A TRIBUTE TO A FATHER WHO GALVANIZED MY SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING (FAITH) AT 72
Happy 72nd Birthday, Bishop David Oyedepo
Today, I celebrate more than the birthday of a great servant of God. I celebrate a father, teacher, trailblazer and vessel whose ministry helped awaken my understanding of faith and gave expression to dimensions of God’s Word that have continued to shape my spiritual journey.
There are voices we hear and forget. There are sermons that inspire us for a moment. But occasionally, God allows a voice to enter our lives so deeply that its echoes remain with us across decades. Sir, your voice has been one of those voices in my life.
I remember hearing you preach at the Lekki ’98 Holy Ghost Festival of the RCCG, and the effect of your voice that night, mingling with the thundering waves of the sea, still lingers in my heart today. There was something beyond the sound of a preacher that night. For me, it was an encounter with a dimension of faith—a conviction that God’s Word is real, potent and capable of producing extraordinary results in the life of anyone who dares to believe it.
Years have passed, but that moment has never completely left me.
Since then, I have followed after your faith. I have listened to your teachings, studied the principles you have taught and read your books. Through them, my understanding of faith, vision, covenant, diligence, divine wisdom and the authority of God’s Word has been greatly enriched. And after observing your journey through the years, I can say with profound respect: your heartbeat for God is second to none.
What inspires me profoundly is not merely what God has placed in your hands, but the convictions upon which you have built your life. You have consistently demonstrated that faith is not passive expectation; it is an active response to the revealed Word of God. You have taught generations to confront impossibilities with revelation, to reject mediocrity, to think, to work, to pray and to believe God for what appears humanly impossible.
You taught us that “there is no mountain anywhere; every man’s ignorance is his own mountain.” That statement carries a challenge that has followed many of us through life: before blaming the mountain, seek light. Before surrendering to circumstances, search the Word. Before accepting impossibility, discover what God has said.
You taught us that “faith does not answer to wishes but to working.” Through your life and ministry, millions have seen an example of conviction accompanied by responsibility—prayer accompanied by action, vision accompanied by diligence, and faith accompanied by obedience.
At 72, your greatest testimony cannot simply be measured by buildings, institutions, crowds, books or visible accomplishments. It is also written in people. It is written in pastors who found courage through your teachings, entrepreneurs who discovered the dignity of productive thinking, young people who dared to dream, families strengthened by biblical principles, and believers across nations whose understanding of faith was transformed.
I am one of those people.
When a man's life causes another person to pursue God more passionately, believe His Word more confidently and approach destiny with greater conviction, that life has become more than a success story—it has become a legacy.
Today, therefore, I celebrate you with gratitude.
I celebrate the years of standing when standing was costly.
I celebrate the discipline behind the public results.
I celebrate the sacrifices that generations benefiting from the fruits may never fully know.
I celebrate your uncompromising confidence in the integrity of Scripture.
And above all, I celebrate your passion for God and for the advancement of His Kingdom.
As you mark 72 years, my prayer is that the Lord who called you, sustained you and caused your voice to reach nations will continue to strengthen you. May your latter years carry even greater spiritual fruitfulness. May your strength be renewed, your joy overflow, and may generations yet unborn encounter God through the seeds you have planted.
May the wisdom accumulated through decades of walking with God become an inheritance for another generation. May sons and daughters across the nations carry the fire of faith, integrity, excellence and Kingdom advancement even farther.
And may the voice that I first heard against the unforgettable backdrop of the thundering waves at Lekki in 1998 continue to echo—not merely through microphones, but through transformed lives across the earth.
Happy 72nd Birthday, Bishop David Oyedepo.
The greatest monuments to a father's life are not structures standing on the ground, but convictions standing in the hearts of his sons and daughters.
Your labour has become somebody else's light.
Mine included.
With profound honour, gratitude and prayers for many more fruitful years.
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