(Read the preceding part of this story on our website.)
(Part 2/2) In university, we used to have what we call the ‘Spiritual Week of Emphasis’ and prior to that I had listened to a tape from motivational speaker, Fela Durotoye where he talked about the ‘Spirit of excellence’. He talked about the seven Spirits of God in Isaiah 11. I started to desire the things I heard. Fela Durotoye was so descriptive about the role of the Holy Spirit in turning your life around. I was a year into my Christian walk at the time and said, ‘Lord, I want this.’
So I decided to go on a dry fast during the ‘Spiritual Week of Emphasis’, it was a three-day event. Each day we would have three sessions, and in-between the sessions I would go to the library to read. On the second day, because I was giving myself over to the fast, I wasn’t just fasting and chilling; I was fasting and exerting energy. By the second evening, I was extremely tired. I remember going for the evening session and I had to tell God to give me strength during praise and worship. It was then I heard God say, ‘I have answered you’ and that I should go and take a drink. I went downstairs to get a Ribena before the programme.
During the praise and worship, I knew something happened to me and from that moment everybody knew something had changed. This was before my first semester exams. During the exams, an exam that should last for 2 hours would be done for me in 45 minutes. The lecturers would tell me that, “If you don’t know what to write, sit down.” I graduated with a first class degree.
I believed in the power of the Holy Spirit – spiritual wisdom, understanding and counsel. I think counsel is key. It’s like divine direction. I literally know what I need to do and see clearly what I am to do.