THE STRANGE PROPOSAL
Part 17
©Franca Uwuigiaren
I had gone around to ensure the doors were well locked and electronic appliances were turned off before returning to the bedroom. Oroma sat on the bed, unable to sleep. Her eyes were red because she had been praying and crying. I wanted to hug or cuddle her, but how could I with the boils all over her body?
The dinner I prepared, she couldn’t even eat because of the blisters on her mouth.
“Sleep!” she told me.
“How can I sleep when you are not sleeping?”
She sighed and wiped her tears. I sat beside her and brought out my phone. I played some preaching by men of God. I noticed she became relaxed, and she wanted us to pray again.
“You’re gingered,” I said.
“Yes! I read that we should pray without ceasing. I feel like praying.”
“This wife of mine is growing,” I said “Wasn’t it yesterday you gave your life to Christ, and you’re already telling me what the Bible says?”
“It is Jesus or nothing. I’m going to grow every day.”
I held her hands, and we prayed together for a long time. Then she asked me to assist her to the toilet.
I did then stood at the toilet entrance, talking to her when I felt something wasn’t right. I had goosebumps all over. When I carried my wife back to the bedroom, I went to my kids’ room again to check on them. I stood at the entrance of the room and they were sound asleep.
What, then, was wrong? I looked around, but there was nothing abnormal. I returned to the bedroom and noticed my wife was dozing.
“Should I assist you to lie down?”
“Don’t worry!”
But I stood up and went to assist her to lie properly. I sat on the chair, going through my phone and waiting for her to sleep. I tried to concentrate on my phone, but couldn’t, for a kind of fear descended upon me.
“You spirit of fear, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus!”
I went through my phone for a long time and when I raised my head, i noticed that Oroma was snoring lightly.
“Thank you, Jesus!” I said and stood up.
I climbed the bed and soon slept. I don’t know how many hours I spent, but I suddenly woke up because the holy spirit started tapping my legs. I sat up and glanced at the bed, thankfully, my Oroma was still sleeping.
I knew it was the Holy Spirit that woke me up. I knew I needed to pray.
Just as I stood up from the bed, I saw a shimmering light fill the room, and the river goddess emerges from the mist. Her long, flowing hair flows like the river itself, and her eyes burn with an otherworldly intensity.
“Obiama, what have you done?” She asked with voice like a waterfall.
“How?” I asked, so awestruck.
“You have taken Sarah, a daughter of the river, and brought her to the foreign God. You have ignored the ancient ways and the secrets I have shared with her.”
“Sarah? It’s the right thing I did by. Sarah made the right decision. She’s on the right path.”
“Right decision, you say? The right path?”
She gave a terrible laughter.
“You know nothing of the rivers’ secrets or the mysteries of the deep! You have meddled in affairs beyond your understanding.”
“I don’t care about the secrets you shared with her. Those are in the past. Sarah is now a new creature. The God whom I serve gives hope and salvation” I said defiantly to her.
“Hope and salvation? My waters have given life and sustenance for generations! My secrets have been ignored, and my power has been disrespected!”
Her anger rising like a stormy wave.
“Obiama, you have until the next full moon to return Sarah to me. If you fail, the rivers will reclaim her, and your fate will be sealed!”
“Sarah cannot go back to her vomit.”
“She made a covenant with me.”
.”That covenant has been broken.”
“Never!”
“That covenant has been broken, and she has made a new covenant… a covenant with Christ.”
It seems to infuriate her even more.
“I know nothing about the new moon, and I care less. Whatever relationship you have with Sarah is broken. She’s free indeed.”
Suddenly, she began to summon a raging torrent, but I stood firm, praying and calling upon Jesus. She was so enraged.
“You think your God can protect you from my wrath?”
She released snakes from her waist, which slithered towards the bed where Oroma was sleeping. But they stopped at the foot of the bed, as if halted by an invisible barrier. She became infuriated more.
“Why do you defy me, Obiama?”
She threw a ball of fire at me, but it hit an invisible dome of protection around me and bounced back. The goddess tried again and again, but the result was the same.
“Jesus, protect us from this evil spirit! Blood of Jesus, cover us! Fire of the Holy Spirit, burn away this darkness!” I began to really pray aloud.
Even as I prayed, I couldn’t understand why my wife was still sleeping and couldn’t hear anything.
As I prayed, I noticed the environment begins to become uncomfortable for the river goddess. She suddenly screamed in agony, her voice like a wounded animal. She fell and started wriggling like a snake, her tongue long and forked.
“Ahhh! The power of the Most High is too much for me. No! Nooo! I’m not through with you, Obiama. I will deal with you and your family. I will deal with Sarah mercilessly, and you see Pastor Moses…”
She disappears, followed by the snakes, leaving behind a faint scent of sulfur.
I breathed a deep sigh of relief then began to thank God.
“Thank you, Jesus. Your power is greater than any other.”
Oroma stirs in bed, waking up to see me standing in prayer. Her eyes wide in surprise.
“What’s that smell?” She asked groggily.
“What’s that thing around you?” She asked.
“What thing?”
“Dome or something… what’s called.”
“You see it?”
“Yes!… I can’t see it again.”
I laughed.
.
“It’s invisible now… maybe God wanted you to see it. I really didn’t understand what that woman said the other time when she said I was open and anything could enter me…until I saw the protection of God.” I told her.
“If I wasn’t opened, the River goddess wouldn’t have been able to attack me.” She said.
“The river goddess tried to attack us, but Jesus protected us.”
Oroma was awed as I narrated everything to her.
“She has no business with Sarah. Thank God for her salvation. Dear, we need to intensify our prayers.” She said.
