PRISONERS OF HOPE BY FORTUNE E.C. NWAIWU
CHAPTER ONE
I was awakened by a loud volley of strange voices in the middle of night.
I raised my head to listen to what was happening, but I could not grasp anything due to different voices talking, weeping, and groaning all at the same time.
The sound which their moving feet made indicated that all was not well. They matched to the church compound and then went to the parsonage. They knocked on the door persistently,
"Sir Peterson, open the door. Sir, open, please!" they cried.
I was in the church watching through one of the glass windows what was happening. None of them thought that I was sleeping in the church. If they had been kidnappers, I would have escaped from them.
This was what I thought. I learnt a lesson: let no man know where you sleep in the night, for security reasons.
Though I did not know exactly what had happened, I remembered what happened to one bishop. He was aroused one night and told that there was a member who was critically sick; as the man of God came out from the house to pray for the sick member, he was abducted.
I thought perhaps these fellows had come in disguise to kill or kidnap me. My mind whispered: go and know the mission of their coming.
Before I would open a door leading to the backyard, I heard a sobbing voice: "Why must Levi die just like that, without leaving a word."
When Levi was mentioned, I realized that my brother might have told them to call me to pray for Levi; he had called me earlier in the day to go and pray for Levi. He knew Levi before I did. Levi had helped him repair his car on many occasions. I did not want to go unless Levi's children would come to call me for the prayers. I expected them to come, but I did not see them.
I walked through the backyard and then opened the door for entrance to the next door before the veranda. As they heard the hissing sounds of the door swinging, "Somebody is inside," they yelled.
I finally opened the door at the frontage; they saw me and knelt down. This was what I hated: for one to kneel down before me begging.
"Get up! You must only kneel down before God, and not to a mortal man like me," I said.
They stood up, their grief-distorted faces illuminated by the moonlight, and they wept.
"Did anybody die in this community?" I asked.
"Man of God, you are in the spirit!" they exclaimed.
Though I understood them, I needed them to open up and tell me what had really happened.
A fellow said, "Man of God, we want you to come and pray for Levi, for now he is lifeless. With your fervent prayers, he may live again."
I did not know this man called Levi, but I made up my mind to go with them. I asked them to leave, telling them I would meet them there as soon as possible.
As they left my quarters, I contacted my two prophetesses, Ann and Lilian, to pray for Levi. Before going, we went into the church and consulted God. We received power from him, and we left for the Levi's house.
A young boy, who I thought must be Levi's son, opened the room where the body of Levi was lying stiffly. Immediately, we entered. We began to sing songs of praises, before deliverance and healing songs. We sang for more than one hour, then we started to pray. We prayed until Levi began to shiver like an asthmatic patient.
I thought it was a convulsion, but there was a vision that said what Levi was suffering from was not only a mere sickness, but also an evil attack. Then we began to rebuke every power of darkness in the sky, seas, shrines, under the earth, and wherever.
By this time, people were still crying. Some were believing in our prayers while others had concluded that nothing would bring Levi back to life unless God himself came down.
As we rendered every power of evil attack powerless, Levi screamed, "Dad, don't flog me. I am going back home!"
We all realized that Levi was having an encounter with his late father in the spiritual realm.
Levi could breathe now because there was life in him. He had been revived by God.
People marveled at this miracle; it was then that people began to believe in me as the servant of God. I was then told that Levi was drunk in the shop of one Calabar woman, and since then, he had never awakened for two days without eating anything. They thought that he was poisoned. Levi's people wanted to make war against the woman. They did not know that Levi was spiritually attacked and remained in a coma for two days.
As Levi was raised up to life by God's grace, I asked his wife to bathe him and then give him food to eat. When I looked at Levi as he breathed, I knew that he needed a medical check-up to ascertain the state of his health.
"This man ought to be taken to a medical center for proper treatments," I said.
Thereafter, I returned to the church with Ann and Lilian, and we thanked God for answering our prayers. It was later that the two ladies told me that Levi was a non-active elder of the church.
Two days later, I returned home after the last Sunday service of the year to see my parents and siblings. I stayed with them for some hours before going back to my station for the cross-over-night.
