“Hello Daddy,”
“Stacey, how are you?”
“I’m fine. Good morning.”
“What’s your plan for today, because I need you to help me out with some work?”
“Nothing much Daddy, so where do I meet you?”
“Come to my office before noon,”
“Ok. I will. See you later,” Stacey said and ended the call, wiping her eyes again. Her father hadn’t noticed her sniffing and that was fine. She knew he wouldn’t be pleased with his wife if he knew what she was putting her through and she didn’t want to be the cause of a misunderstanding between the both of them.
Stacey left the house a couple of hours later without having the breakfast even though she was offered some by her sister. No grievance but she would preserve her self-respect.
*******************************
Later in the day, at One Way Ministries International, Jason sat at the far end of the auditorium while the prayer meeting was going on. The auditorium was a fairly big one, richly decorated, and lighted. The capacity could seat about three thousand by his estimate. He watched as the number of attendants increased; there were fifty-eight people present already. He counted for lack of something else to do.
Mrs. Duke’s prayers were far from the prayer points raised in the meeting. While others were praying in line with the issues the prayer leader raised, she was praying for her son. She knew something was bothering him and something brought him here with her, and she didn’t want him to return the same way he came without being ministered to. Jason, her son, on a Saturday like today, had better things to do than seat in the church waiting for her, so something serious had to be up.
Mid way the praying session, the prayer leader, Brother Sanni, received a word of knowledge and spoke up. “There is someone in our midst right now who is being oppressed by the enemy,” he said and paused briefly while every one of the members mellowed their voices until all was quiet, then he continued. “You have been marked by the enemy for destruction, but God has chosen you for exploits. Please if you know you’re that person, you could come out and we would pray for you and you can still see me after the meeting.”
Everywhere was really quiet. Jason, who was outside earshot, simply noticed that the praying voices had subsided for a pretty long while. He looked at his wristwatch and stood up to take a short stroll around the compound while waiting.
Now nobody responded to Brother Sanni’s call but when Jason stood up from where he sat far away, this brother caught sight of him. And he watched him leave the auditorium even though he could sense it, that the person leaving should be the one responding. As soon as the man went out of the hall, he continued with the prayer and after a while all was rounded up.
***************************
“Brother Sanni, I’ll like you to meet my second son, Jason. Jason, this is Mr. Sanni Adams, the leader of the welfare unit here in this church,” Jason’s mum said, introducing the both of them.
Jason stretched out his hand to the elderly man who had a warm smile on his face. “Nice to meet you sir,” he said giving the man a firm handshake.
“My pleasure, son,” the older man replied as she left them to see other church members, and then he asked, “You came here to see someone I suppose?”
Jason raised his eyebrow showing his surprise at the question. Indeed he came here to see someone. He hadn’t even realized that this was why he came until this man said it. He gave a smile of affirmation and Mr. Sanni could see it in his eyes even though he didn’t answer the question.
“Come with me,” Mr. Sanni said, leading him out of the hall and into the administrative block where he had an office. After showing him a seat and taking one in the air-conditioned, well furnished office, Mr. Sanni looked at Jason and the lines of his fairly wrinkled face stiffened. He was seeing something very foul. “Son, I can see why you are here. I believe there’s a lot you would want to share but while I was praying back there, the Lord revealed it all to me.”
Jason looked at the man talking, wondering in his mind whether this was some mind game to get him to say something he could use to later release some prophecy. He had doubt written all over his face. But, out of respect for the old man, he waited a little bit more.
“I can see the mark on your forehead, son. Not everyone can see that mark there because it’s not physical. It’s a mark of oppression.”
Immediately Jason’s fingers flew to the spot on his forehead where he had seen the red mark earlier in the morning. Could that be true, he thought. The face cap he wore didn’t cover the spot very well like before, but he noticed that no one at home, not even his mother, took notice of the mark.
“Have you been having strange occurrences around you, son?”
“Yes I have, lately,” Jason replied, now very attentive and ready to listen to this old man who was sitting before him.