I nodded my head, then told her we should pray for Sarah and Pastor Moses. I held her hand and we made hot prayers for them, asking God to watch and protect them and to frustrate the enemies’ attack against them.
Then I laid my hands on Oroma’s head and prayed fervently for her, asking God to thwart the works of the enemies in her life. I asked God to heal her.
I prayed for my children, declaring that affliction would not rise again in their lives. I prayed so much until I was exhausted.
Later, I told Oroma to go to sleep, but she refused.
“You go to sleep while I study the Bible. I need to know words I can use to challenge the enemies. I want to eat this word of God.”
I laughed and handed her the Bible before climbing the bed. I slept and was woken by my children, who jumped on the bed. I was concerned mainly by my wife, so they don’t injure her, but when I looked, she was sleeping soundly.
“Hush!” I said. “Let’s not wake Mummy. Let’s allow her to sleep.”
We left the bedroom for the sitting room, and Dokubo told me he was going to handle the morning devotion.
“Daddy, it’s because he read one chapter of the Bible this morning…”Alabo said.
“Alright, let’s hear what he has to say.” I told them.
Dokubo coughed lightly, like when I want to draw their attention.
“Alabo, you will take the opening prayers, Boma, you’re taking praise and worship, then I’ll do the preaching.”
“Fair enough.” I said then sat down as all of them carried out their assigned duties. Alabo gave a very powerful opening prayer, and my seven-year-old Boma led us in praise and worship.
As I listened to Dokubo preach, I wished my parents had taught me the way of the Lord. I never grew up in an environment where my parents gathered the children together to pray to God. Whatever they did was in the river, thanking the goddess for this and that and making requests and covenants that trap someone.
If only parents would have the time to teach their children the way of the Lord. Thank God I am saved and now doing it right. I want my children to be spiritual giants burning for God. I want them to be well-versed in God’s word so they can’t be deceived because we have a lot of liars on the altar, twisting God’s word to suit them.
Parents should wake up. As they’re waking up, their children should wake up too. Too many Christian homes out there can’t even gather their family to pray in the morning and evening together. They wake up in the morning, go to the bathroom or kitchen, and then face their daily chores. Some only remember to pray when they have problems. Many don’t open their Bibles unless they’re going to church on Sunday.
As a Christian, if you don’t study your Bible, which weapon are you going to use to face the enemies? You can’t give what you don’t have.
The Bible like the bible says in proverbs, I am training up my children in the way they should go, and when they’re old, they will not depart from it.
As I listened to Dokubo preach, I was glad I surrendered my life to Christ. I led the closing prayers before we went for our daily chores.
During breakfast, I checked on my wife, but she was still sleeping, so I ate alone because I didn’t want to wake her. I called my brother-in-laws to know how they’re faring, and they responded well. Though still in the hospital. Then I spoke with Pastor Moses and Sarah. I really encouraged Sarah and told her not to be afraid.
She told me she was preparing to see Pastor Moses because he had told her to come, and he would be in the church with prayer warriors.
“I had a visit from the queen mother, and she vowed to kill me.”
“Don’t entertain fear, Sarah. You made the best decision. She has nothing good to offer you except destruction. Don’t give in to fear.”
“My house is turned upside down. She destroyed many things, but I don’t care anymore. I really want to be free.”
“You’re free, Sarah. Go to the church as instructed, and God is set to do wonders in your life.”
We chatted for a few moments before we bid each other goodbye. Hmmm! The devil goes mad when a soul is snatched from him. He fights tooth and nail to ensure he reclaims that soul. He fights anyone who snatches a soul from him, just like the river goddess came so angry.
As the day progresses, I didn’t relent in prayers for Sarah and my wife. I kept encouraging them with God’s word.
Each passing day for my wife was terrible, as I could no longer recognize her. Pastor Moses came and prayed for her. My joy is that, in all these, my Oroma wasn’t discouraged. Each passing day, she held on to God, believing Him for her healing.
One Sunday afternoon, she told me that she believed her miracle was near, and this was the more reason she would not give up.
“I can see light, Obiama, and I have seen the devil lose the battle over my life.”
That night was the night I saw my wife mad at the devil. I ensured the door was locked, as I didn’t want my children to barge in and see their mother n***d.
Oroma raised her voice unto God, crying out in desperation and faith. She held onto God, refusing to let go, just like Jacob had wrestled with the angel, determined to receive her healing. With a fierce determination, she prayed aggressively, her words pouring out like a river:
“Father, I refuse to let you go until you heal me! You promised to restore my health and wellness, and I claim that promise now! I will not let go, just like Jacob, until you bless me with your healing touch! You are the Great Physician, the Healer of all my diseases, and I trust in your power and mercy! Heal me, O Lord, and I will praise your name forevermore!
Whatever the river goddess had done to cause sickness on my body, Father, I command it to be undone, in the name of Jesus Christ!
You, river goddess, have no authority over me, for I am a child of the Most High God. Your curses and hexes are broken, and I declare my body healed and restored, according to Isaiah 53:5. Father, I ask that Your divine healing power flow through me, cleansing my body, mind, and spirit from any evil influence. Let Your holy fire burn away the roots of this sickness, and may Your gentle touch restore me to full health and wholeness. I receive my healing now, in Jesus’ mighty name.
I joined her in prayers. All through the night, we prayed, believing God to grant our request.
As we prayed, I could feel the presence of God in the room, and I knew that He was working to heal my wife. Oroma’s faith was inspiring, and I was grateful to be her husband and partner in prayer. We prayed for hours, pouring out our hearts to God, and I could sense the spiritual battle raging around us. But we stood firm, armed with the Word of God and the power of prayer.
To be continued…
