25/11/2015
03:02 PM
IN MY NAME!!! (Weekend Special)
PS YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READ THIS AT NIGHT
'Many things about that night still disturb me.But I know and trust in the word of God.It has protected and guided me all these years as a Pastor.
What I'm about to tell you is a true story.I have been a devout follower of Christ for the past twenty-five years.I have no reason to lie or make up stories for the sake of popularity.I say what I say today not to entertain,but to instruct.
Jesus lives and he saves but true evil also exists.It walks the Earth in familiar guises of people we know.And often times,...true evil can be a lot closer to home than we realize.
It was about Fifteen years ago.
My friend Ronald was a very successful business man,in fact one of the wealthiest in Nigeria.We had met years earlier in school.We were different men back then.We were involved in everything from partying hard to cult activities.
But all that changed when I found Christ.
I realized my life was wasting away.Through the Word of God,I became a better person.I haven't looked back ever since.
With alot of difficulty,I managed to convert Ronald.I desperately wanted him to discover the fullness of life in Christ.
Few years after I got married,Ronald met and married a very beautiful woman whose name was Oge.
There was something about Oge that seemed a bit off.I couldn't put my finger on it,but I could always feel a prompting in my spirit whenever she was near.
Every true Child of God knows the voice of the Holy Spirit.For me,heeding the Counsel of the Holy Spirit isn't just a habit,its a way of life.
I warned Ronald about this woman,but who can speak to a man when he's in love?Ronald was smitten by her.As a soldier of Christ,I had come to know that the promptings I felt shouldn't be taken for granted.
Ronald refused to listen.He went ahead and married her.He and his wife continued attending the Church I ministered in.But I still had a bad feeling about Oge.
They were always in my prayers.
Oge gave him a beautiful daughter named Favour.Favour was a very beautiful girl.She had her mother's eyes and her father's smile.Like her father,she was tall...taller than most Eleven year olds.She had a laughter most people would describe as angelic or musical.
Few months to her twelfth birthday,Favour changed.
According to Ronald,it was the small things at first;she'd forget what day it was,she'd slip into long bouts of moodiness,she'd snap at people for no apparent reason,or she'd sit motionless for a long time in some weird trancelike state.
Of course,I told my friend it was probably nothing.She was becoming a woman after all.
But things got worse.
Ronald came to the Church office one day and told me Favour had been suspended from school for stabbing a fellow student with the blunt end of a pencil.The young boy had to be rushed to a hospital.He'd required surgery to remove fragments of the pencil still lodged in his flesh.
I was shocked.
Favour?Stabbing another student?Impossible.
I demanded that she be brought to the Church office at once.Because,not only was I a close friend of the family's,I was also Favour's godfather.
A very confused Ronald left my office that Friday evening.He promised to bring her to the church the following evening.
I went on my knees that night and prayed for the family.Then the Holy Spirit showed me something that frightened me.
I saw a vision of my goddaughter lying naked on the ground of a dark forest.Tears of blood dripped down the side of her face.The grass around her body was pitch-black.She was struggling under the weight of a dark shadow that was holding her down.The shadow had no face,no eyes or a mouth.But I could tell it was staring at me.
"Blood of Jesus!!"I declared.
Then I heard.....No...FELT a hissing sound emanating from the entity.
The hissing grew in intensity.
Then it stopped.
The vision dissolved.
I knew then that the issue facing Ronald's daughter was grave.....very grave.
I prayed some more.
The following evening,Ronald didn't show up.Infact,I called his line a few times.But the phone just rang....and rang.
He didn't answer.
After hours of waiting,I decided to go to his house.Just as I was closing up my office,Ronald showed up.
There was blood on his torn shirt.Lots of it.I realized the blood was coming from the side of his face.The flesh close to his ear looked like it had been gnawed by a wild animal.There was terror in his eyes.I had never seen Ronald so scared.
"My God!"I exclaimed."What happened?"
Ronald more or less staggered towards me and fell into my arms.He was a big man,so his weight was considerable.
"What happened?"I asked urgently.
He sobbed into my shoulder for a long time.Then finally managed to compose himself.But the fear in his eyes never left.
He began to talk.
Several times,I had to tell him to slow down,because the words were coming in too fast.He barely had time to catch his breath.He was wide eyed and talking crazy.
