Tell Even the “Small Testimonies”

My name is Godwin. I know God has done a lot for me for me to still be alive today. But I’m struggling with making a living and looking after my family that it’s easy to forget a lot of testimonies that I have. My life has been one long waiting for the Lord to turn things around, but He hasn’t. Recently I read somewhere about the need to tell even ‘small testimonies ‘ as they may still be able to speak to someone, somewhere.

So, the ones I want to give now revolve around hearing from God – audible or interior voice and speaking/praying in tongues.

1. In 2008 I lost my dad, and it was quite a devastating time for the family, not only for the loss but for lack of resources for the burial. After the very strenuous burial ceremonies I returned to my base quite broken and defeated about life.

But I decided to do a fast and seek God’s face. So, one of those days I friend called me to pick him up from the airport to a meeting he had. So, I picked him up and drove straight to the hotel he was to meet his client. Now this client was at a meeting of the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship. They had a brief talk, and we were invited to join them. So, because it had reached the time to break my fast all I wanted to do was to eat. So, I asked him if there was food there to which he answered that there was.

And we followed him into a room with about 50 people sitting around a big conference table and another table by a wall with lots of different foods. And he was ministering at that meeting. Before the concluding prayers, he asked if there was anyone who wanted to receive the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. And I lifted up my hands thinking we would be many, but I was the only one.

Now let me quickly add that I am a Catholic and this isn’t generally accepted in my church and I’m normally very shy, so I felt very funny to have been invited to the front alone. I came out, he held my hand and prayed a simple prayer and then he started praying in tongues and asked me to emulate him. It sounded foolish but I did. He told me – that’s it, just keep doing this regularly and you will become fluent.

I agreed to all these because I was in a very difficult period and so had lost all my resistance to such. I was a hard core Catholic and though people had tried in the past, nobody could get me to attend such a non-Catholic environment. I wouldn’t even attend programs of the Catholic Charismatic renewal that were similar to those of other churches.

So, after that day somehow, I continued in this ‘foolishness’ Somehow, I found it amusing though I didn’t believe I was praying.

Now I have had to argue this point with some people who insisted that praying in tongues must be spontaneous that it couldn’t be ‘learned,’ because my experience was different.

As time went on, I noticed something – I used to have a lot of demonic attacks while sleeping, what the unspiritual call sleep paralysis. And whenever that happened from the dream, I would respond by praying in tongues and almost immediately it would lift. So that was the first testimony. Still, I didn’t really recognize that as such because I didn’t know then that those attacks were harmful. Those attacks were uncountable all those years even to the present day. Most times I would try to shout ‘Jesus’ and yet it would continue until I struggled to wake up.

A few days ago, I had another experience of such and when I tried to violently pray in tongues the attack was heavy on me that I had no strength to even do that in my thoughts. Just then I heard a voice telling me pray slowly, very slowly. I had the energy for this one my thoughts.

So very very slowly I started this like one syllable after another. And immediately I had this most peaceful feeling flowing over me like a current of the gentlest water washing all over my innermost being and this feeling was so full of love, and peace and comfort that it overshadowed and drove away that oppressive spirit that had caged me.

So, I understood that evil strategises and improves also. This last experience I just related was a first, after all these years of praying in tongues.

2. Three years later after that first prayer in that hotel in 2012 I was working in another city about 4 hours away and I would come home every weekend to be with my wife and three kids. On one of such trips, as soon as I settled into the bus for the journey, I heard a voice telling me – pray in tongues from here till you arrive. Now this was on a hot afternoon and all I wanted to do was sleep. So reluctantly I started praying in tongues silently as the bus moved while struggling with sleep. Along the way I must have slept off because I was suddenly awakened by fearful loud, desperate shouts of my co travelers.

When I opened my eyes, we were facing a military checkpoint, and the soldiers furiously pulled us aside and asked us all to alright. Still, I didn’t know what had happened. It was later another passenger explained to me that we had just escaped a major accident in a way none of them could believe – now our vehicle was rolling down a steep slope and in front of us an 18-wheeler was overtaking another 18-wheeler, so both lanes facing us were occupied.

And then our vehicle too started overtaking the vehicle in front of us so both roads were completely blocked by these careless drivers. They were all sure our fate for a deadly accident was sealed. But miraculously while they all watched and screamed in hopelessness in an instant the situation turned around and the road cleared!!! But the soldiers saw everything and blamed our driver. Luckily there was another soldier in the bus with us, so he pleaded with his colleagues. So, we were detained for about an hour and after reprimanding the driver seriously were allowed to continue.

So, this was the first tangible miracle of praying in tongues that saved me and everyone else from a RTA.

3. After my chance attending of a full gospel meeting that I related last time I was moved to join a chapter. In fact, at that hotel I talked about a new chapter to open in another location was announced so I joined that chapter formally. You know full gospel is based on testimonies of members.

One day a member gave a very inspiring testimony of how God gave him a very beautiful house complete with a swimming pool! At the end the leader encouraged us all to key into that testimony and ask God for what was truly impossible. That only God could do.

Now I was jobless and in dire need of a job. So, in my heart I asked the Lord to make me the head of a project that ran into billions of Naira (Nigeria’s local currency). Of course, I didn’t see how it was going to happen, but I just flowed with the crowd. I didn’t think about it and didn’t expect it to be answered.

Some weeks later at about 10pm I was returning with my family along a very lonely road when my car ran out of fuel. I was so angry, scared and full of self-blame. I called my brother in-law from whose house we were coming, and he brought me a gallon of fuel which got us home.

