*”STRUCK DOWN”*
[EPISODES: 22 &23]
*_EPISODE TWENTY-TWO_*
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It’s been over a month now since Helen has been praying for her husband and she’s yet to see her desired changes.
“Dear God, apart from being a man of war, I’ve been taught that you’re a caring father who delights so much in us. God I’m getting tired and consistently making intercessions for my husband because I’m not seeing any changes. I’m really at the verge of giving up God; I’m getting weary already.” She prayed sincerely before she rounded up her devotion that morning.
“Good morning.” She greeted her husband who simply nodded and walked out of the room. Helen sighed
“God you’ve got to do something. You really have to do something before I lose hope patapata.” She thought within and went to shower.
As soon as she was done getting dressed for work, she checked the whole house, made sure she locked the door before dashing out of the compound in her car.
“Beloved, I want you to know that God is good. He is a king that doesn’t withhold any good thing from His own.
The problem of Christians these days is that we lack faith in God’s word; we don’t believe the Bible! If God says He will give you something, no matter how long it might seem to take, He would give it to you. You know why? Because His word doesn’t return to Him void, but will surely accomplish the purpose for which it has been sent.” A man preached as soon as Helen turned on her radio.
“It may take time, you may think that you’ve waited so long for the breakthrough, you may even be at the verge of giving up but I have a word for you this morning. The Bible says your thoughts are not His thoughts neither are your ways His. There is a reason the word of God says so. Your desired breakthrough may be put on hold because it isn’t the right time for you to have it yet.
Your breakthrough may seem to be delayed because God wants to answer at the time in your life where you and the world will know without a doubt that it’s a miracle and not something that happened by coincidence.
You may think God is not hearing your intercessory prayers over a loved one but let me tell you, He is listening. Your prayers are being heard by Him.” The radio preacher said and at this point Helen got interested in his sermon.
“You know the trick the devil uses on us most times? It’s the temptation to give up when our testimony is near. We have been admonished in the word of God not to be weary in well-doing because in due time you shall reap.
So I’m speaking to you young woman, don’t be weary in interceding for that soul, because in due season you shall reap bountifully
I’m speaking to you young man, don’t give up on God over that adversity you are passing through. Show the enemy your strength isn’t small by persevering in prayers.
I’m speaking to you child of God, do not lose faith over the expected breakthrough for your family. You will surely reap the harvest of your prayers if you don’t faint.
There’s a reason the clause “if you don’t faint” was added in Galatians 6. It’s because God knows you’re human and would be tempted to give up. Oh my dear, you’d be tempted to faint, you’d be tempted to quit fighting that flesh of yours that has dominated your life. You’d surely be tempted to quit trying to change situations around you through your prayers and that is why the promise that you’d reap is there. That is why the Bible is there for you to study and regain strength. That is why you must increase your faith in God.” The preacher spoke on as Helen listened carefully.
“Now you may ask, how do I increase my faith in God? The Bible says your faith is increased by hearing the Word of God. So I’m challenging you this morning my brothers and sisters, work towards increasing your faith in God this month.
Read your Bible. Download sermons and listen to them. Search the Bible for promises concerning your desired breakthrough and read Biblical testimonies of those who waited and recieved the breakthrough you so much desire. As you do these, your faith in God would increase.” The preacher and at this point, Helen has gotten to her office.
While at the office, Helen couldn’t seem to get the preaching she had heard in her car that morning off her mind. It seemed as if the sermon was for her.
As soon as it was 4pm, she rounded up her work duties and headed for home.
She was the only one at home plus the gateman as Chief usually comes home around 6pm.
After making dinner and eating hers, she decided to observe a quick evening devotion before her husband comes home.
After uttering a few prayers, she opened her jotter to check the portion of the Bible she had planned to read for the day.
“Isaiah 62.” She whispered to herself as she opened her KJV Bible. She read through it the first time and was about closing her Bible when she felt an urge to read at least thrice so she read it the second time though it was quite difficult for her because she isn’t the type that reads a particular things more than once.
On her third attempt of reading the passage, two verses caught her attention.
“Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establishes and till he makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”
She read the passage over and over again and slowly, her heart began personalizing it.
“You Helen that makes intercession to the Lord for her husband should give him no rest, till He establishes, and makes your husband a ready vessel in His hand.”
“I will give the Lord no rest concerning my husband, till I see the desired changes in him.” She said to herself. Just then, the sermon she heard in her car radio began replaying in her heart once more.