Mr. Sanni shifted in his chair, stared at Jason for some seconds and then leaned forward to touch his head while he prayed quietly but audibly enough for Jason to hear what he was saying. After about two minutes of praying, Mr. Sanni withdrew his hand, opening his eyes, and smiled; the mark was gone.
“Son, I have prayed for you and the mark is gone,” he said and watched Jason turn sharply to look at his reflection on the tinted windowpane, “but just as the parable of the man delivered of a demon in Matthew chapter twelve, you could be visited again if the devil still has the right to oppress you, and if you are ignorant of the power in the word of God.”
Jason looked at his reflection in the mirror and he was broken because he realized he had just witnessed a miracle by a simple prayer taking that mark off his face. Why would God care about him of all people and want to spare his life and use him? He sank back into the chair feeling sober.
“Are you ready to accept Jesus, Son?”
Jason had a lot going on in his heart but above all was a peace he couldn’t understand. The thought of accepting Jesus, the promises in those words; it was all amazing. He didn’t want to give it much thought and probably be talked out of it by his mind. “Yes sir, I am.”
**********************************************
Mrs. Duke was seated with two other persons in the church auditorium when Jason and Mr. Sanni came in to join them. She saw her son and she knew something had happened. She stood up and gave him a hug while Mr. Sanni joined the others.
Jason unlocked himself from the embrace and looked into his mother’s eyes. He knew she knew although he wondered how much she knew. The rest of their journey home would be enough time to share and tell. “Thank you, mum,” he said, and turned to Mr. Sanni, “Thank you sir.”
“God bless you, Son. I hope to see you in church tomorrow,” Mr. Sanni said.
Leviath. His form was part wolf, part serpentine, part human, part eagle. He had two horns pointing at odd directions: one northeast and the other to the south. Sticking out both sides of his wolfish face were two huge fangs. His skin was scaled and hairy at the same time, his body human from neck to waist, and the rest of his frame from waist down was like what you see in alien invasion movies. The fury in his eyes made them light up like flame torches. His huge claws, firmly grasped the branch of the mango tree that was just above the metallic silver coloured Lexus RX 350 to which Jason and his mother were heading. His breathing was slow and heavy, causing the dry leaves to rustle and fall down softly on the hood of the car. This was Leviath, the hell representative attached to Jason to make sure he remained in darkness for all eternity.
And lurking around the church premises were other minions from hell's pit: very vile and ugly creatures. And they all answered to their master, Leviath. Each was more determined than before to get back the soul that had just slipped through their fingers and complete their task on him before it was too late.
Right behind Mrs. Duke and her son was Virtues. The brilliance of his appearance incomparable to any light you ever saw on the surface of this earth. His form and build was like that of a human and infact he bore a striking resemblance with the man behind whom he walked, except that his skin glowed, his dark hair flowed down to his shoulder, and he was a head taller than Jason. A smile graced his beautiful face, the same that had been there from the moment this soul joined the Kingdom. True to the word, the hosts of heaven rent its peacful air with glorious singing and dancing when this rebirth took place and Virtues was sent forth to minister to this new addition to his Master's eternal family.
The presence of Virtues was an impediment to his plan. Leviath let out a deep piercing howl, lifting off from the tree and all the minions responded with shrieks and in a moment, they flew off into the skies and disappeared from sight, leaving trails of dark smoke and the repugnant stench of sulphur.
Jason brushed off some leaves from the hood of the car as they got to it, moving to open the door for his mother.
"How do you feel, Jason?" his mother asked while they drove out of the church yard.
"Em.. Mum, I feel same. I don't feel anything like any sensation of holiness," Jason shrugged his shoulders to communicate what he was saying, then he tilted his head towards her to hear what she'll say in response.
"God loves you and the Holy Spirit is indwelling you right now. It's should make you feel happy," she said and then went on to narrate her own experience. "The sunday I answered the altar call, it was the best moment of my life. It was back in my university days. The message that was preached smote me and brought me down in tears and when the pastor made that altar call, I was the first to walk out and I later returned to my seat feeling the hand of God around me, comforting me." She spoke with such passion, it was as though she was reliving the moment in her mind when she told it.
