In 2008, my husband and I were overjoyed to learn that I was pregnant with our first baby. But in the 24th week of my pregnancy, I started experiencing preterm contractions and was hospitalized. We prayed fervently with our church friends and my condition stabilized with heavy medication and bed rest.

As the pregnancy progressed, I also experienced gestational diabetes and had a low-lying placenta, which increased the risk of preterm labor. But by God’s grace, the baby was kept safe inside my womb and born at 36 weeks. She was perfectly healthy and strong.

However, my husband and I felt worn out and disillusioned. We wondered why we had to go through such difficulties since we had been faithfully walking with and serving God for more than 15 years. We felt empty and angry with God.

In 2010, we received a few sermon DVDs from a friend who was attending New Creation Church (NCC in Singapore). Pastor Prince’s sermons changed our perspective of God and we began to receive God’s unconditional love. Our minds were renewed and we began to see that we did not need to strive to earn God’s favor, because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross.

After attending services at NCC, we decided to take a leap of faith and try for a second child. The trying times of being wheeled in and out of the hospital, and the heart-wrenching moments of not knowing whether our first baby would die if born premature, had caused us to fear trying for a second child.

Year after year, we would, as one of our 3 wishes, pray for a second child. We also stood to receive our blessing whenever Pastor Prince prayed for people to conceive. We took the Lord’s Supper daily and continued to declare that we would have a second child.

After 6 years, we were still unsuccessful, even though health checks showed we were perfectly normal. We continued to believe God for a miracle, even as I approached the age of 38. When we needed to relocate to be nearer to my daughter’s school, we bought a bigger place to prepare for a baby by faith. When we scrapped our old car, we bought a bigger car by faith. I even prayed for 2 colleagues who were barren for years and they conceived.

Then in 2016, the year of restoration, I finally conceived. Our joy soon turned to concern when I started bleeding and having preterm contractions at 18 weeks. This was even sooner than the first pregnancy. The former conditions of having a low-lying placenta and gestational diabetes reoccurred as well.

However, this time round, we approached these challenges with faith and the grace of God. We declared Psalm 91 and took the Lord’s Supper daily. Each time there was bleeding and preterm contractions, we would declare them as lying symptoms. We also declared that as Jesus was not born premature, our baby would be carried to full term.

I was on bed rest for almost 5 months. The journey was trying but God protected our baby from preterm birth. At the 37 week, on January 17, 2017, our baby was born. With 5 pushes, he was out. I had prayed that the delivery would be easy and fast.

God is indeed a God of restoration. This baby is a blessing. He is healthy and strong, and growing well, meeting all his developmental milestones early. God has also blessed me with a new job. Praise the name of Jesus. Hallelujah!