Written By: Ebanehita Otoibhi
It’s funny, but true, that I have no idea when I devoted my life to Christ. My family hardly prayed the rosary in my house, despite my father’s desire for us to have one. My father, or so it looked to my young mind, was the family’s spiritual leader. He was always praying and reading the Bible – he was a lay reader in the Catholic church, so I suppose he had to read the Bible, but that wasn’t the only reason he read the Bible, he truly enjoyed knowing God for himself. He had supernatural encounters, people requested him to pray for them, and he urged us to get to know God for ourselves.
I recall having a gorgeous fair teacher, Mr Alex, who spoke to us about the Holy Spirit while I was in primary school. He could speak in tongues and would lead what felt like spontaneous worship/prayer sessions. Listening to him was entertaining, but I had trouble understanding what he was doing, despite the fact that it drew my attention. In my effort to be filled with the Holy Spirit, I most likely surrendered my life to Christ at this moment. When an altar call was issued for people who desired to have a better relationship with God, I would repeatedly devote and rededicate my life to Jesus Christ.
I believe I began speaking in tongues while at university – I probably imitated tongues while in primary school; I don’t recall when or how it began, but I know I struggled with it, questioning whether or not it was the Holy Spirit speaking through me; I was never sure of the answer, and so I had an on/off relationship with tongues. I had a buddy who could speak in tongues at the time, and we went to her fellowship together. Because I had someone to pray with, praying in tongues became simpler for me. I had a dream about my mother one night, and when I contacted her to tell her about it, she said God had showed me what had happened to her, and I was speechless. I mean, God simply revealed something to me, not through others, but directly to me. This motivated me to pursue a better relationship with God, but only for a short time.
When I was interning in Lagos in 2017, my interest in the supernatural was piqued. My office was only a few minutes’ walk from the parent church of the fellowship I attended in school. I’d leave work at 6 p.m., go to church, and wait for fellowship to begin at 7 p.m. We’d end by 9 p.m., and I’d begin my journey home. I’d soon relocate closer to the church and become a full time member. In the church, supernatural occurrences were commonplace… angelic encounters, words of wisdom, knowledge and prophecy, healing, you name it. I stayed because I wanted to be a participant rather than a bystander, I wanted to experience the same things others did. That didn’t happen. Eventually, I left Lagos, and with it, I left behind a yearning for more.
By 2018, I had returned to becoming a churchgoer. By late 2019, I had no genuine relationship with church or God; I sat in my house the majority of the time – I was going through a tough phase, had few friends, struggled with prayer, and simply watched my days pass me by… I’d occasionally think about God, but that was it.
Up until late 2021, when I was given the link to Personal Fellowship, I had several hit-or-miss attempts to rekindle my relationship with God. Now, I’m having to relearn the fundamentals of being a Christian.
I had a health problem when I first arrived, and I had to treat typhoid and malaria on multiple occasions. I was told that I needed to take drugs at regular intervals to prevent me from being seriously ill. I didn’t have to wait until I felt the symptoms as that would be disastrous for me, I just had to make sure I didn’t break down.
My healing was one of the first things that happened to me on Personal Fellowship. I’m not sick anymore. I haven’t had to take any malaria or typhoid medication since October, 2021. I’ve learnt to hold on to my healing and to reject the idea of illness with my words. The truth is that understanding a thing’s foundation makes it simple to build atop it.
What is the point of having a relationship with God? As a Christian, who am I? What possibilities do I have as a Christian? What kind of authority do I have? Simple questions, but the answers are required to keep you from falling and/or running helter-skelter. And as I continue to fellowship, I eagerly anticipate all of the joys, benefits and yes, encounters that come with knowing God personally.
So, if you, like me, are searching for God, searching for something, unsure of what to do with yourself, with so many unanswered questions, dissatisfied with life, always fearful, if you need help, I welcome you to join us in fellowship with the Holy Spirit and watch everything fall into place for you.