He told me that they had managed to get Favour into the car and were all set to come to see me.But the second he mentioned where they were taking her to,Favour attacked him.
She'd lunged at him from the back seat,biting into his face.When Oge tried to pull her off,Favour attacked her too.She tore of Her mother's ear ring and preceded to scratch her eyes out.
"I've never seen my daughter like that before"Ronald whispered,looking over his shoulder as if someone were watching us.
But we were alone.All my workers had closed for the day and night fall slowly descended around us.
"It was like ...she was a wild animal"He continued
fearfully."...growling,screaming....and talking gibberish.....she seemed so strong...I think she would've actually killed Oge...if I hadn't fought her off"
I was silent.
I could barely process what I was hearing.The memory of the vision I had came back to me in clear detail.A dark force it seemed had taken over my goddaughter.
Ronald told me how Favour smashed through the back seat window and crawled out of the car.She scampered back to the house(on all fours) at incredible speed.She was growling the whole time.
I remained quiet for awhile.Ronald tremored with each breath.
"Where's Oge now?"I asked finally.
"She's....she's in the car....she's terrified"Ronald said.
"I see...."I said thoughtfully."...and Favour..?"
He was silent for a time.His eyes kept on scanning the area fearfully.He was truly afraid.
"She's.....inside the house.....alone"
Long silence.
I put my hand on his shoulder and told him to be brave.
"God is in control"I said.
Ronald didn't seem convinced.
After a short prayer,I told him to take me to the house.
Several thoughts ran through my head as we drove to their home.At that time,I had never encountered this sort of thing before.I had healed the sick in Our Saviour's Name,I had changed lives in my ministry but I'd never faced a demonic entity before.
I silently prayed to my father in heaven,asking the Holy Spirit for strength.I had no idea what I was going to do once I got there.But I knew the power of His name inside me.
Even then,I was slightly skeptical.
"You said she was saying....gibberish?"I asked.The sound of my voice in the car was strange to me.The silence between the three of us had been so thick,Oge shuddered when I spoke.
I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder from the backseat.
She was trembling.
"....I couldn't ....make any sense of what....she was saying"Ronald managed.
"Was it actual words....or just sounds she was making?"I pressed.
Ronald was thoughtful for a while.His hands were shaking.I was worried he might not be able to drive the car....safely.
"....they...were actual words....just....a strange language...."He said.
I leaned back into the seat.I had heard enough.
It was nightfall when we got to the house.An eerie rumble from above announced the arrival of a storm.I stepped out of the car into the slightly windy night.
Ronald had parked outside the gate.Apparently the security men had deserted their post in fear.
We entered into the compound and strolled towards the house.
Ronald's family lived in a luxury mansion in New GRA.It was the kind of house you turned to stare at no matter how fast you were driving.It was truly a lovely home.I had been there many times before.But on this occasion,there was something in the air.Something evil.I could almost taste it as I grew close.I found it a bit difficult to breath.
"When we get inside"I said without looking behind me.I knew Ronald and Oge were close."Do exactly as I say...understood?"
They didn't respond,but I knew they'd heard me.
We entered the house.It was chilly inside.I remember rubbing my hands together as we approached the stair case.
All was deathly still.
We slowly mounted the stairs,leading up to Favour's room.We assumed she was in there because, Ronald had earlier heard and seen her screaming from the window as they drove off.
The air grew colder.
I began singing a worship song as I opened her room door.The door handle was like ice.
"Stay here"I instructed Ronald and his wife."No matter what you hear,.....don't come in until I tell you to,understood?"
They slowly exchanged fearful looks but said nothing.
I continued the worship song,summoning the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Then I entered the room.
Now,it was really cold.
Favour sat cross-legged on the bed.She was wearing the white night gown I bought her the Christmas before.Her long black hair draped over her shoulders.
She was smiling at me.
"Hello,Uncle Festus"She said pleasantly.
I was a little confused.The image before me,wasn't what I expected.For all intents and purposes,she seemed like a normal happy girl just sitting on her bed.
