Prophecy and the human psyche
Bob was rushed to the hospital on a stretcher one Sunday evening with his face looking pale as he gasped for breath.
Something has triggered his asthma into motion and this time around, he needs more than his inhaler to stay alive.
After hours of medical attention, Bob finally calms down. He opens up to the medical staff that earlier on at Church that day, the visiting Prophet openly prophesied that he had seen Bob lying dead in a coffin.
Bob said shortly after Church service, he begun hallucinating and seeing some of his dead relatives. The fear of dying at a young age, he said, is what triggered his asthma attack.
After Bob’s recovery, he resolved never to become a victim of doom prophecies.
He set up an NGO to provide healing to all those traumatised by such prophetic utterances.
Bob also spearheaded a campaign that created awareness on the schemes propagated by fake Pastors to enslave the Christian populace.
The Human Psyche
In psychology, the human psyche is the totality of the human mind that helps us navigate through life. Psyche, in the original Greek word refers to our mind or soul.
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality states that the three levels of our personalities are the conscious mind, the subconscious mind, and the unconscious mind.
What we see, hear, feel and experience have huge effects on our mental processes and mental wellbeing. We may either process what we see, hear, fear and experience positively, negatively, or neutrally based on our psyche.
Prophecy and its effect on the psyche
Prophecy has a great hold on those it is directed at. This is so because it is seen to emanate from the spiritual realm and its effect is seen as profound and inescapable.
To a Christian, God speaks His truth to the mind of a prophet concerning a situation so that he can reveal the truth concerning the situation.
Prophecy can be private (restricted to an individual) or public (mostly to a nation). Prophecy can also take the form of a rebuke or a general instruction to either an individual or groups of people (or nation).
If the prophecy carries good news such as, passing an examination, getting a promotion at work or escaping death, it fills a person with peace, joy and a sense of fulfilment and victory.
On the other hand, if it is about failure, misfortune, or death, it can result in intense fear, panic, and anxiety and in some case, severe depression.
Ghanaians, have on many occasions been gripped with fear after some prophets took to various platforms to announce the death of some public figures.
Reverend Owusu Bempah, prophesied that the National Chief Imam will soon die which infuriated some Muslim youth. The pastor later apologized to the Chief Moslem Cleric who is still alive.
The sports and political space have also not been exempted from prophetic utterances.
Prophet Emmanuel Badu Kobi, Head and founder of Glorious Wave Church International, some months ago predicted a win for Brazil in the Copa America finals and a victory for England in the 2020 Euros finals, both prophecies, he said, were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
However, the prophecies failed. This made him the subject of intense mockery on the internet and compromised his credibility.
During a Sunday service on July 18, 2021, Prophet Badu Kobi explained that all his football prophecies had come to pass except the aforementioned.
“There is no football prophecy I have said which has never come to pass except these two, ” he fumed.
He added, “There is no prophet without a failed prophecy, are you God? They should show me one. If every prophecy has come to pass then every church member would have succeeded.”
He said those who bet on football matches should be blamed for what happened, adding that, these people decided to use God’s word to make money for themselves and since God is against gambling, He turned the prediction upside down.
Ahead of the 2020 General Elections in both Ghana and United States of America, Prophet Badu Kobi also prophesied that Donald Trump and John Mahama would win their reelection campaign, but these prophecies never came to pass. The late TB Joshua, the Nigerian Tele Evangelist, also prophesied that Hilary Clinton will win the United States elections which turned out to be false.
Reverend Albright Asiwome Banibensu, a licensed Psychologist, says prophecy may lead people to take actions that they otherwise would not take.
He said this happens when the person believed the prophecy and “sees no hope.”
“Since how we think influences how we feel and how we feel does influence how we behave, a person’s behaviour is sure to be impacted by prophecy. All these are as a result of what prophecy we hear, how we process it, and how we feel about it. Thus when prophecy is processed negatively or positive impacts our mental health,” he said.
He said in some instances, the manner in which prophecy should be delivered can be revealed to the Man of God in addition to what should be said.
Rev Banibensu, who is the National Vice President, Ghana Psychological Association (GPA), said however, the bottom-line was that Ministers of the Gospel must learn how to be merciful, operate with wisdom and speak the truth in love because ultimately, prophecy was supposed to draw people closer to God.
