Tuesday, 10^th October 2023

Bible Reading: Isaiah 43: 2-3

Memory Verse: The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you. Psalm 9: 9-10 (NLT)

Terry Gobanga shared her true life story. “My fiance, Harry, and I were very excited – we were getting married in Nairobi and I had rented a beautiful dress. But the night before the wedding I realized that I had some of Harry’s clothes, including his cravat. He couldn’t show up without a tie, so a friend who had stayed the night offered to take it to him first thing in the morning. We got up at dawn and I walked her to the bus station.

As I was making my way back home, I walked past a guy sitting on the bonnet of a car – suddenly he grabbed me from behind and dumped me in the back seat. There were two more men inside, and they drove off. It all happened in a fraction of a second. A piece of cloth was stuffed in my mouth. I was kicking and hitting out and trying to scream.

When I managed to push the gag out, I screamed: “It’s my wedding day!” That was when I got the first blow. One of the men told me to “co-operate or you will die”. The men took turns to rape me. I felt sure I was going to die, but I was still fighting for my life, so when one of the men took the gag out of my mouth I bit his manhood.

He screamed in pain and one of them stabbed me in the stomach. Then they opened the door and threw me out of the moving car.  I was miles from home, outside Nairobi. More than six hours had passed since I had been abducted. A child saw me being thrown out and called her grandmother. People came running.

When the police came they tried to get a pulse, but no-one could. Thinking I was dead, they wrapped me in a blanket and started to take me to the mortuary. But on the way there, I choked on the blanket and coughed. The policeman said: “She’s alive?” And he turned the car around and drove me to the biggest government hospital in Kenya.  I arrived in great shock, murmuring incoherently.

My heart goes out to many who have been a victim of rape. Hear me: You are not alone. There are people who have walked down that painful lane just like you are. Don’t keep silent. Ask for help. Imagine you bottle up a cankerworm in your belly for too long. It destroys the more. There is hope for you. 

Quote: Your pain is the badge of the testament of your future honour. Let God use it. 

Prophetic Decree: Not all negative things are demonic but all demonic things are negative. All things work together for our good.

Prayer Focus

1. Heal my pain O Lord, and I shall be healed.

2. O Lord, please deliver me from the mental torture of (rape, jilt, guilt, self-condemnation), in Jesus name.

3. Wisdom to navigate life, O Lord, bestow upon me in Jesus name.

4. Balm of Gilead sooth my pain, in Jesus name.

5. I receive grace to forgive myself, forgive the rapists, and accept the forgiveness of God, in Jesus name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Matthew 5-7