“And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:” – Genesis 30:22-23
When Mrs. Chidinma Ukpai of the Ebute-Metta Parish of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, Lagos, had her first child in 1999, her expectation was that before long, the cry of another baby would be heard in her home. But an encounter in the dream with the forces of darkness appeared to have foreclosed that possibility. And despite the very grim verdict of doctors, her trust in God’s ability and willingness to remove the obstacles and bless her did not wane. The battle lasted for fifteen years during which her Christian life improved significantly, as she drew closer to God in consecration and humble service. At last, and to the glory of God, victory was hers. Recently, she became a happy mother of another child, a lovely boy, for which she remains grateful to God for His enduring mercies and great favours. She testifies:
“I AM here today to testify to the glory of God what He has done for me and my family. I gave birth to my first child in 1999 shortly after my marriage to my husband and was hoping for another conception after the baby had been weaned. I never anticipated that there would be any delay. But in the course of time, I had a dream in which I saw myself drinking a liquid substance. When I woke up in the morning, I noticed that my body system had changed. I didn’t give it much attention though the feeling continued. Soon I became disturbed and went to the hospital to see a doctor. There, I was told that some organs in my body had gone bad. And to compound the problem, I noticed that I had stopped ovulating. When I returned to the hospital later, the doctor said that I would need to undergo a surgical operation before I could conceive again.
When we came to church, my husband and I went to see the district pastor who is now on a missionary assignment abroad (Pastor John Madu) and told him what the doctor had said. He counselled us against going for any operation and prayed for us, declaring that the God of Watchman will answer our prayer. I began to attend church services every fellowship day hoping that the miracle would happen almost immediately. I least expected that it would take fifteen years for the miracle to come. However, my Christian life turned for the better in that I moved closer to God and my faith became stronger. I later went to different hospitals but all that the doctors could tell me was that I would not conceive again. After I had spent a lot of money visiting hospitals and there was no positive result, I resolved to adopt a child but that move too was thwarted.
Now, it happened that during a church service on January 1, 2013, the minister who officiated that day raised two plastic apples and declared that the first two women that would collect the apples would take in after three months. Before I could move towards the altar to grab any of them, some other sisters had rushed for it. I went back to my seat disappointed, but I prayed to God that He should visit me before the year runs out just as He would visit the sisters who had received the apples. Later on in my dream, I saw a personality in white apparel who called me by my name and asked me if I wanted to eat my own apple. Of course, I said yes and he gave me one. As soon as I finished eating it, I woke up and praised God because I was convinced that my time had come. I took in the following month (February 2013) and I was so happy.
However, the devil ministered some negative thoughts to me that I would have a miscarriage, but I quoted Proverbs 10:22 which says, “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it,” to counter the negative ministrations. I believed that He who has granted the conception will keep it until I was successfully delivered of my baby. I went to the hospital and was told to go for a scan test. The result showed that there was no baby in my womb. I rejected it and came to the church with the result and knelt down at the altar and prayed to God. When I eventually took the result to the doctor, he suggested that I should go for flushing. I refused to give in to his suggestion because I knew the God I am serving. The bleeding continued but my stomach was protruding. At a point, I became confused and didn’t know what to do though my faith in the ability of God to see me through did not wane. After about five months in that condition, the bleeding stopped.
I went back to the doctor and he said that I should repeat the scan test. I was elated when I was told that everything was okay. Now, after all that the enemy had planned, I delivered a handsome baby boy on Thursday, November 7, 2013, to the glory of God. I pray that God who has done this great thing for me will as well bless as many as are looking for the fruit of the womb in Jesus’ Name. Praise be to God”.
