leave God out of it, it’s not going to work, and I realize that now. So, everything I do, I acknowledge God that He directs my path. He’s never failed me yet. He’s not going to fail me.”

Leaving the 99

Luke 15:3-7 reads, “So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”

Walter believes it was a miracle the Lord saved him from that house fire all those years ago. For years, he never thought he was worthy of love, of friendship, much less of God’s forgiveness.

And yet, God rescued Walter, transforming his life and giving him purpose. Now, the Lord is using him to minister to hundreds.

Faith catches on like fire when one is brave enough to live like Jesus. The best part? Anyone, no matter who he is, is cherished by God and can do mighty things in His name.

After all, one man’s faith was enough to save the world.