My Encounters with God

Trusting in the Lord One Friday in 1996, in Accra, Ghana, I went to a clinic for an antenatal visit. I was surprised to be met by a doctor I was seeing for the very first time. He was standing in for my gynaecologist who was away. After examining me, he told me that the baby was breech and that a C-Section was required immediately. I was completely taken aback by the news. Filled with discouragement, I went to the waiting room and begun pouring my heart out to God. As I was waiting to hear the Lord speak to me, like David “ I will hear what God the Lord will speak” (Psalm 85:1); a nurse came and took me to the labor ward in a wheelchair, where I was to be prepared for the theatre. Though my mood switched from panic to fear, with a trembling hand, I signed the necessary documents, thus formally consenting to the surgery and I kept praying earnestly to God to come to my rescue and turn the baby to the right position. Just as I was bringing my prayer to a close, two nurses came to escort me to the theatre. At the entrance, my right leg lifted by itself, reaching the door handle, preventing the door from opening. Then I heard this inner unmistakable voice, (God’s voice), saying: “Get up! Go and Pray”. I told the nurses that I needed to go and pray. I was helped out of the wheelchair in my theatre gown and I started walking without knowing where I was going. I found myself in an open space, with no idea how I got there. At that moment I felt nothing but the weight of the sky on my head, feeling like I could reach for it. It felt like the ground had disappeared from under me. I heard a loud voice saying: “speak, I am listening”. I prayed honestly, passionately and fervently to God. I told Him that I did not want to be operated upon, that I wanted to have a normal delivery. When I finished praying, I went back to the labour ward and lay quietly down with the firm assurance that the Lord had answered my prayer. A few moments later, the surgeon came to my room all panicky, overwhelming me with questions about my whereabouts and my state of mind among others, also cautioning me about the risks involved in delaying the C-Section. Trusting in God’s uplifting grace, I asked to be reexamined, which the surgeon did and later confirmed that the C-Section was no longer necessary as the baby had turned to normal position. I was extremely delighted by the news because the Lord had answered my prayer. The surgeon could not believe it! He helped me out of my bed and walked me to the labour room where the whole team was impatiently waiting for us to start the procedure. They were all astonished when the surgeon asked me to tell him whenever I feel the urge to push. It just took me one little push with zero pain and my baby boy was born. The surgeon then asked: “Please Madam, where are you from and what did you do? This is my first experience of such a miracle in my fifteen years as an obstetrician-gynaecologist”. I replied: “I went out to pray to Almighty God, asking Him to turn the baby”. I prayed to the God who rules over all things, the God who answers sincere prayers. Astounded, the surgeon listening with wonder sighed and said: “This was certainly not a simple prayer, it must have been a very powerful one!”. He jokingly added, “Madam, since you give birth with such ease, I encourage you to have twenty children”. The miracle performed by the Lord at the clinic by allowing me to give birth normally, when the doctor was convinced that a C-section was required, positively impacted the lives of all the people around me, especially the medical staff who have undoubtedly understood that the God I serve can do the impossible. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commentary The encounter above tells us that God still speaks to believers today as He did in the past. We have the assurance that He listens to us and that He is willing to give us what we ask for according to his will. “ And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. (1 John 5:14-15 NLT). Take away Remember that the same God that performed miracles that we read about in the Bible, is the same God that lives today. He can perform miracles in your life like in did for me, all you need to have is faith in Him and His mighty power. “Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land.” (Exodus 14:21 NLT) It is indeed very easy to say trust in the Lord and always have faith that He will always rescue you but it can be extremely challenging at times like it was for me before this miracle in 1996. A few years earlier I had given birth to a beautiful baby girl who did not survive the first month of life in September 1995. This was very difficult and trying period for me. I wondered where and what I had done wrong. Going through this with my second child was indeed nerve-racking. I pondered can I put my trust in the Lord and will He come through for me. But as David said: “This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him” (Psalm 91:2 NLT).