Edi Umoh
Dr. (Mrs.) Shade stunned congregation with a testimony of how she and her husband, Dr. Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), waited patiently for 14 years before their son was born.
Speaking during Wednesday Manna Water programme at International Headquarters, Lagos, Mrs. Olukoya recalled that like every newly married couple, they expected to welcome their first child within the usual period after marriage. However, their expectation turned into a prolonged season of waiting.
Mrs Olukoya likened their experience to that of the biblical Abraham and Sarah, saying God repeatedly assured them that their “Isaac” would come, and they remained steadfast in faith despite the delay.
Shade stated that during those years, many families who worshipped under their ministry testified to miraculous conceptions and childbirths through God’s intervention, while they continued to wait for their own miracle.
According to her, the situation became even more challenging as rumours and false stories circulated, including from people they trusted. Nevertheless, she said they refused to lose confidence in God’s promises.
She said the long wait tested their faith, but they held firmly to the conviction that God never fails in His word.
“Five years passed, then 10 years and beyond. It appeared as if it would never happen, but we knew that God is not a man that He should lie. Whatever He promises, He brings to pass,” she stated.
Dr Olukoya explained that her role as a wife is to help her husband by keeping him happy and engaged. “I play with my husband. I make him laugh every day, whether in the kitchen or elsewhere. After spending a lengthy time in church, he will come back again with loads of prayer requests and prayer letters that have been handwritten.”
“I mean, look at that. It’s all by God’s grace. So what do I do as a wife? Make him happy, play with him. We play like boys and girls. I tickle him, I do all that. Because I know that’s my own part. I’ve come to help. My job is to help. And for him to be happy while at work, you know, there’s some kind of chemical reactions that goes on in the body when a husband and wife who love themselves, when they are playing together, you know, there’s this chemical reaction that goes around the body that just makes everything so easy and light. I don’t joke with that. I take that as a personal thing, as a very important part of my office, as a helper.”
“Sometimes I try to pretend as if I can carry him. I try to lift him and he says, don’t break your back. Okay, so, I tell him, you carry me then. And so, you know, stuff like that. We laugh every day and we smile at things. We have discussions and all sorts. And we have our sober mood when we have to reflect on people’s life’s issues as well. We don’t take that lightly.
‘‘We pray together. We talk together. We reason together. And that has been very, very helpful for us in the journey of the ministry. So whether we are together or I’m somewhere, he’s somewhere, we are tightly knitted together. It is very, very important that two perfectly become one.
Reasoning together, understanding, knowing the pain of the other, knowing the strength of the other, managing this well and coming together to achieve one strong aim together. And then that helps both to complement one another. That, I think, is very, very good for everyone to think about.
”So, as you are aging in the journey, it’s biological. It is normal. We age, things change, but love grows. Love continues to grow no matter what the age is, regardless of circumstances and situations around that journey. But when love is kept in a position that is allowed to grow and it gets the right nurturing, it keeps both of you still youthful, youthful at heart and youthful in the love that used to radiate around you when you started. So, love won’t grow old. Rather, it grows younger and newer.
”And then it helps both of you also to be rejuvenated. It helps both of you to be youthful. You play sometimes and you forget about your age. And when somebody tells you your age, you say, no, no, no, no, I don’t believe that. Because you keep getting younger and younger. And that’s what it does. It helps you, you know, it actually puts some kind of beauty spell on you as well. That is what the presence of God brings. Since God is love, so that means a loveless life is a godless life. Let love grow. Let love take its place and fill its own space in that relationship. You’ll all be feeling younger and younger and more beautiful. And that is what the presence of God does for us through His love.”
She narrated: “The 14 years of my waiting upon the LORD for the fruit of the womb was my Jacobian times of trouble.”
“People said a lot of things. A lot of rumours were spread. Even those who are very close to me that we literally eat together said unthinkable things. There were times of discouragement, but thank God for my husband, Pastor and friend, Dr Daniel Olukoya who stood by me. Those 14 years were like 140 years.”
“In spite of my waiting on God, I still have to stand in gap for others. People approach me for all kinds of needs, even seeking prayers for the fruit of the womb while I also was waiting on God. It appeared as if His promises won’t come to pass. Finally, when God did it was like a dream.”
She explained. “The song Oke Nla, came into existence or was poured out the very day we had our son, Elijah, after waiting for many years…for 14 years. So, the day we had Elijah, it came when everything was fine, mother and child were okay. He prayed on me, he prayed on Elijah, then the nurses came to take the baby away and clean him up, and right there where he was standing, Oken Nla dropped in his spirit.
Mrs. Olukoya concluded her testimony with prayers for couples and individuals still trusting God for breakthroughs, declaring that their season of joy, fulfilment and manifestation would begin without delay.
“Rejoice, God has done it,” she affirmed, encouraging believers to remain unwavering in faith regardless of how long the wait may be.