She then realized her faith and determination to persist in prayers had just come from simply reading her Bible.
There and then, she made up her mind to not just read her Bible, but confess the Scripture and listen to gospel messages that’d increase her faith till her testimony manifests.
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Dorothy got up from her sleep to go ease herself. When she was done with the ladies, she was about going back to sleep when she remembered the dream she had just had concerning Debby.
“Could it be true?” She wondered as she recalled seeing Debby in her dream, running away from two hefty men as fast as her legs could carry her.
Suddenly there was a stone before her which she didn’t notice quickly and so tripped over it with a fall.
As a result, the men she was trying to escape from caught up with her.
“No no no no, please! Please!!” She pleaded but her plea fell on deaf ears as one of the men dressed like a priest forcefully made her stand on her feet while the other man forced a substance down her throat.
“But could it be true? That Debby must’ve been involved in something fetish in the past?”
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At 5:20am, everyone was up and gathered at the living room to observe their morning devotion. They had just finished their praise and worship and all thought they’d all start reading the Bible and sharing insights as it was their usual custom, but Mrs. Melody gave an instruction contrary to what they were expecting.
“Please let’s all rise on our feet for prayers. We’re holding a deliverance session this morning.” Mrs. Melody said with her eyes closed.
“Deliverance session today? But that happens on the first Friday of every month in the evening. Today’s is Thursday 15th, and this is morning.” Some thought to themselves.
After about 10mins into the prayers, everyone began to feel the heat of the deliverance as Mrs. Melody called prayer points as led.
“Every material of the enemy residing in my body, be consumed now by the fire of the Holy Ghost.” She called out and they all kept praying.
“By the blood of Jesus, I destroy the legal hold of the enemy over my life, in the name of Jesus.”
After about 10 more minutes of hot prayers, Mrs. Melody rounded up with a short message.
“Wow! Today’s devotion was something else!” Debby said as soon as they got to their room
“Really?” Dorothy said
“Yes now, it was powerful.”
“And Spirit-led” Dorothy added.
“Yes! You know I have a feeling it’s the Holy Spirit that led her to call the prayer points she did this morning, because as we were praying, I began to feel strange movements in my body, most especially my stomach area.” Debby said and Dorothy immediately paid rapt attention.
“I don’t know how to say it in a way that makes sense, but it felt as if some foreign object was in my lower abdomen and was moving as a result of the prayers, especially when she mentioned the issue of evil material.” Debby said and Dorothy nodded in understanding.
“Hmmm…..it’s possible today’s prayers were meant for you. Probably God through His Spirit stopped Mrs. Melody from doing the usuals this morning, just to pray for you.”
“Really?”
“Yes! God can because of just one person of His turn things around. He stopped us from doing our usuals because He wants to deliver you from whatever might be holding you down. God loves you girl!” Dorothy said and Debby thought for a while.
“God can just because of me turn things around?” She wondered.
The same evening, Mrs. Melody gathered the girls together for another round of prayers.
The more they prayed, the more Debby felt a movement in her lower abdomen.
The prayer session lasted for 30mins after which Mrs. Melody shared the Word with them and let them go their separate rooms.
“So did you feel the movement again?” Dorothy asked Debby in the middle of a conversation when they had gotten to their room.
“Yes…..I have a strong conviction something’s there.”
“Hmm….well, I’m sure whatever it is, will be exposed at tonight’s vigil.” Dorothy said.
Later that night at around 10:30pm, everyone gathered in their night wears, ready for the vigil.
In no time, Mrs. Melody was seen coming out from her own room and the vigil commenced.
As prayers were going on with everyone praying seriously like their lives depended on it, Debby felt a move in her stomach….the same one she told Dorothy about. She tried to ignore it for sometime but it got to a point she became really uncomfortable and held her stomach in groans.
No one noticed what has happening to Debby because all eyes were closed, until she began coughing seriously, drawing everyone’s attention to herself.
“Jesus Christ!” One of the girls exclaimed as soon as Debby vomited a small padlock and a white substance.
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(The same night)
Helen walked into her room and laid on the bed exhausted. She turned to face the clock and it read 11:45pm.
“I don’t think I can observe vigil this night, I’m too tired for anything.”
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Kadar recieved an alert from a clock in his shrine, communicating to him that one of his victims is being delivered from captivity.
