BY RITA OYIBOKA
THERE is a saying in the Nigerian Christian community: “when God is at work, miracles happen.” But what happens when the quest for these miracles becomes an event in itself?
The search for divine intervention is an undeniable part of the Christian experience in Nigeria, but this search, fueled by hope, faith, and sometimes desperation, often turns into a spectacle that stirs both awe and introspection.
At the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, Delta State, a sizable crowd had gathered, eager for what promised to be a transformative experience—The Day of His Power, a Healing and Deliverance Crusade. Organised by Dr. Paul and Dr. (Mrs.) Becky Enenche, senior pastors of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, the event ran from Thursday 14th to Friday 15th November 2024. Sessions were scheduled daily at 9:00 AM at the Dome Event Centre and 5:30 PM at the Asaba Stadium, with anticipation running high for what would unfold.
By noon on Thursday, the grand preparations were underway. As the day wore on, a sense of expectation gripped the air, mingling with the hum of excited chatter. Chairs were arranged on the grassy expanse, the stage was being meticulously set up, and buses bearing hopeful attendees from places as far as Imo State rolled into the venue. The scene resembled a mass pilgrimage, only this time, the faithful came not to bow before a shrine, but to receive a touch from the man of God.
By 5:30 PM, the stadium was nearly full. Men, women, and youths, some hobbled by physical ailments, others in good health, poured in. Security personnel were stationed strategically, guarding the perimeter, while vendors offered spiritual items like olive oil and headgear outside the venue. The air buzzed with excitement as attendees jostled for the best seats, hoarding chairs like prized possessions, well aware that soon, every inch of space would be occupied. On stage, the choir embers dressed in vibrant red prepared to lead the audience into what they hoped would be an evening of profound change.
As the sun began to dip and dusk settled, the choirs broke into song, their voices rising in unison, reaching up into the heavens. The crowd swayed, clapped, and shouted, their fervour growing with each passing moment.
Then, Profit Okebe, his voice a melody of divine connection, graced the stage with a powerful performance. But it was Chioma Jesus who truly took the atmosphere to another level. As her voice reverberated through the stadium, the crowd began to react in the only way they knew how, by rolling on the floor, some clutching their bodies in fervent prayer, others shaking, screaming, and moving in what could only be described as a state of spiritual ecstasy.
And then, as if the heavens had opened, Dr. Paul Eneche made his entrance. His presence was magnetic, his demeanor serene. The air grew still as he picked up a flute-like instrument, filling the stadium with a calmness that settled over the crowd like a soft blanket.
But that tranquility was soon replaced by something far more powerful. The healing and deliverance began.
One by one, the healing ministration and testimonies began. A woman, wearing a cervical collar around her neck, rose from her seat, removed the collar, and took a hesitant step without her walking stick. Her journey wasn’t one of perfection, she was still bent, her movements painful, but it was enough to send ripples of astonishment through the crowd. “For the first time in over eight months,” she said, “I can look back.”
Then came the story of a man, once paralyzed by a stroke, who now lifted his still-bent arm through the power of the man of God’s anointing. A deaf woman, healed after losing hearing in her right ear from a violent slap two years ago, joined Enenche on stage, dancing with her daughter. Each testimony, each healing, built on the next, creating an atmosphere thick with expectation.
Another woman who had suffered from a “locked” neck for years, was overjoyed to find she could move her head once more, something she hadn’t been able to do in ages. She shared that since 2000, her right shoulder had been dislocated, but as the pastor ministered, she heard crackling sounds in her bones as they clicked back into place. Grateful for her miracle, she began dancing on stage in celebration.
A man, whose shoulder had been immovable for five years, was now able to stretch it freely. Meanwhile, another man, who had dislocated his shoulder while playing football 13 years ago, also received his healing during the service.
There were more, asthmatic patients, nine of them, once reliant on their inhalers, now breathing freely… in that moment. Another woman, suffering from sickle cell anemia, testified that her long-standing pain disappeared after the ministrations.
But perhaps the most striking moment came when the man of God declared that her sickle cell (SS) genotype would be transformed to AA. The crowd erupted in excitement, and their faith visibly strengthened. The miracle, it seemed, wasn’t just in the healing, but in the miraculous suspension of biology itself. And then, a woman who had entered with a walker stood before the crowd, seemingly unburdened, taking cautious steps, though still with a little help from a young man. Another woman, as if by sheer will, slowly and excruciatingly pushed her wheelchair toward the stage as her healing came upon her in stages. Also wrapped in a lumbar corset, she received her healing and discarded it, quickly receiving a hug from Mrs. Enenche. And then there was the woman, once bent in agony, who suddenly straightened up and, without missing a beat, lifted her walker high above her head. The crowd, predictably, erupted in applause.
Many others lifted their walking sticks and crutches as the miraculous encounter overtook them. Was it a moment of pure divine intervention or simply the power of collective belief? That, perhaps, was a question too deep for the evening’s energy. But for many, it didn’t matter. This was what they had come for, a glimpse into the miraculous, a brush with the divine.
The night ended with Dr. Eneche preaching from Acts 10:38, urging the crowd to embrace the full purpose of God’s power, which, he claimed, was meant to bring both physical relief and spiritual salvation. He then called for those who had not yet surrendered their lives to Christ to come forward, a final act of deliverance.
But while the event was undoubtedly moving, it was not without its shadows. Beneath the fervour and the enthusiasm, one could not help but wonder about the underlying motivations of those attending these healing crusades.
Was it a genuine search for divine intervention, a desperate clutch at hope, or both, as Nigeria leads the world in turning prayers into potential solutions for everything from health crises to empty plates?
As the last prayer was said and the stadium emptied, one could not escape the nagging thought: What does it mean to search for miracles? In a country where hope often feels like a currency, it’s easy to see why so many turn to these events, where the divine is promised as a solution to earthly woes.
But perhaps the real miracle lies not in the healing of ailments or the lifting of walkers, but in the faith that propels people to gather, to hope, and to believe that change is possible, even in a world that often seems indifferent to their struggles.
And so the search for miracles continues in Nigeria. It is a pursuit that mixes fervent faith with the spectacle of divine demonstrations. The healing crusades, filled with fervour and expectation, continue to draw millions to stadiums, open fields, and even more mundane locations eagerly searching for something extraordinary.
While some leave with their crutches in hand, others may leave questioning what they witnessed, but for all of them, the journey is marked by a hope that maybe, just maybe, they’ll be the next to experience a miracle.
For in a land where hope often feels as elusive as the answers to the most pressing questions of life, the quest for miracles is both a lifeline and a performance, woven together by a faith that, in itself, remains the greatest mystery of all.
