Sitting in my apartment in the Gambia, as the law school is on break, I have been motivated to write this article to you to encourage you to have faith in God. Nothing is indeed impossible! Whether you are a scholar or not, there is an unseen upper hand somewhere.

The Psalmist says: They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever. Daniel 11:32 also affirmed that: “The people that know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

In recent times, there have been many attacks on the church by celebrities and Philosophers.  I read one widely circulated story with the caption “I no longer go to church, it’s time wasting” attributing to Asamoah Gyan advising the youth not to go to church on ATUU show hosted by Abeiku Santana.  I have also watched many televisions shows with several negative theological arguments on whether God exists or not.

 I have also realized that for those who do not believe in God or the Gospel, it will take more than words or preaching to convince them.  Such people need to have an encounter with God himself. They need actions, not theories.

I was like these people with many theological arguments before I had my share of divine encounters at the Holy Ghost Temple, Adenta-Fafraha.   I have decided to share my experiences with you to inform you that knowing God is the greatest weapon ever in my life. In fact, the name of Jesus is indeed higher than any other name.  Giving my life to Christ is the greatest decision in my life as a young scholar.  I have witnessed and seen the great impact on my life. 

There is no other name apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Worshipping God or going to Church is not a waste of time. It is far better than wasting your time in pubs and many others. Knowing Christ is the real deal.  The devil is just trying to discourage many people from going to church. The reality is the church is akin to a hospital.

Hence, the church is not a place for holy people. God is not interested in those who think that they are Saints. Anytime, you have committed any sin, the best place to seek solace is in the church.  Don’t judge yourselves and stay home! It is a devilish agenda to prevent you from going to church.

In this article, I am sharing with you my experiences. This is my story:

Growing up, my Uncle once told me that Christianity is a matter of the heart. Therefore, you don't need to go to church. Many learned people and philosophers do not believe in God's existence.  But some education theorists will tell you that education is clothed with religious awareness and they believe that it is not everything that education can help us to know. Some things cannot be explained. There's a metaphysical side to this world. The purpose of this article is to tell the story of an encounter with God through his prophet. I have also observed that God can use anyone at any time to deliver His message, including those you will not consider in society. It's misery, the prophecy of a drunk.

My great-grandmother’s words

I remember vividly before the death of my great-grandmother, she asked to have a word with me.  I was in class four or five then. When I visited her in the village; she told me that God has an assignment for me and I will be a great young man in the future.

The drunk from the hotel.

One morning I met this drunkard at the Africana Hotel in Teshie, Accra. I went to do some ironing when my power went out. While ironing, this drunk, entered the room and immediately began to tell me the voice of God. The drunkard emphatically told me that God had said that I should give my life to him, and not rely on understanding and knowledge. She added that if I relied on my intelligence, I would have trouble in life. Most importantly, she told me that God has a special purpose in my life.  Having made God's voice heard, she disappeared.

I haven't seen her again since then and I can't even identify her, I was bewildered after the incident, I mean, why wouldn’t I? I was a young man in my early twenties, filled with so much youthful exuberance. My friend in the Africana Hotel was equally taken aback at the revelation that morning. As a young man in my early twenties, I went home to share with my grandmother what had happened at the hotel. My grandmother said to me, she was not surprised and that she had received this message from a friend. Following this revelation, I had meetings with many people who also told me the same thing and what God wants to do in my life.

But there was one shocking prophecy that finally came my way that changed everything in my life. I realized that success has a spiritual undertone and once you missed this spiritual foundation, it becomes difficult to succeed in life.  I have read numerous popular books that linked their success to spiritual foundations. Some of these are related to God, others to other divinities.

The Prophet at the Holy Ghost Temple

In this modern era, many have differing views on prophecies. I held the same position before having an encounter with this man of God in the Holy Ghost Temple of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Adenta-Fafraha. But just as Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?" The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD. Yes, as a full professor and a student Barrister at Law in training at the Gambia Law School, I can confidently tell you that even if you have no confidence in any prophet in Ghana, there is still one prophet in the Holy Ghost Temple, Adenta-Fafraha, who will speak the mind of God undiluted.

Why this?