Annoyed, he sought to project himself to Chief’s dream to threaten him because the only one that could ever be on the verge of being set free was Debby.
He chanted certain words and was surprised when the portal opened
“Wow, no protection over Chief tonight? Very good! That man is about to be in trouble.”
Hmmmm…….only God knows what happens when we skip those personal vigil of our we feel are insignificant or add no value to our lives.
God help us all, AMEN 🙏
*”STRUCK DOWN”*
*_EPISODE TWENTY-THREE_*
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Mrs. Melody ended the deliverance service as soon as she felt peace in her spirit. She admonished the girls for a few minutes, called on one of them to give the closing prayer, and then released them all to go and sleep.
Mrs. Melody on getting to her own room went on her knees and thanked God for the grace to yield to the leading of the Spirit to conduct a deliverance prayer session throughout the day.
Through her obedience to God, she got to understand by experience, how deep God’s love is for us. He could go to the extent of changing order of programs and break protocols to see to it that we get our deliverance and breakthrough, as it was obvious the prayer sessions were meant to deliver no other person than Debby.
Mrs. Melody praised God for the victory they experienced that night, and thanked Him for how He took control over the situation as everything Debby vomited all disappeared even before she could even worry about what to do with them.
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Debby and Dorothy with the rest of the girls returned to their various rooms that morning at around 1:20am.
Debby quietly went to her bed and laid down, still in shock of what happened about 30mins ago. She couldn’t believe she had been living with such fetish materials in her all these while.
“That explains it! The convulsion wasn’t ordinary, the enemy planted those objects in me to install a strange sickness into my body. Yes, that’s it!
Hmmm……but how did they find their way into my body in the first place?” Debby asked herself and immediately her last encounter with Chief flashed through her mind.
She couldn’t recall anything that had happened when she became unconscious after Chief blew a substance to her face, she only remembered she saw herself in the hospital the next time she opened her eyes.
“The enemy really had a legal hold on me. That was why he had free access into my life to torment be of a strange sickness up until now.” She thought conclusively and knelt down to thank God for her deliverance.
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Chief got up from bed shaking. This was the third time he’s seeing Kadar in his dream and whenever he does, he tends to feel terribly sick for at least three days.
Helen noticed his body temperature was high that morning and got worried.
“Are you okay?” She asked as he felt his body temperature, holding his cup of morning tea in his hands.
“I….I feel quite feverish. I don’t think I can make it to work today.” He managed to say with his shaky lips.
“Really? Is it that serious?” She asked and he nodded his head like a child would.
“Hold on.” She said and reached out for her phone to dial her secretary’s number.
“Hello dear, good morning. How are you today? Are you in the office already? Okay good, please cancel all my appointments for today and tomorrow, I have an urgent issue to attend to. I’ll call Prof. Dauda myself to inform him of the postponement of our meeting myself.
Yes please, call them all off today and ask them to come three days from now.” Mrs. Helen said to her secretary over the phone as Chief watched her in disbelief.
“It can’t be because of me she’s risking her appointments with potential clients. The Helen I know isn’t one that jokes with her job.” He reasoned within.
“Okay, please do that right away, thank you.” Mrs. Helen said and dropped the call to face her husband.
“Is there something you’d want me to do for you? Should I help you to the bathroom or you’d prefer to eat first?” Helen asked. Chief chose the second option and Helen left the room immediately for the kitchen.
In an hour, she was back with a tray of food in her hands.
“Hmm….this doesn’t taste like Flora’s style of cooking jollof rice ” Chief said when he had had a food measure of food.
“Yes, I cooked it myself.” Helen said as her eyes widened in surprise
“She cooked this food herself abi what did I just hear her say just now?” Chief reasoned.
“Yourself?” He asked to be sure.
“Yes, myself. Hurry and finish up, so we can take a bath.”
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Mrs. Helen observed her evening devotion with Chief observing her from the door without her notice.
He was still in great doubt she could cancel all appointments just to be with him. He wondered alot why she really had to do that.
“Is this her new religion changing her?” He asked himself
Later that night, she prepared dinner and served her husband herself as he watched in great awe.
“You cooked this yourself too?” He asked and Helen dropped her spoon.
“Seriously! When are you going to quit asking me this? Breakfast, lunch and now dinner you’re asking the same thing. What’s that supposed to mean? That I can’t cook or what?”
