The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure Senior Reporter—
“BE who God has called you to be. I was not called to be someone else, but I was called to be myself, a reincarnated version of Moses of this generation.”These were the words of Reverend Peter Shokobishi, a rising prophetic phoenix who is drawing large crowds in Rusape.
His pulpit has less glitz and scripted sparkle, but ooze messy, raw, honest, tear-stained gospel from a broken heart that is aflame with Holy Spirit.
Prophet Shokobishi, the founder of Life Ministries International, said his mission was to cleanse humanity from any form of defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of God. He said by allowing God to speak through them, in turn, he is squirming in holy agony.
As both pastor and recognised prophet, Prophet Shokobishi has an extremely detailed, but also a birds-eye view of what it means to be in the ‘Office of a Prophet.’
This is the mark of a person who has humility.“It takes knowledge, understanding and wisdom to articulate your own purpose and to simultaneously do this while putting fame under the feet. Being a prophet is both a glorious and a horrifying responsibility. Only those who prophesy and preach under anointing of the Holy Spirit and impart the very truths of Christ get so dangerously close to Him, and reveal his will,” explains Prophet Shokobishi, adding that when God looks at a person, He does so with great, boundless and superabundant love.
“Prophets are born, not made. I was born a prophet. When Moses entered Pharaoh’s house, he could eat and put on Pharaoh’s clothes, though he was a Hebrew. But there came a time came when he was old and refused to be called the son of Pharaoh. It was at that point that Moses decided to stand for his name, identity, his call, and mission.
“I was born a prophet, it is only a shift from the title pastor to prophet, not that I become, but was born one. I realised it when I was young and I recall on one occasion as I drew closer to a certain girl in the street, God instructed me to rebuke her from her wicked ways. The Spirit informed me that the girl had just fornicated with a married man and when I called and asked her why she was doing that, she wondered how I got to know about it and started crying. She confessed her sins. Also before my mother died, she told me that when she gave birth to me, a man who she could not identify or trace, approached and told her that ‘the baby (him) was not an ordinary person and required extra-ordinary care’,” he said.“The call started when I was very young, but could not interpret it. When I was 12, I would preach before an empty closed room and people would peep through windows to watch me. I wanted to be a businessman, but God continued speaking to me through visions. One night I saw God in the form of a towering being, I could not detect his face, but the seam of his garment and feet, saying, ‘Peter, why are you wasting time loitering in the streets, you are supposed to Shepherd my flock’. The voice said ‘you are like Moses; you have a calling and purpose to deliver people from slavery, poverty, ignorance, sickness’. I am like a Moses to this generation, and I knew from that day that God will be with me and I will see his hand in my life and ministry,” said Prophet Shokobishi.
When asked why he took all his time to heed God’s calling, Prophet Shokobishi said he did not find ministry work rewarding.
“I looked at the lifestyles of pastors and noted that they were struggling, so looking at them, the fear of starvation made me hesitant,” said Prophet Shokobishi.
Prophet Shokobishi then enrolled at Living Waters Theological Seminary in Harare and his fears became a rude-awakening reality.“Life was not easy at college; I struggled to pay fees and fend for my family since I had left work. Physically and materially it was a challenge, but I soldiered on through the grace of God and I finished my studies in 2014. In 2015, God spoke to me that I was supposed to launch a ministry which I did on October 23, 2015 and was successful despite the financial and material challenges. What pushed me into this ministry is the fear and obedience of God. If God had not spoken I would not have started this ministry. I only responded to the voice of God. God pushed me out to start Life Ministries International, it was divine oriented, and his signs and wonders are manifesting,” explained Prophet Shokobishi.Since October 23, numerically, his church has grown.About 800 souls attended his launch and the next day he had an overflow.To date membership has spilled into thousands.He has performed several miracles, outstanding ones being healing of a woman with liver cirrhosis, a cancer patient and another with an ulcer wound on the thigh, among others.Prophet Shokobishi has set focus on construction of a 15 000-seater cathedral in Rusape. “God will supply,” he argued, quoting Ephesians 3verse 20.He will use his contacts abroad and local partners to fund the construction. Prophet Shokobishi was born on April 8, 1982 and did his primary education at St Joseph’s Primary School before enrolling for his secondary at St Joseph’s High in Rusape. On completion, he studied marketing and worked for several companies as a marketing executive. He married Juliet in 2008 and the couple is blessed with two flowers –Othniel and Ariel.“God is with me and has already set me on a horse. I want to urge Zimbabweans to seek God fervently. Prayer is the front line when we do spiritual warfare, it is where we win or lose the battle. Prayer makes the difference between success or failure, power or weakness, and life or death. The most powerful and effective prayers are when we pray in the Spirit, that is speaking God’s words through your mouth, calling forth His will upon the earth as it is in heaven. Praying in the Spirit is Spirit led prayer, it is the Holy Spirit interceding through you for people and situations on earth,” said Prophet Shokobishi.