As we proceeded home, I was so so depressed and tired of my life with so many challenges. My wife was also feeling the same I believe because she didn’t even say a word throughout. Any married man would agree that when wives are silent, the protest is louder than when they scream. So, I blamed myself for not calculating the little fuel we had and staying out too long.

So, we got home, and I was completely depressed and shattered. As soon as I entered the house – I heard this voice in my heart – I WILL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE SOON. I heard it clearly but, in my anger, and confusion I refused to acknowledge it. And it repeated – INFACT BEFORE YOUR WIFE’S BIRTHDAY I WILL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE. And then I became happy and announced it to my wife. But I doubt it gave her any comfort. This was in August, her birthday was in September, the 14th.

On the 10th of September while at a filling station to get kerosene for the stove, my phone rang, and a stranger spoke and offered me a job as a Resident Architect for a project. I resumed for this contract job in October of that year, and it was very fulfilling. Salary was good, we had a project vehicle, environment was very professional, full of respect and I learned a lot there.

Another miracle here was that the person who recommended me was another Architect, a senior colleague I wasn’t on talking terms with. He had been angry with me because I introduced him to a priest who turned out to be a dubious person. To this day our relationship never recovered. So, remember my prayer at the full gospel meeting? God answered it with that job because that project was over 3 billion Naira worth! That was in 2009.

Another thing worthy of note was that the venue we were having that meeting was the No. 44 of that street. The location of this project site was the No. 45! Directly opposite this place.

Now when I got this job of course I was happy because it was an answer to a prayer. But when I resumed and realized it was a contract job for 2 years, I became sad. So, I went back to God and told Him – when I prayed, I wasn’t expecting you to give me a temporal job I thought you were going to bless my business (construction company) with a building contract.

And straight away He said – Joseph went to Egypt as a slave and what did he become? And I answered prime Minister. And he continued – I am sending you somewhere it’s not that place. Just go.

That was 15 years ago and I’m still on the journey to discover where God had in mind. Seems to be in a foreign country because Joseph wasn’t blessed in his homeland. Well, I don’t really know.

I didn’t even last the 2 years on that job; the country went into a financial crisis after about 18 months and the project lost its funding, so the client sacked all the consultants. It was so sudden that my office didn’t even pay me that month ‘s salary!

4. About 5 years ago my son was 9 years old and was attending catechism classes (similar to Sunday school) on Saturdays and Sundays in preparation for first holy communion. On Sundays the classes would conclude with benediction in the main church which I also attended. Sometimes he would seek me out and sit with me or he would meet me up as we got out or at the car park.

So, this day I was quite sick and barely could pray along during the benediction. But I had a vision – I saw my son carried by a man on his arms. I didn’t understand it neither did I pray over it. So, after the prayers, I didn’t see him in the church, as we were exiting or by the car waiting for me. A friend parked beside me, so we spent some time gisting.

After a while I realized it had taken some time, and I still hadn’t seen him, so I looked around and I saw him close to the gate. A man was holding his hand, and another boy was beside him. So, I approached them and asked what was happening. Immediately the man left his hand and answered that some boys were throwing stones near the toilets and had broken a car’s glasses. So, I asked my son if he went that way, and he said no that they had been in the church as I knew also. So, I told the man that he couldn’t have been the one. He left, I took my son, and we headed towards the car.

As we were driving out and got to the very location where my son was with that man, near the church entrance gate to the street I heard a voice say – That was the kidnapper I was telling you about! I almost fainted. Then I remembered though it didn’t strike me then that the man was looking towards the gate as if someone was waiting for him outside the church compound but by God’s mercies, he couldn’t get my son out of the church compound!

Praise God for saving him from kidnappers that day!

5. Another incident involving my son.

In 2020 during the COVID lockdowns I was doing a 3 day fast – it involved praying for an hour every two hours and breaking the fast at 6 pm with a light meal of a glass of water and a slice of bread.
On the last hour of prayer on the last day as I prayed at about 4am in my living room I heard a scream from the bedrooms area. I didn’t know who had screamed and didn’t want to be distracted from my prayers, so I continued praying.

Then I heard my wife repeatedly calling our son’s name. So, I rushed into our bedroom and saw my son lying on his back stretched out (he had his own room but preferred to sleep with us). I touched him and his body was as hard as a rock! Rigor mortis had set in! His eyes were blood shot red and lifeless! His sisters rushed in from their room opposite, saw him and understood what had happened and started to cry.

I too understood immediately that his life had been snuffed out by a spiritual attack! And so, I placed my two hands over him and started praying in tongues. It was scary to look at him so I looked upwards and would look at him periodically. My wife also joined in the tongues. After a while when I looked at him, I saw life was returning to his eyes, so I carried him to the living room and continued the prayers for about 30 minutes and he became fully awake. So, my wife walked him back to the room.

For the next 2 weeks we got him treated for intense body pains which he complained of. I couldn’t tell them at the pharmacy what actually happened, I only told them he fell and had body pains. After this incident he blossomed and started looking very fresh than before.

Now this was in 2020, and I never knew what happened that day. It was last October while obeying the Holy Spirit to pray in tongues which I had neglected for some years that I was told what happened. Well, that’s a story for another day because it’s still ongoing as the Holy Spirit told me other things too which I want to confirm before I could give a complete story.

Let me add that the world is increasing in darkness. As scripture says – iniquity is abounding and love is diminishing because we are in the end times. It’s very important for fathers as heads of families to have a living relationship with Jesus and lead their families along that narrow road. It’s the only way to escape the devil and his demons and human agents who are growing bolder and more wicked every day.

We must build our homes permanently in the secret place of the most high so that whatever arrows are shot towards us, God will not only deliver us from them but will also honour us too.
Shalom