Jason was a bit confused now. He was so certain he didn't feel anything expect that of having a load off his chest, like 'Thank God, the gates to hell's safari have been shut and I can have my peaceful sleep!' He had been through a similar experience the last time he came to this church with her and well, another difference was that he wasn't feeling like he just did something stupid as before. He looked at her through the mirrow as spoke, "Mum. I don't feel any sensation, I just feel relief. Maybe because I got saved on a saturday, in an office, or because I'm a man."
His mother shook her head and looked away from the mirrow. Whatever happened in there with Mr. Sanni, she hoped, would be permanent this time and she wouldn't get disappointed like she did the last time. She needed to continue praying for her son until he began to bear those fruits John the Baptist talked about - fruits worthy of repentance.
The journey back home was short, very short. As soon as they got into the house, Jason went straight for the wine bar. He felt like celebrating his liberation from the shackles of hell. If there was one thing Mrs. Duke had learnt in all her life at One Way Ministries, it was Pastor Andrew's advice not to try to help the Holy Spirit do his ministry. Cleaning the outside of a cup while the inside was filthy was a flawless way of creating a hypocrite and she had been one most of her life as a believer, but she wouldn't turn her son to one. She watched him go to take some wine and she smiled and passed by into the lobby. Keep praying was all she heard her heart say.
******************************
Stacey had finished drawing up the quotation her father wanted her to help him with. It was saturday and he informed her when she got to his office that he got an a call from a friend to send a quotation to his company and he wasn't able to reach his secretary so that was why he needed her. Now as she got ready to leave, she remembered Chika's invitation and it was a few minutes past three pm with enough time to get home and get dressed and go to the party if she still wanted to risk it.
'Oh Lord, please please I don't want to go and I don't want to have to lie. Find me something else to do to keep me busy so I can have a tangible excuse please,' she prayed aloud in the waiting area of her father's office where she was the only one waiting.
"Stacey are you ready to leave now?" her father called out from his office. The door leading from his to the reception was open and she could hear him.
"Daddy yes. I'm leaving," she hollered back.
"Going home from here?" he asked again.
She didn't even think it through before echoing a response back to him, "No. I'm going out to see a friend."
"Alright, come take this little," he paused mid speech to pull out his wallet from his back pocket, "change here and give yourself a treat with your friend. A labourer is worth his wages."
Stacey took the money joyfully and went round the table to give her dad a hug. He was so unlike her mother. He really loved her and that was the balance that kept her going in that house of theirs. "Thank you Daddy. You're the best," she said and then left hurriedly. Suddenly she knew where she wanted to be this evening; somewhere that would keep her busy and would be ideal fun. But first, she had to call a friend - Emeka.
Leviath. His form was part wolf, part serpentine, part human, part eagle. He had two horns pointing at odd directions: one northeast and the other to the south. Sticking out both sides of his wolfish face were two huge fangs. His skin was scaled and hairy at the same time, his body human from neck to waist, and the rest of his frame from waist down was like what you see in alien invasion movies. The fury in his eyes made them light up like flame torches. His huge claws, firmly grasped the branch of the mango tree that was just above the metallic silver coloured Lexus RX 350 to which Jason and his mother were heading. His breathing was slow and heavy, causing the dry leaves to rustle and fall down softly on the hood of the car. This was Leviath, the hell representative attached to Jason to make sure he remained in darkness for all eternity.
And lurking around the church premises were other minions from hell's pit: very vile and ugly creatures. And they all answered to their master, Leviath. Each was more determined than before to get back the soul that had just slipped through their fingers and complete their task on him before it was too late.