CHAPTER ONE
I was awakened by a loud volley of strange voices in the middle of night.
I raised my head to listen to what was happening, but I could not grasp anything due to different voices talking, weeping, and groaning all at the same time.
The sound which their moving feet made indicated that all was not well. They matched to the church compound and then went to the parsonage. They knocked on the door persistently,
"Sir Peterson, open the door. Sir, open, please!" they cried.
I was in the church watching through one of the glass windows what was happening. None of them thought that I was sleeping in the church. If they had been kidnappers, I would have escaped from them.
This was what I thought. I learnt a lesson: let no man know where you sleep in the night, for security reasons.
Though I did not know exactly what had happened, I remembered what happened to one bishop. He was aroused one night and told that there was a member who was critically sick; as the man of God came out from the house to pray for the sick member, he was abducted.
I thought perhaps these fellows had come in disguise to kill or kidnap me. My mind whispered: go and know the mission of their coming.
Before I would open a door leading to the backyard, I heard a sobbing voice: "Why must Levi die just like that, without leaving a word."
When Levi was mentioned, I realized that my brother might have told them to call me to pray for Levi; he had called me earlier in the day to go and pray for Levi. He knew Levi before I did. Levi had helped him repair his car on many occasions. I did not want to go unless Levi's children would come to call me for the prayers. I expected them to come, but I did not see them.
I walked through the backyard and then opened the door for entrance to the next door before the veranda. As they heard the hissing sounds of the door swinging, "Somebody is inside," they yelled.
I finally opened the door at the frontage; they saw me and knelt down. This was what I hated: for one to kneel down before me begging.
"Get up! You must only kneel down before God, and not to a mortal man like me," I said.
They stood up, their grief-distorted faces illuminated by the moonlight, and they wept.
"Did anybody die in this community?" I asked.
"Man of God, you are in the spirit!" they exclaimed.
Though I understood them, I needed them to open up and tell me what had really happened.
A fellow said, "Man of God, we want you to come and pray for Levi, for now he is lifeless. With your fervent prayers, he may live again."
I did not know this man called Levi, but I made up my mind to go with them. I asked them to leave, telling them I would meet them there as soon as possible.
As they left my quarters, I contacted my two prophetesses, Ann and Lilian, to pray for Levi. Before going, we went into the church and consulted God. We received power from him, and we left for the Levi's house.
A young boy, who I thought must be Levi's son, opened the room where the body of Levi was lying stiffly. Immediately, we entered. We began to sing songs of praises, before deliverance and healing songs. We sang for more than one hour, then we started to pray. We prayed until Levi began to shiver like an asthmatic patient.
I thought it was a convulsion, but there was a vision that said what Levi was suffering from was not only a mere sickness, but also an evil attack. Then we began to rebuke every power of darkness in the sky, seas, shrines, under the earth, and wherever.
By this time, people were still crying. Some were believing in our prayers while others had concluded that nothing would bring Levi back to life unless God himself came down.
As we rendered every power of evil attack powerless, Levi screamed, "Dad, don't flog me. I am going back home!"
We all realized that Levi was having an encounter with his late father in the spiritual realm.
Levi could breathe now because there was life in him. He had been revived by God.
People marveled at this miracle; it was then that people began to believe in me as the servant of God. I was then told that Levi was drunk in the shop of one Calabar woman, and since then, he had never awakened for two days without eating anything. They thought that he was poisoned. Levi's people wanted to make war against the woman. They did not know that Levi was spiritually attacked and remained in a coma for two days.
As Levi was raised up to life by God's grace, I asked his wife to bathe him and then give him food to eat. When I looked at Levi as he breathed, I knew that he needed a medical check-up to ascertain the state of his health.
"This man ought to be taken to a medical center for proper treatments," I said.
Thereafter, I returned to the church with Ann and Lilian, and we thanked God for answering our prayers. It was later that the two ladies told me that Levi was a non-active elder of the church.
Two days later, I returned home after the last Sunday service of the year to see my parents and siblings. I stayed with them for some hours before going back to my station for the cross-over-night.
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