Subtitle: A Mother’s Response to Harder Times and the Call to Prepare

Excerpt: Author shares personal testimony on preparing children for a challenging world, emphasizing obedience to God’s instructions.

Author: Ogo Cathern

Our world is quickly descending into madness.

You know it.
I know it.

But my question to you today is: how are you preparing?

When we came into 2026, during one of my times of prayer, the Lord impressed on my heart that the situation we see on the ground will get worse.

He said — and I quote —
“The times will get harder.”

Nothing anybody wants to hear, especially if you are a mom of small children.

The Bible already foretold these times.

2025 was a year of many disappointments and setbacks — at least for me. So hearing that 2026 would require us to brace for impact made me realize that I had been focusing on the wrong thing.

The Word: “Prepare”

In 2024, the Lord gave my husband a word:
“Prepare.”

We heard it.
We said Amen.

And we interpreted it with our limited minds, reducing it to our immediate concerns and needs — instead of warring with the word until we gained deeper understanding.

Lesson: never take any word from God lightly.

Once it comes, pray over it. Meditate on it until the limitations of your mind give way.

I know that’s not what you want to hear. And if you follow some of these feel-good preachers, this is something you really don’t want to hear.

But it is the truth.

You have aspirations for your life, as every logical person should. However, when dealing with God, logic can be a pitfall.

As wonderful as your aspirations are, you will often have to choose between them and God. Because most times, they stand between you and complete obedience.

I say all this to wake you up to what I am about to say.

Just like my family, the Lord is calling you to prepare — to put your house in order.

“Homeschool Ngozi”

In 2022, on a regular day running errands, I heard the Lord almost audibly:

“Homeschool Ngozi.”

I knew it was the Lord — no doubts there. But it wasn’t received well.

Not because I didn’t know the issues within the school system. Not because I didn’t understand the benefits of training a child in the way they should go.

But I had one big issue: me.

My aspirations.

I wasn’t getting any younger. I needed time to accomplish them.

Before I came to God, I was the go-getter. I had a clear picture of what I wanted my life to be and the determination to accomplish it.

So I thought.

Until God humbled me and stripped me of everything.

Nonetheless, my aspirations were the only thing I had left — and subtly, I held onto them.

I would quietly renegotiate terms with God about homeschooling.

I’m not a teacher.
I’m not patient.
She won’t learn because I’m her mother.

Needless to say, I wasn’t able to convince God to change His mind.

But something happened that changed the way I approached parenting and responsibility forever.

The Spirit of Rebellion

Sometime in 2023, my daughter — then about two — began behaving in a way that wasn’t typical of “terrible twos.”

There was a level of defiance we couldn’t explain.

We casually prayed but explained it away.

It’s normal child behavior.
She’ll outgrow it.

But our spirit knew this was more than what met the eye.

One weekend, while I was praying, the Lord instructed me to set aside three hours to pray with my husband.

We didn’t know why, but we obeyed.

On Sunday after church, we began praying. Everything seemed normal until we reached the two-hour mark.

Then a loud scream.

Hysterical crying from our daughter.

My husband went to attend to her while I continued praying, asking the Lord what was happening.

Then He spoke:

“It’s the spirit of rebellion.”

He revealed it had entered through contact with another child at church.

When He mentioned the child’s name, I remembered a conversation with her mother. She once told me:

“Only in church is she sweet. At home she is mean and always causing chaos.”

At the time, I didn’t grasp the magnitude of what she was saying.

But in that moment, it made sense.

I told my husband what the Lord revealed. We called the spirit by name and cast it out in Jesus’ name.

Immediately, she became calm.

That level of defiance has never returned.

The Anointing

After that, the Lord instructed us to make an anointing oil and anoint our children before leaving the house.

Usually on their foreheads. Sometimes also on their hands and feet — speaking over the work of their hands and declaring their feet remain on the narrow path.

Scripture shows us the power of anointing:

• “It shall come to pass… that his burden shall be taken away… and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.” (Isaiah 10:27)
• “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders … and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.” (James 5:14)

This is a starting point.

Pay attention to the Holy Spirit. He will give you specific prayers for your children.

If you are a mother — whether your children are small or grown — I pass this wisdom to you as I received it from the Lord.

Make an anointing oil for daily use before dropping them at school or before they step out to work.

Today Paul’s testimony has become mine:

“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable.” (1 Corinthians 6:12)

I can do many things.

But not all things are profitable.

And in this hour, obedience is what is profitable.

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