Right behind Mrs. Duke and her son was Virtues. The brilliance of his appearance incomparable to any light you ever saw on the surface of this earth. His form and build was like that of a human and infact he bore a striking resemblance with the man behind whom he walked, except that his skin glowed, his dark hair flowed down to his shoulder, and he was a head taller than Jason. A smile graced his beautiful face, the same that had been there from the moment this soul joined the Kingdom. True to the word, the hosts of heaven rent its peacful air with glorious singing and dancing when this rebirth took place and Virtues was sent forth to minister to this new addition to his Master's eternal family.
The presence of Virtues was an impediment to his plan. Leviath let out a deep piercing howl, lifting off from the tree and all the minions responded with shrieks and in a moment, they flew off into the skies and disappeared from sight, leaving trails of dark smoke and the repugnant stench of sulphur.
Jason brushed off some leaves from the hood of the car as they got to it, moving to open the door for his mother.
"How do you feel, Jason?" his mother asked while they drove out of the church yard.
"Em.. Mum, I feel same. I don't feel anything like any sensation of holiness," Jason shrugged his shoulders to communicate what he was saying, then he tilted his head towards her to hear what she'll say in response.
"God loves you and the Holy Spirit is indwelling you right now. It's should make you feel happy," she said and then went on to narrate her own experience. "The sunday I answered the altar call, it was the best moment of my life. It was back in my university days. The message that was preached smote me and brought me down in tears and when the pastor made that altar call, I was the first to walk out and I later returned to my seat feeling the hand of God around me, comforting me." She spoke with such passion, it was as though she was reliving the moment in her mind when she told it.
Jason was a bit confused now. He was so certain he didn't feel anything expect that of having a load off his chest, like 'Thank God, the gates to hell's safari have been shut and I can have my peaceful sleep!' He had been through a similar experience the last time he came to this church with her and well, another difference was that he wasn't feeling like he just did something stupid as before. He looked at her through the mirrow as spoke, "Mum. I don't feel any sensation, I just feel relief. Maybe because I got saved on a saturday, in an office, or because I'm a man."
His mother shook her head and looked away from the mirrow. Whatever happened in there with Mr. Sanni, she hoped, would be permanent this time and she wouldn't get disappointed like she did the last time. She needed to continue praying for her son until he began to bear those fruits John the Baptist talked about - fruits worthy of repentance.
The journey back home was short, very short. As soon as they got into the house, Jason went straight for the wine bar. He felt like celebrating his liberation from the shackles of hell. If there was one thing Mrs. Duke had learnt in all her life at One Way Ministries, it was Pastor Andrew's advice not to try to help the Holy Spirit do his ministry. Cleaning the outside of a cup while the inside was filthy was a flawless way of creating a hypocrite and she had been one most of her life as a believer, but she wouldn't turn her son to one. She watched him go to take some wine and she smiled and passed by into the lobby. Keep praying was all she heard her heart say.
******************************
Stacey had finished drawing up the quotation her father wanted her to help him with. It was saturday and he informed her when she got to his office that he got an a call from a friend to send a quotation to his company and he wasn't able to reach his secretary so that was why he needed her. Now as she got ready to leave, she remembered Chika's invitation and it was a few minutes past three pm with enough time to get home and get dressed and go to the party if she still wanted to risk it.
'Oh Lord, please please I don't want to go and I don't want to have to lie. Find me something else to do to keep me busy so I can have a tangible excuse please,' she prayed aloud in the waiting area of her father's office where she was the only one waiting.
"Stacey are you ready to leave now?" her father called out from his office. The door leading from his to the reception was open and she could hear him.
"Daddy yes. I'm leaving," she hollered back.
"Going home from here?" he asked again.
She didn't even think it through before echoing a response back to him, "No. I'm going out to see a friend."
"Alright, come take this little," he paused mid speech to pull out his wallet from his back pocket, "change here and give yourself a treat with your friend. A labourer is worth his wages."
Stacey took the money joyfully and went round the table to give her dad a hug. He was so unlike her mother. He really loved her and that was the balance that kept her going in that house of theirs. "Thank you Daddy. You're the best," she said and then left hurriedly. Suddenly she knew where she wanted to be this evening; somewhere that would keep her busy and would be ideal fun. But first, she had to call a friend - Emeka.
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