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| Apostle Ayo Babalola |
A revivalist and prayer enthusiast, Ayo Babalola’s revivals of the 1950s were awesome. Born on April 25, 1904. his death ‘day’ was an unforgettable moment than his birthday. Not many can give an account of the great Evangelist-General of the Christ Apostolic Church like those who witnessed it in 1959. Here, Prophet I.O Ogedegbe
gives this account:
“Until his sudden
departure to glory on Sunday, 26th July, 1959, Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola
showed no sign of illness. On Friday 24th July, he returned to Ibadan to attend
the general council’s meeting slated for that day. On Saturday morning, 25th
July, Apostle Babalola conducted the Morning Prayer for ministers and members
living in the vicarage of C.A.C. Olugbode, Ibadan and prayed for everybody.
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| His mountain of prayers |
The same day, he
sent two of his followers, Michael and another fellow to me at Ede that I
should prepare a place for him to sleep. I never knew he was talking of his
final sleep. Apostle Ayo Babalola arrived Ede around 6:30 in the evening that
Saturday and he was gladly received. Before his arrival, I had prepared my
bedroom ready for him.
We ensured that
nobody was allowed to rush into the bedroom with him; for it was Apostle
Babalola’s habit that he never turned away anybody who came to him for prayer
and counselling, no matter how weary he might be. After prayer, I informed him
that his meal was ready. He declined to take any meal but requested to be
allowed to have some sleep, because he had been holding series of meetings
since the past nine days with little or no rest. He woke up three hours later
and took some tea and slept off again.
At 4a.m. on Sunday 26th, he woke up, took his
bath, took some tea and had his morning meditation without any disturbance. At
6 o’clock, I went to him in the bedroom and he began to talk about a great
convention which will soon be held at his hometown, Odo-Owa. He was speaking in
parables, so I did not suspect that he was talking about his approaching death.
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| Babalola’s great revivals of the 1930s |
He directed me
to call in Prophet Babajide who was in the adjacent room. Both of us knelt down
beside his bed and he began to narrate to us how he began his ministry. It was
such a sublime experience. Both of us just listened; we did not utter a single
word during the course of his narration. After this, we knelt down for prayer.
The three of us prayed and then…..
To be continued