Fasting Testimony

More than Just a Job

February 6, 2019

Naj used to work in a company where almost all employees have temporary or project-based contracts. She already left two years ago, but God somehow brought her back to the same workplace. This year, God surprised her by showing exactly what His plan was all along.

I am an engineer by profession. I used to work in a company where almost all employees have project-based contracts. Two years ago, I left that company and found myself in another firm that has regularization options for their staff.

My new company is near Victory Pioneer, so when I transferred there, I started to become active in church again. I volunteered for the ushering ministry, and everything seemed to be going well—until I got an unexpected call from my former company last year.

I was told through phone that my former company was hiring again, and it hoped to employ those who used to work there before. Knowing its regularization process, I was settled to say no; I knew I wouldn’t trade the stability that my new company gave.

So I prayed hard to God and asked Him to help me decide. A few months later, I got a call again from my former company. Instead of a temporary contract, they offered probationary employment. It was something I never thought was even possible.

During our midyear prayer and fasting week last year, I asked for clear direction from God. And His answer to me was “yes.” Though I had doubts and I also had to let go of the stability I already found in my new company, I followed what I believed God was asking me to do.

When I accepted the offer and started working again in my former company, God slowly revealed to me why I was brought back there. I remembered that it was in that office where I was reached out by a former colleague. Just a few months before I resigned in 2016, a workmate invited me to join their group. She helped me in my walk with God through ONE 2 ONE and guided me until I publicly declared my faith during Victory Weekend.

When I came back, I found out that the old group that I used to join two years ago is still there and active. Before, I was the only female in our team, but now, there are a lot of female employees in our company—and they are also in need of someone who will minister to them. God made it clear to me that being planted in that office is more than just a work opportunity but an avenue to fulfill His purpose. As such, not long after, I started doing the exact same thing that my former colleague had done for me. I am currently going through ONE 2 ONE with one of my workmates and humbly sharing the love of Christ to her. God’s turning point for me turned out to be a twist filled with so much purpose.

Aside from giving me the privilege to advance His kingdom by sharing His Word to others, God also answered a little prayer in my heart. On January 11, 2019 (right after the prayer and fasting week), my manager informed me of my regularization in the company. It was like God taking away every bit of doubt and worry in my heart and just reassuring me that He is with me as I obey. There is nothing sweeter than that.

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Proverbs 19:21

God always has a bigger plan for everything. And we also have a purpose that is way bigger than what our jobs entail. Our main job on earth is to share God’s Word and show His love to the people around us. It is a job like no other; it is humbling and very fulfilling.

Holding Fast While Waiting

February 1, 2019

How can we continue to believe with great faith while waiting for our prayers to be answered? Be inspired as Gloryfe shares her powerful testimony of faith and courage to believe for great things while waiting for God to heal her son from hypotonia.

My son has hypotonia. It is a medical word for low muscle tone. He is already one year old, but he still cannot sit on his own—and there is no sign of him walking anytime soon.

When he was born, the doctors immediately noticed that there is something wrong with him. Unlike most babies, he does not move a lot, and his body feels limp when held. His doctors recommended several tests, but they were unable to determine the real cause of his condition.

The whole situation was difficult for me and my husband. My husband, who was not yet a Christian then, had a hard time accepting the fact that something is wrong with our baby. But through this rough patch, he developed an earnest desire to seek God and hear from Him. He eventually made the decision to follow Christ and went through Victory Weekend last year.

After my husband accepted Christ, he and I found renewed courage to face our family’s situation. We made our son, Matt, participate in physical therapy sessions to help reverse the effects of his condition. It is difficult, but I know in my heart that Matt is slowly getting there, and God will strengthen him every day.

Despite our situation, God gave me the confidence to not lose hope. I know that through all this, He will provide for all our needs. The cost of my son’s medicines and therapy sessions may be overwhelming, but God will surely meet all of them. I am also claiming that no other delay or disorder will be diagnosed as we complete all the tests and examinations for Matt.

As my family and our church community in Victory Ortigas continue to pray for my son, my faith in God deepens and grows as well. God impressed in my heart that the name we gave to our son, Matt Zion, declares who He is and the faith that we have in Him.

More than anything, I really praise God for strengthening my faith through His Word. My son did not have instant progress or healing during the fasting, but I gained the faith that will sustain me as I continue to believe for the best. The “great faith” that I have now is a miracle and a breakthrough in itself. And for that, I am really thankful to God. All the glory belongs to Him alone.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. Psalm 125:1

Even as we wait for our prayers to be answered, we can hold fast to God and believe for great things. God is working in our waiting, and as we wait, let us allow His promises to increase our faith and give us the courage to face each day with so much hope.

