I struggled with keeping my faith in NS. Although I was growing in my relationship with God, people all around me couldn’t understand why I liked to pray for the sick and hurting. They assumed I was naïve and immature, seeking my own glory. That I was misrepresenting Jesus by praying for miracles.

Discouraged, I soon stopped acting on the prompting of the Spirit and lost the audacious faith I once had to pray for injured knees and twisted backs. But at the FOPx Born Conference last year, Pastors Glyn Barrett and Andy Harrison spoke about rising up and seizing our identity and purpose in Christ, to walk worthy of the calling that God has called us to.

I was reminded that we are a new creation in Christ. Who God says who we are in Him trumps whatever Satan tries to make us out to be. And as long as we avail ourselves, God can use us. So at the altar call during the first afternoon session, I surrendered my life back to Jesus and gave Him permission to once more do whatever He wanted with my life.

My one and only request was that He would be clear to me.

At around 9pm on the second day of the conference, I received a text informing me that my friend had hit by a car while cycling. His legs were in a lot of pain and he was rushed to the A&E. Thankfully, he was conscious and didn’t suffer any severe injuries.

Although I wanted to stay till the end of the conference, I felt a small tugging within my heart to visit my friend in the hospital. So I took a cab down, and told God that I would surrender how I thought it was all going to play out, and I asked the Spirit to guide me step by step.

I found my friend in a wheelchair at the hospital. His legs were in serious pain. We spoke for a while, and then I asked if I could pray for the leg that wasn’t so severely injured … I didn’t have enough faith to pray for the other one yet. One step at a time, right?

As the story of Elijah praying for rain is one I hold on to dearly, I made it a point not to stop praying until something happened (1 Kings 18:44). Though I prayed up to four times, nothing seemed to be happening. My friend and his friend waited in silence. I was getting more and more discouraged!

At that moment, the Holy Spirit prompted me to pray for his other leg. It was very badly injured and he couldn’t move it or touch it without wincing in pain.

But by then, there was nothing much to lose, so I mustered up the courage and asked if I could pray for that leg. My friend agreed.

When we avail ourselves to the call of God and align ourselves to His heart – He moves.

This time, the Holy Spirit took over and began to put words into my prayer. I found myself praying through the Gospel, how God loved us so much that He didn’t even spare His own Son – how God loved my friend so much, was for him and not against him.

Then touching my friend’s leg, I asked him how felt. He didn’t flinch or even respond to my prodding. I pressed harder, but he said he didn’t feel any pain at all. Emboldened, I held his shin, raising it up and down, and still he insisted there was no more pain. God had done something!

What I learnt that night was that when we avail ourselves to the call of God and align ourselves to His heart – He moves. This incident will forever be a testimony in my life and continue to remind me of God’s goodness and love for me.

From the outset, FOPx always stood for something bigger than just a national youth conference. I’ve attended almost every FOP event since I was 10, having fallen in love with seeing the Church worship her King as one.

The heart of this year’s FOPx Surrender Conference is Isaiah 6:8. We stand at a new frontier: A rising tide of young people, with fire in their eyes and passion in their bones, ready to run into the world to heal, mend, keep and love.

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

FOPx will be taking place on November 23-25, 2017. It will be held at Trinity Christian Centre (Days 1 and 2) and Bethesda Cathedral (Day 3). Tickets are priced at $40 per person and you can get them here. Speakers include Lou Engle (co-founder of TheCall), Ben Fitzgerald (Director of Godfest Ministries) and various local Senior Pastors.