Comment (22)

I gave my life to Christ in the summer of 1986 in Benin City Nigeria. I was fifteen (15) years old at that time.

Before that day, I had many "guilt and sympathy pity parties” which left me crying and praying to God for forgiveness. I even thought that if I had my bath and cleaned up enough, God will be happy since I had heard that "cleanliness is next to Godliness".

One day, I had a dream; in that dream I was falling into a deep gutter and when I cried for help, a hand came out of the sky and was stretching to reach me, even as I was stretching to reach it also. Finally, I made the contact and immediately I was outside the deep gutter.

The next day when I woke up, I came upon a painting which is quite popular around the world. Prior to that time, I had never seen that painting but it was in my dream.

The painting was titled "God reaching out to Man. ” That evening, as dinner was being prepared, my elder sister (Jane) asked me pointedly if I wanted to be born again.

I stubbornly told her I was born again. She didn’t give up but followed me to the backside of our family home and spoke to me.

As she spoke about Jesus and how He died, I found myself crying suddenly as I prayed the prayer of salvation along with her. I thought that was all, but she went on to talk to me about the gift and operation of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life.

She told me about the gift of prophecy and speaking in tongues. Then she laid her hands on me to receive the Holy Spirit.

I was full of the Spirit but I did not speak in tongues, rather I couldn't even talk properly. After she had left, I started doubting if I really received the Holy Spirit.

At about 12midnight, I suddenly woke up and prayed in my understanding asking the Holy Spirit to give me the gift of speaking in unknown tongues and immediately, I began to speak in tongues alone on my bed. It was amazing.

As at that time, I was in my final year in secondary school and when I went to school the next day, I told my three close friends what had happened. To my surprise, they told me they also got born again that same weekend at home.

So we all got together and prayed in tongues after school. That day, there was a Christian musical program organized by Agape Streams Choir.

After class, we decided to go for it. During the program, the preacher named Bro Sholaye asked for those who wanted to get born again and receive the Holy Spirit, and many people came out that the ministers were overwhelmed.

When I saw this happening, I prayed within myself; I said "Father, if this tongues I speak are really from you and not evil, then let this preacher call me out to join them to minister to the new converts. ” I had hardly finished praying this prayer when the chief minister, Bro Sholaye, pointed to me and others and said, please help us to lay hands on these people, Alleluia! All the people I laid hands on gave their lives to Christ and spoke in other tongues.