Powers, principalities and suffering

The phrase “powers and principalities” refers to the array of evil and malicious spirits that wage war against people, especially the people of God. People in the dark world belong to those spirits. The principalities and powers of Satan are beings that wield power in the unseen realms to oppose everything and everyone that is of God.

This conversation is not to glorify the devil but to draw awareness to the fact that there are evil forces to contend with in life; and how mean they could be, even to their blood relations. But it is not to suggest that we cower in a corner with fear. Power pass Power, and there is none as powerful as God.

Working on the book, “Stories of Pastor E.A. Adeboye,” gave me better understanding of the spiritual realm, particularly the less understood dark part: where mothers kill children they carried 9 months in their own womb to drink their blood and eat their flesh. The dark world, where some mothers make their daughters barren or make it impossible for them to be married; where fathers cause their sons to lose jobs; where wives gleefully ruin husbands into destitution; and husbands use their wives for rituals.

Below are examples of the horror from the book presented as Pastor Adeboye’s testimonies. 

Mother Who Blocked Daughter’s Marriage

A sister came to one of our programmes in Ebute-Metta, Lagos, years ago. Then the Word (of Knowledge) came and I announced that there was a sister whose mother didn’t want her to be married. The Word said that if the mother does not release her, she (the mother) would   be buried within seven days. I didn’t know or even see the woman.

The following day this sister came with her furious mother. “That’s the way you stupid prophets spoil the minds of our children, telling my daughter that I will die because I didn’t allow her to marry.”

I said, “Me? Sister did I say that?”

She reminded me of the prophecy of the day before.

Then I said to the girl, “What God said was that there is a sister here. Did I mention your name?”

I then turned to her mother, “Mama don’t mind her, nobody mentioned her name, she is just claiming what is not her own.”

The mother said, “Oh, oh is that so? Alright!”

She then asked her daughter to excuse us for a while. After the daughter had stepped out, she turned to me, “Pastor, but is it true that the mother of this person will die?”

I said to her, “I may not have been talking about you, but what God told me is going to come to pass. So if you are the one, and I’m not saying it is you, before the week runs out, whoever it is, is going to be buried.”

“Ehhhh, I’m not making it difficult for her to marry, but who is going to take care of me after?”

I said, “Mama, that’s simple. I can tell her about your fear and the husband will take good care of you. I will make them promise. That’s if she can marry within 6 months.”

This lady was almost 40 years old and nobody had looked in her direction before. But now she is married and her mother lives with her and her husband in a happy family. 

And a Father Died

A brother in Lagos who had a highly paid job lost it for no reason and for months he was jobless. Things became very difficult for him and so he came to The Holy Ghost Service held every month.

It was in those early days when we were very few. We were about two thousand or so for the all-night service.

The Word of God came saying, “There is a man here, you lost your job, and you cannot get another one even though you are highly qualified.”

And then I said to the congregation, “Well, God asked me to tell you that you are going to get your job back, but the one responsible for this problem will die.”

Three or so months later, his father suddenly died.  And two or three days after the father died he got a letter from his place of work apologising and recalling him. 

Witches in the Church

We were having our Convention sometime ago and at around 12 mid-night, I said to my ministers, “Ministers of God please come forward.”

At that point I heard something in the spirit. I am sure many of you are familiar with what is called the gift of the discerning of spirit, which enables ability to hear the inaudible. I heard one witch on my right telling another witch on my left, “It is now time for us to intervene.”

So I said, “Brethren hold it, hold it, two witches have been talking.”

I told the congregation what was going on and asked the two witches to come out to be delivered or be buried within one week. I asked the people to close their eyes, but of course many of them didn’t. The two witches eventually came forward and one of them said, “Please sir, it was not me talking, it is what is inside of me that spoke.” 

Fire in the Church

There was this woman who came to the Convention with a group of friends. But she soon disappeared and started calling one of her friend from the gate of the church to bring her bag. Wondering what was going on, her friend asked, “Why? Where are you going? We are here for the Convention.”

She said, “No, I’m not staying there. I am going home.”

“If you are going home then come and pick up your bag by yourself,” her friend told her.

“No, I cannot come,” She shouted.

The friend asked, “Why not?”

She said, “Fire is burning in there.” 

The Dream Killer

A sister came to us from one of the states in the South-West, weeping. I asked her, “What is wrong, woman? What is your problem?” I assumed it was barrenness or something.

She said, “I have a problem I can’t share with anyone else but I have seen the power of God in your life that is why I’m confiding in you.”

I said, “That is alright, what is the problem?”

She said, “Anybody I fight with in my dream dies within seven days.”

I said, “I see, how many people have you fought?”

“Many. All my relatives are dead,” she said. “Only two weeks ago, I fought with my mother in a dream. I told her she was going to die and she advised me to look for somebody who will deliver me before the dream curse starts to affect my children.  Of course, seven days later, my mother died. Please Pastor, help me.”

I asked whether she wanted to be free and she said, “Yes.”

Then I said, “Surely then, He will deliver you.”

We prayed a little prayer and the woman has since been free and has not fought anybody again in her dream. 

Demons vs Jesus’ Name

There was this young man who went for a programme somewhere – I don’t know the kind of a programme it was because he came back home heavily loaded with demons. So heavily loaded was he that he couldn’t do anything other than just lie down. He couldn’t stand or walk.

Later he was brought to the church at the headquarters in Ebute-Metta and I began to pray for him.

“I command you to kneel down for prayers,” I said.

He said, “I can’t kneel down.”

I said, “I command you!”

Do you know what he said? He answered, “In whose name?”

I said, “In the name of Jesus.”

“Oh,” he said, “that is different,” and knelt down.

When I had finished praying for him, I said, “Now stand up and go home.”

He said, “I can’t stand.”

I said, “I command you to stand.”

He asked again, “In whose name?”

I said, “In the name of Jesus.”

“That, again, is different,” he said, and got up.

I said to him, “Go home now, have a bath and be normal again.”

He said, “In whose name?”

I said, “In the name of Jesus.”

He was healed that day.