On March 6, 2011, I saw a banner announcing the program "Breaking the iron gate" in the church, and I went. I honestly don't know why I chose this program. It was the first time I ever visited that church. Well, I went that evening and I took a seat at a particular place that I'm focusing on now. There were intense prayers and suddenly, the prophet called for calm. He then said, as I pray, I saw an angelic being, and, I heard the name ‘Obu.’  Honestly, I was shocked and amazed! He also called the ‘Obu' three times. I failed to respond to the voice of God to go forward. Then, the Prophet pointed to the exact place I was sitting and the seat number. At this point, I felt some intense fire burning me. I had no option but to finally respond, got up, and walked toward him.

Then, there was applause as I went forward.  When I went to him, he added: Practice like an angel, ‘Raphael.’  He said, who is Raphael?  He then added: Young man, what do you want to be? I said: I want to be great. He added: The way to your greatness lies in your spiritual welfare. But if you will not change your confession, you will get to the destination God has for you. He then added: but I know some wars and gates need to open. He then said: Gates open so that others can enter into it. I used to think this gate to be opened was meant for family members. But that was not the case. Today, I have a whole community of people who are entering into this gate he said. Fast forward, I joined the church and became a full member.  My life has never been the same again.

Dodging God

In 2021, I went to a funeral at Takoradi. Arriving there, I was told the Prophet was there. Hence, I decided not to go to where I was told he was. I was scared because I don’t know what he is likely to tell me this time. I decided to dodge him. I went to Cecilia Bunyan’s house. When I thought I was dodging him, I met some couples who were ministers of God. Immediately after Cecilia introduced me, the Holy Spirit fell on the woman of God and started prophesying to me. I had no option but to kneel. The woman brought out hidden things. I was there with a friend. She was shocked herself; she realized that I am not an ordinary human being but there is an upper hand working on me.  

 This drew my attention to what Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?" The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. In this case, I was behaving like Jehoshaphat, I knew the prophet is a true man of God but was scared of what he will say that I don’t want to hear but God used another person to deliver his word.

This means we cannot dodge God, especially those he has chosen to accomplish a mission. Many peoplethink that what I do beats their imaginations as a young Professor at 37. Someone asked me whether there is a god in my family protecting me. Christ is my foundation and I never regretted accepting and giving my life to him.  Many were those who had planned evil against me, but God delivered me including one that was orchestrated from Benin.

Today, I am sharing my story with the world to let you know that God exists and that worshipping him is not a waste of time.  Going to church is not a waste of time! From a humble beginning, this is how far the Lord had brought me.  The greatest achievements in my life now are knowing God and giving my life to Christ. No one can convince me that there is no God because I have had an encounter with him and have seen his physical manifestation in my life.

Anytime I go through any trouble or challenge I remember the words of the prophets to help me sail through.  There are occasions when I go through challenges but just smile and people think that I am indifferent; not that, I just know they were part of my growth. And any time there is a storm, rain is abundant. My family does not even understand how I arrived at where I am. It’s a miracle. It is not a small task for a young man from Dodowa to break barriers, it takes only God.

I held on to the prophecy of this great man of God. Today, I am a full professor at 37, president of a University College. I told God to bring all these successes before I hit 40 and he did at 37. This is a clear case that God exists and that there are true prophets in this country that God is using. So in case, you doubt that God exists; then, just take a look at me, I am a physical embodiment of God’s grace and existence as we say in law res ipsa loquitor (the case speaks for itself).

The church changed my life and the only way to a successful life is to have an encounter with God. The spiritual life is pivotal to success in life and the Youth must accept Christ and lead his path to a successful life and career.

Our DNA, of course, is not our destiny. Our destiny is not connected with the very day when the sperm fertilized the egg. It is only a road map and we have control of our DNA. My advice to the youth is that success comes from God. I could remember some time ago, I needed financial assistance and I prayed to God. I told him to disgrace me with that money. That particular week, I received an invitation to deliver a speech in a big program. After my speech, I met someone and we became friends. We spoke, and he asked me to do some projects for him. Immediately, he released the money for the project and received more than what I asked from God. If this is not from God; then from whom? Do not be deceived by any demonic agendas to divert your relationship with God. The Name of Jesus supersedes any!

 I am always guided by this personal philosophy, which goes like this “the future, you picture is the future you will feature, the ‘YOU’ you see is the ‘YOU’ you will become. Therefore picture a great future to feature and desire a great ‘YOU’ to become and the almighty God will see to it that you have featured in the future you have pictured and have become the YOU, you have desired.

The writer is a Professor of Naturopathic Healthcare, currently pursuing the Bar professional course at the Gambia Law School, Banjul.