I was invited to preach in a foreign country.

The protocol officers were supposed to take me straight to the hotel from the airport, but I wanted to see the church and get a feel of the auditorium without the crowd.

It helps sometimes to take a walk around the auditorium while praying quietly before one ministers, especially if you are led by the Holy Spirit to do so

So I told the protocol guys to take me to the church. When we got there, I told them to wait in the car while I took a walk within the main auditorium.

They argued a bit, but eventually agreed that I would be fine by myself. I went into the church auditorium and slowly began my silent prayer walk. When I got to the rear exit of the auditorium, I saw some very beautiful decorations.

They were so beautiful and compelling to the point that I felt like touching them. I touched them, and several of the carefully arranged flowers fell off. Ha! What sort of trouble is this? I began to pick them up.

A lady came out of nowhere and started helping me to pick them up. I apologised to her and said, “I am willing to pay for the damages, please help me fix this.” She gave me that bombastic side eye. Two other ladies arrived on the scene with brooms in their hands. They began to help pick the flowers and rearrange them.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I realised I knew one of them. She was the wife of the pastor who invited me to his church to preach. Ha! Pastor’s wife, I screamed. She also recognised me at the same time. Ha! Brother Gbenga, she screamed What are you doing here with a broom in your hand? I asked. She looked at the other ladies, and they gave us some distance. She said, “I am trusting God for a child, and I made a vow to God that I will keep his house clean until he answers my prayers.” I looked at her intently and said, “So you and two other ladies sweep this huge auditorium whenever you have a service?” She said, “No, sir, they accompany me, but I sweep it all by myself, every day, sir. I have been doing this for about six months now.” Wow! I said, “So how do you get home and give bishop good sex after this sort of manual labour?” She kept quiet.

I said, “In Jesus name, I relieve you of this vow. Receive your babies now as a favour from the Lord.” She fell on her knees and shouted Amen. I signalled the other ladies over and told them that their pastor’s wife would no longer be sweeping the church daily. Their faces lit up. It must have been daily torture for both of them to watch her labour like that for six months.

The one who gave me a bombastic side eye before, took advantage of the situation and said, “Sir, I am also trusting God to provide me with a husband. I want to be married by this time next year. I am 35 years old, sir.” I smiled and said, “For helping me out earlier, whatever you ask of the Lord has been given to you by the power of the Holy Spirit”. She also said Amen. I prayed for the third lady, too. The third lady was the Pastor’s wife’s younger sister. She knelt down so many times, thanking me for setting her and her sister free from the daily labour. This is the good news I received a year later. The pastor’s wife delivered a set of triplets, the other lady got married and delivered a baby girl, while the pastor’s wife’s younger sister got married too and delivered a set of twins! So much good news to share to the Glory of God.

P.S.: I also learnt my lessons about touching decorations when I do my prayer walk. I now keep my hands to myself.

-GSW-