Several things struck me though;the Favour I knew,would always rush to hug me(she was warm like that).Also,her room was an explosive mess.There were tattered clothes everywhere,broken pieces of glass on the floor and the cieling fan looked like it had been torn from the cieling.It lay on the far side of the room like it had been flung there.Everything else in the room was either smashed or broken.Her wardrobe door seemed like it had been ripped off its hinges,sections of the wood had what I could only describe as teeth-marks.The only thing intact was her dressing mirror.
Favour's arms and legs were covered with cuts and bruises.There was a particularly large and ugly gash on her left arm.The blood from the wound had soiled her gown.
"How are you,Favour"I said cautiously,as I closed the door behind me.
"I'm fine Uncle"She continued smiling.I noticed her gums were bleeding...very badly.The blood was dripping from the side of her mouth.
"Are you here to see Mum and Dad?"She said jovially."They went out oh!"
I tightened the grip on my Bible.
"No,"I said calmly."I'm here to see you"
"Really?"She sounded excited.It was ghastly watching her smile with the dark crimson dripping from her mouth.
"Why is your room so scattered?"I asked, taking a few steps forward.I could feel the presence of a dark force inside the room.
"Oh...!"she said childishly
looking around."I was looking for something"She sprang up from the bed and began searching the room.There was more blood on the back of the nightgown.
A prompting in my spirit told me it wasn't Favour I was speaking to.As if to confirm this,I saw something in the mirror when she walked past it.At first I thought it was a trick of the lights.But it wasn't.What I saw in the mirror wasn't Favour's reflection searching the room.It was the image of a large black dog.
It's fur was blacker than anything I'd ever seen before,its eyes were bright green.
I felt a shudder run through me,but I held on to my faith.I held on to His word.
Then I began speaking in tongues.
She stopped at the sound of my voice,and turned to stare at me.
I continued speaking in Tongues,feeling the presence of the Holy Ghost.
Favour's eyes became like slits.There was hatred inside them.
"What are you doing?"She said in a tone as cold as the room.
I continued speaking in Tongues.A strange wind began to move inside the room.
The mirror exploded into a thousand pieces.Tiny Fragments flew across the room and stabbed into my flesh.
I fell backwards as a dark disembodied laughter filled the room.
But I was undeterred,because His Word had told me I was more than a Conqueror.
"ARE YOU AFRAID YET???"Came a sinister unearthly voice from Favour's lips.
Then I heard the hissing sound,like I had heard in my vision.
I rose to my feet.
In a loud voice I declared;
"I come in the name of Jesus,....that name above all other names...."
"DO NOT DARE SPEAK THAT NAME!!!"
The bedroom window exploded outwards,the glass shattered.
Suddenly,from the dark corners of the room emerged black cockroaches,hundreds...No,thousands of them.Their tiny legs scuttled against the floor and the walls as the hissing continued.
"In the Name of JESUS,demon I command you to speak your name!!"
The thing that was in Favour let out a high pitched scream.
More debris flew across the room and the air became like winter.I could feel one of the cockroaches on the back of my neck.
But I held on to His Word,because I knew it was the only thing that could save me now.
"By the Power of the Holy Ghost,I command you....SPEAK YOUR NAME!!"
The entity screamed again.The sound hurt my ears.But through the pain,I heard its abominable name.It is a name I pray to never utter again till the day I die.
"In the name Of Jesus... I command you unclean spirit to leave this child of God,and never return!!!"
There were loud explosions in the room as if a large invisible force were being violently thrown about.More cockroaches raced across my skin.
Then all the light bulbs exploded.
Long silence.
For a long time,I simply remained on the ground.My eyes were closed and I was muttering in tongues.
The hissing had stopped and the air was warm again.I could hear the rains outside and I couldn't feel the cockroaches again.
How long I remained that way,I had no clue.But soon enough,I heard a sound that truly gladdened my heart.
It was the sound of Favour's voice.
"Uncle Festus,"she said"Is that you?"
That was Fifteen years ago.
Favour was delivered that night and the demonic presence never returned.She's married now with two kids. She and her husband are workers in the Church.
Ronald is currently pastoring a church of his own in America.
As for Oge,....Ronald left her, after she confessed that she had been a member of a witch's coven before she got married.By the dictates of this coven,every member had to pledge the soul of their first child to a demonic entity.This was to ensure that the members ended up with rich husbands.
The entity was supposed to take possession of the child just before its twelfth birthday.
Evil is out there,but Jesus is mightier.