“A prophet should not prophesy to draw attention to himself. The Bible makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 14:32-33 that, ‘the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace…’ To this end, prophecy should not result in chaos but should ultimately result in peace,” he said.
He said if the simple rules of prophesying the truth with mercy, in wisdom and to achieve peace were adhered to, prophetic utterances would cause less psychological damage.
Secondly, Rev Banibensu said once a prophecy was spoken, it meant that God did not want the fearful thing to happen to you. So it should be seen as a message of hope no matter what.
Thirdly, he said people needed to know that prophecy originated from three sources, thus; the Spirit of man (controlled by mind and emotions, according to Jeremiah 23: 16), evil Spirit (from Satan and familiar spirits, according to 1 Samuel 28: 7 and Jeremiah 23: 13) and the Holy Spirit (from God Himself, according to 2 Peter 1: 21).
— GNA
…to be continued
A former Sec ond Lady, Mrs Matilda Amis sah-Arthur, has called for urgent action to bridge literacy gaps among young girls in the country to advance gender equality.
She stressed that improving lit eracy among girls was essential not only for women’s empowerment but also for national development.
“Addressing the literacy gap is not a woman’s issue. It is a nation al necessity and, with the passing of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Act, 2024, Ghana is signalling that women belong in leadership, but leadership begins with a book,” she said.
Mrs Amissah-Arthur made the call at an event organised by the Ghana Library Authority (GLA) in Accra yesterday to mark Interna tional Women’s Day (IWD) on the theme: “Her Voice in Libraries: Women Transforming Literacy in Ghana.”
According to her, many girls in Ghana still drop out of school due to poverty, lack of mentorship and limited support systems, warning that without deliberate interven tions some risk becoming part of worrying national statistics.
The former Second Lady encouraged students, particularly girls, to see education not only as a tool for personal advancement but also as a means of empowering future generations.
“Don’t shy away from STEM and ICT subjects. Break into the male-dominated areas and bridge the digital divide,” she added.
Mrs Amissah-Arthur also called for stronger partnerships between men and women in advancing gen der equality, stressing that the issue should be viewed as a national development priority rather than solely a women’s concern.
“Gender equality is not a woman’s issue. It is a development issue. It requires partnership, respect and shared responsibility,” she said.
She further expressed opti mism that with the right support systems, every child, regardless of gender, could achieve their full potential.
In a remark, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, Lydia Essuah, said that despite progress made in promoting gender equality in the education sector, challenges remained in ensuring progression, completion and quality learning outcomes for all learners.
She highlighted the important role of libraries in advancing liter acy and lifelong learning skills, and called for increased investment in library infrastructure and services to help build a knowledge-driven society.
The Executive Director of the Ghana Library Authority, Alhassan Ziblim Bentintiche, also under scored the importance of libraries in empowering young people, par ticularly girls, with access to books, digital resources and mentorship opportunities.
He disclosed plans to expand Ghana’s library infrastructure and services to particularly attract the youth and promote literacy.
BY ABIGAIL ANNOH
Management of the Metro Mass Transit Limited has accused the government of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of pursuing what it describes as a “create, loot and share” agenda in the sale of portions of the Opera Square Bus Terminal to a private developer.
The Deputy Managing Director of the company, Haroun Apaw-Wiredu, raised the concerns while speaking to journalists at the Opera Square Bus Terminal in Accra on Thursday, March 12, 2026.
He indicated that the management of Metro Mass Transit would not tolerate any further unauthorized development at the terminal and would take steps to protect the property.
According to him, it would be wrong for a private developer to take control of state property for personal economic gain while the company and the public remain silent.
“How can we sit down and allow a private developer, just for his selfish economic gains, to capture state property for himself? No, we cannot sit down,” he stressed.
Mr Apaw Wiredu called on the public to resist what he described as attempts to take over state assets, adding that such actions would disadvantage ordinary citizens.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we must all stand up. We must all wake up. We must fight this level of brazen looting and attempts to milk the system at the expense of ordinary Ghanaians,” he indicated.
He explained that some individuals had been operating around the terminal for many years and alleged that the developer gained access to the land during the previous administration.
Mr Apaw Wiredu stressed that under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama, the company would pursue all legitimate means to protect the terminal from what he described as unlawful takeover.
He added that management would use every legal avenue available to defend the property and prevent any attempt to take control of the land without proper authorization.
By: Jacob Aggrey
