“Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table” – Psalm 128:3.
“MY name is Onyinye Awodike and I worship at the Iba Parish of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, Lagos. I am short of words to describe what the Lord has done for me and my family. In the course of waiting for His blessing, whenever I was discouraged, the Lord would encourage me to hang on, that all hope was not lost; He is still there for me.
After our marriage, there was no conception until after about three years before I had my first baby. Two years later, I had my second baby. Then the hope of conceiving again was dashed and it was like I was in a dreamland. We prayed and prayed but there was no reversal of the situation and at a point I stopped bothering my mind in that direction. I had a series of miscarriages, so I resigned myself to fate and focused my mind on some other things. But, God’s ways are not the ways of men. This baby about whom I have come to testify today was born ten years after my last baby.
Sometime in November last year when we had a district combined fellowship, our pastor who has been reassigned to a special assignment in the East came that day to minister to us. In the course of his ministration, he shouted the name Onyinye repeatedly. Well, there were some other sisters who bear that name so I wasn’t sure which one of us he was referring to. But the cat was let out of the bag when he eventually mentioned my full name, Onyinye Awodike. I ran from the back where I was seated to the front and began to roll on the floor. He asked the choir to sing a song: Cry Out And Shout… Then he began to prophesy that the Lord has decided to do me good. He went on and on. He said he was not too sure whether the thing had taken place or was about to happen. In my subconscious mind, I thought the prophecy was all about the favour of God coming my way in the area of money because I needed money at that time.
When I went back to my seat, some brethren came to congratulate me. Jokingly, I told some of them that when the money comes, they will not partake of it. Little did I know that it was in the area of conception. Two weeks after that declaration, I travelled to the village for the traditional marriage of my younger sister. I was busy organizing and monitoring the whole arrangements. It never crossed my mind that I was already pregnant. I guess the miracle took place immediately after the declaration of the pastor. Though the devil fought by afflicting me with some sicknesses, I overcame all by God’s intervention. I was backed up by the consistent prayers of the members of the prayer warriors group. Some brethren advised me to go and register in one of the hospitals so I went to a Health Centre and when they asked me when last I had a baby and I told them, I was turned back.
I took my case to another hospital and was asked to go for a scan which showed that the baby was not properly positioned. I am the type that loves to ask questions whenever I am in doubt about anything so I asked what effect that condition would likely have on me and my baby. I was told that if the baby remained in that position, it might require surgical intervention for my baby to come out. Again, I reported the outcome to my brethren who had been praying along with me and we intensified our prayers. When the pregnancy was eight months old, I went for another scan and this time, the baby had taken a proper and normal position.
Brethren, I had my last child ten years ago. It wasn’t easy; ten years was not ten days. On the expected day of delivery (EDD), there was yet another hurdle. Whenever I pushed for the baby to come out he would show up for a moment and only to go back again. Such was the experience until the nurse noticed that a cord was blocking his way out and when it was removed and I pushed again, behold, the baby came out clean and it was as if he had had a bath. I asked the nurse if there was any problem with the baby and she said no. I want to thank the Lord who has made it possible for me to have another baby after ten years. Also, I want to thank our pastors and the entire church for their support one way or the other. I pray for our sisters who are still expecting God’s blessing in the area of the fruit of the womb. I want to assure you that God will never fail or disappoint you. He will surely visit you at His own time in Jesus’ Name.
Praise the Lord”.