“I never said anything like that, but anyone in my shoes would be surprised you know. You hardly cook these days. I mean ever since you complained of stress of chores and we hired a househelp, I can’t recall you cooking again left alone serving my meal.” Chief said. Helen out her hand to hold his.
“Listen I know I’ve not been a good wife and mother to you and the kids but I’m turning a new leaf by God’s grace. God is opening my eyes to alot of things and giving me insights on areas to focus on.” She said with a smile
“Oh really? Wow.” Chief said with a grateful heart.
“Yes. The boys will be home soon for third term holidays.” She said, trying to change the topic.
“Oh that’s true.”
“Yes, so we’re going to be having a full house.”
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That night as Helen was observing her vigil, Chief was wide awake. He dreaded sleep at the moment for fear of another encounter with Kadar again.
However as he was watching her, he drifted to sleep.
“Don’t think you can hide or run forever because of the sacrifices your wife makes for you most nights.”. He heard his priest’s voice before jerking out of sleep in fear.
“Could it be it’s her prayers that have been a source of protection for me all these while?” He reasoned as he turned to his wife who was already sound asleep beside him.
The following day Helen prepares his breakfast, and brings it to bed.
“I’d leave you alone for sometime now, I want to work on something online I’d be using in my place of work when I get back.” Helen said and excused herself.
“Aren’t we going to have lunch?” Chief asked, walking into her reading room.
“Oh yes. I forgot. Let me just…..” Helen said and was about to get up when he stopped her.
“Don’t bother. I’ve asked Flora to fix something.” Helen felt bad.
“But I had wanted to do that myself.”
“It’s okay dear. You’re quite busy, so let her.”
“Hmmm…..I’m picking up the kids today by evening.”
“You? I thought the driver does that.”
“Yes, and he’d still be the one to do so, but I’d tag along.”
“Hmmm……is there something you’re not saying?”
“Something like what?”
“I don’t know, you don’t seem to have things put together. Why don’t you delegate certain duties and handle some yourself. That way you’d have things balanced up.” Her husband suggested.
“Don’t despise the advice your husband is giving you. I can speak through him, you know.” She heard a voice within her say
“You’re a woman, and I believe when God created you, he gave you the power to handle multiple responsibilities. Use that grace you’ve been given to take care of me, train your kids and succeed in work while still going to your church and praying here.” Chief suggested and Helen gave it a quick thought.
“But how will I be at my best if I multi-task and handle all these? You know I strive for excellence in whatever I lay my hands on, and I feel multi-tasking would just bring about mediocrity.” She responded.
“There’s someone in the Bible, who strive for excellence at whatever she lays her hands on, yet was virtuous, vibrant with God, a wife, mother, keeper of her home, skilled in craft and diligent in home making. Find out the secret to that woman’s success and excellence in all the things I mentioned and emulate her.” Her husband said and left her in a puzzled state.
“Is that possible? A wife, mom, skilled in craft, diligent in home making, yet was excellent in all without breaking down? I need to search my Bible.”
That evening during her devotion, she opened her jotter to see where to read for the day.
“1Cor 2.” She whispered to herself as she flipped through the pages of her Bible in search for the chapter.
After up to 10mins of no concentration, she decided to turn to her favorite book of the Bible commonly known for wisdom quotes.
As she searched for the particular place to read exactly, she settled for the last chapter.”
“Wait….hold on. This is…..this is the woman! This is the woman Henry talked about today isn’t it. Wow! I’ve excellent at all she does indeed! But, what was her secret?” She said as she went through Proverbs 31 for the 3rd time.
“What was her secret? How was she able to do all that and still excel at them all?” She asked herself and her eyes narrowed down to the last three verses of the chapter.
“Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain. But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.” A verse that caught her attention read.
“Her secret is living in the fear of the Lord. This act alone gives you an edge over your companions and lets you in on the secrets you need to know to succeed in your calling.” A voice explained to her.
“Wow! I’ve never seen this part of the Bible in this light. I only know the pastor’s wife mentions it when she wants to talk about the Characteristics of a virtuous woman, but I’ve never taken out the time to study it.”
“Well sometimes certain things are hidden from us until we get to that stage in our lives where the understanding and application of a scripture you’ve heard and read over and over again now comes to light.”
“Hmmmm…..the Proverbs 31 woman. I’m studying this chapter did the rest of this month!”
Pheww……it gets easier🥺🥺🥺
I’m grateful Lord 🙏
*_To be Continued…_*
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