34 Years Later

January 25, 2019

If our prayers do not get answered right away, will we continue to trust God? Read how June waited for more than three decades to finally meet her father and be reunited with him. Here is her inspiring testimony.

I was only two years old when my father left me and my mom. When I turned 11, I started asking about my dad, but my mom would always refuse to talk about what had happened. Because of that, there had been an eagerness in my heart to see him and ask all the questions I had been asking myself all these years.

In 2001, I found my dad’s social media account and learned that he lives in the United States. We started communicating through email, but a few things happened here and there, which further widened the gap between us. I started to harbor resentment against him because of that.

When I went through Victory Weekend in January 2014, my resentment against my father came out. I tried to ignore it, but a few years later, while I was going through a counseling session, my abandonment and rejection issues resurfaced. Unable to take it any longer, I made a resolve to finally deal with all the hatred and unforgiveness in my heart. During our time of prayer and fasting last year, I asked God to make a way for me to see my father. I wanted to finally meet him and tell him all the hurts and pains that I had been struggling with all along.

I knew that releasing forgiveness is a process, and I couldn’t do it overnight. In August last year, while praying to God, the Holy Spirit prompted me to finally release the hatred I had been harboring in my heart for years. I cried out to God and let it all out. A month after that, an opportunity for me to go to the US came about. I knew it was the chance I had been waiting to get since I was kid, but I knew I did not have the resources to go there anytime soon. I prayed hard to God and even fasted about it.

Not long after, my half-sister in the US told me that she and her husband were willing to pay for my round trip ticket—and my family’s, too. (I am now married with two kids.) She offered a place for us to stay and even arranged a surprise meeting for me and my dad. I was beyond grateful. I knew it was God working through them. As if that were not enough, God also provided for my family’s visa expenses through my mother-in-law. Our interview went on smoothly and we were granted a ten-year multiple entry visa to the US.

Finally, on June 20, 2018, we flew to San Francisco and stayed in Tracy, California. My dad drove all the way from Vallejo to Tracy on the day of our arrival. We were all excited but at the same time anxious. After 34 years, I finally met him. We hugged each other, and he whispered “I love you” to me. I did not know what to say for a while because it all felt surreal. It felt as if all the hatred in my heart melted at that moment.

During our brief stay in the US, God made a way for me and my father to have a heart-to-heart talk. He said sorry, and we both cried. I learned about what had happened when he left us, and hearing everything straight from him somehow pieced together the puzzle in my head.

Until now, I am still in awe of how God worked in our midst and made a way for me to finally be healed from all the bitterness and hatred I had kept in my heart for years. God is not just a healer of illnesses. He is a healer of relationships.

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10

God can heal the wounds in our hearts. He makes all the pain-filled parts new with His love. We can surrender all our broken parts to the Lord and allow His grace to restore every ailing piece.

Biggest Breakthrough

January 16, 2019

Edlyn Celestial of Victory Antipolo shares how her long-ago prayer was answered last year and became her biggest breakthrough to date.

I came to know Christ eight years ago. One of our campus missionaries in U-Belt shared the gospel with me, and not long after, I made a decision to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

Since then, for the past eight years, I would pray and fast at the start of each year and believe God for my family’s salvation. I wanted them to experience the same joy I felt when I came to know Christ. As such, since 2010, my faith goal had always been the same: to see my entire family in one church, choosing to follow Jesus.

In 2016, Victory planted a church in Antipolo. Though it is just five minutes away from our place, it was not until May 13, 2018 (Mother’s Day) that I mustered the courage to invite my family to our worship service. Not knowing what to expect, I was filled with overwhelming joy when my father responded to the challenge of the pastor at the end of the message. I had no idea that a big part of my long-ago prayer would be answered that day.

After accepting Christ in his life and going through Victory Weekend in August, my dad took different discipleship classes to grow more in his walk with God. His bold act of faith eventually inspired my mom and my younger brother, too. Just three months later, they also made a decision to follow Jesus; they finished their Victory Weekend last November.

After eight years of praying and waiting, my long-awaited faith goal became my biggest breakthrough to date—and since then, there have been many more. Currently, even my uncle’s family is regularly attending a worship service in Victory Antipolo; he and his wife are also now part of a couples’ Victory group.

Though I never saw it coming and lost faith countless times, God proved to me that He had never forgotten His promise.

And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. Acts 16:31

God’s gift of salvation indeed extends to us all—it is made available to anyone who has faith in Him. Let us not grow tired of praying for our loved ones and believing God for breakthroughs this year.