Broke Free from Addiction, Life Completely Transformed

Pastor Prince, I grew up in a household where I knew how to appear perfect on Sundays and put on my best face to impress others. I was fluent in “Christianese” and could recite plenty of scriptures, though usually out of context. I felt like my life wasn’t real and was living on autopilot.

My relationship with God was fake. I only claimed to believe in Him because I didn’t want to go to hell. I was taught that God was only happy with me when I was living right and angry when I wasn’t. Every negative consequence was seen as God’s punishment. He wasn’t a friend, just a judge. I would often whisper, “Lord, forgive me for my sins. I accept you as my Savior,” just in case I got hit by a bus! I was trying to live according to the old covenant, which left me dead inside.

This distorted view of God led me to struggle with addictions for 7 years and fostered some terrible traits. Those teachings actually made my desire for sin stronger. But praise God! One day, my cousin read Destined to Reign. It had a radical impact on her, and she shared it with her sister, changing her life too. They tried to tell my brother and me about it, but I rejected it, telling them, “Get out of here with that blasphemy!”

Then, my cousins came to visit us for a holiday, and we talked about grace for hours. I still didn’t believe it, but my brother did. They left us with a copy of Destined to Reign. After they went home, I missed them so much. My cousin started calling me daily, and we read the book together.

Two weeks into reading Destined to Reign, I was shocked. Something I was addicted to had suddenly and effortlessly disappeared. This book radically changed me and inspired me to tell others about God’s true nature! I started a youth group with 20 teens, and it grew to over 200. This caused my mum to join a ministry to study God’s grace, and she is also forever changed. In fact, my family has not been the same.

God took away my attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), confusion, and fear so much so that I joined mixed martial arts (MMA) and also wanted to start more youth groups worldwide. He’s made me better in so many ways and has done so many things that I would be here forever explaining if I could. I was eighteen when I read your book, and I thank Jesus for your ministry. It will forever inspire mine.