TESTIMONY

For reasons beyond our control, we could not hold our women’ fellowship for two months. We were all eager to meet again to pray. The Holy Spirit gave me the ‘push’ and the word for the Women in our church. Yesterday we were to have the fellowship. I was ready to confront the evil spirit of Jezebel (also known as the Queen of heaven, Mammy water or Ogbanje). I was also ready to lead the prayer session. This was so that all the sisters who will come to church may be inspired to follow the lead and pray deliverance for themselves and their families. A leader must lead! The only problem was that yesterday I woke up without my voice. I could only speak in whispers. That made me even more angry with the devil!

The Holy Spirit gave me a word from Jeremiah 44. The people of God refused to listen to the Prophet Jeremiah. The women were leading in the stubborn rebellion. They decided to ‘relocate’ to Egypt. God has told Jeremiah that His people shall be sent to Babylon, to live in exile for 70 years. This will be so that they will become humble. But God promised to be with them throughout the journey, to Babylon and back. There shall be grace in this loving chastisement. But some of the people of God, led by some women, decided to go to Egypt where God did not send them. Over there, they publicly declared that since they stopped serving the Queen of Heaven and decided to serve only Jehovah, their lives have become worse. They are now poor, sick and depressed. Based on what their eyes see, they decided not only to go back to Egypt to live there, but they shall go back to serve the Queen of Heaven. They decided to backslide so that they lives will be better. This is complete nonsense! The women were leading in this foolishness and their ‘mumu’ husbands agreed with them. Of course, God was angry and told them so thru the prophet Jeremiah. They rejected God, His prophet and His words. God said that His people who were sent to Babylon shall be brought back. But the Jews who went Egypt by themselves, shall all perish there. Like we say in Nigeria: ‘If God no sent you, you are on your own. Anything you see, you take am’. It is true that both Babylon and Egypt and worldly countries. But there is a difference!

What is the lesson for us? If God sends you to a difficult place, His grace and presence will be with you there. The process is to humble you so that the same God will bless you at last. But if you decide to ‘punish yourself’, to a false humility, without the presence of God, no place can be a paradise on earth. It is the presence of God that marks the child of God and not the location! For example: many Nigerians I know who live in Warri tell me that their dream is to live in New York. But without the presence of God, New York will be hell for them. But when God is with you, even Warri becomes the Garden of Eden (I am a witness to this!).

This was the word God gave me to share with the women. There was fire on my bones. The only problem was that I could only speak in whispers. Jemine, my daughter asked me ‘Malia, how can you preach without a voice?’ I told her that ‘even if I have to preach with my nose, I will still go there to encourage the women to fight for their souls and families’. After we praised GOD and shared testimonies, it was my time to stand and talk. I took the microphone and I started talking in a whisper. But the more I talked, the more the anointing increased. In my weakness, God proved Himself strong on my behalf. After some minutes, my voice got stronger. The prayer session was so powerful!!! The Holy Spirit helped all of us to stand, pray, prophesy and reject this demon. Like we say in Warri ‘pidgin English’, ‘mammy water shocked in’. I Christ, we are free! We have the victory! I expect great testimonies of healing, deliverance and breakthroughs at all levels. To God be all the glory! ”

This morning I woke up happy and strong. And guess what? My voice is back! “Jesusssss….”

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2Cor 12:8-10)