Beniyamin

I am a father of 3 boys, the 2nd of which is named, Beniyamin. Usually Japanese names go with Kanji (Chinese character), but his name ‘Beniyamin’ is written only in Katakana, which is one of the three Japanese writing systems. Beniyamin is a name quite common in other countries as Benjamin, but very unusual in Japan. He was born when I was away in the U.S.A. When I heard the news of his birth from Japan and was thinking of his name, up came this name ‘Beniyamin’ in my thoughts all of a sudden. It could be from God, but there is no such name in Japan. I rejected this name in my mind. A few hours later, an U.S. Air Force chaplain prophesized for me, ‘God says, you shall name your son Beniyamin’. I never told him about the name, Beniyamin. I was shocked because it might really be God’s will to name him Beniyamin, but I could not agree with such a name. When I discussed with my wife about this at home, she advised me to obey God. God also told me through prophesy, ‘If you do not give him the name that I show, the true nature of the name will not be revealed.’ The name ‘Beniyamin’ means ‘son of right hand’, which has meaning of ‘honor’, ‘excellence’. His name had become the key to reveal the Lord’s glory.

Healing of Beniyamin

When Beniyamin came home from the hospital, I noticed that he was a very quiet baby. He didn’t cry. I was happy, but my wife worried. After taking him to the hospital and having him tested, we were shocked because his condition was found to be very serious. The center cell of his brain was necrotic (dead), the height of left and right brain was not the same, there was a hole in his brain and there were EEG abnormalities. He was admitted to the hospital immediately. The doctor told me that this disease would not be cured and that we had to get ready for his life in terms of saving because he would have an abnormality in his intelligence and body movements in the near future.

He was approved as a child having an intractable disease by Tokyo municipal government.

I panicked, but the mighty one of love was my father. When I started to pray for healing in the middle of despair, God reminded me of the meaning of his name, Beniyamin. It means ‘lucky’, ‘excellence’, and so on. I know that there are great people who show the Lord’s glory having disabilities on this earth. However, the Lord prepared a different kind of glory on Beniyamin. God spoke to me that he would heal Beniyamin. One day, when I was consulting with his doctor, God told me to ask the doctor whether it was miracle or not if this disease was healed. When I dared to ask him this question after struggling within myself, he said, ‘It was miraculous.’ The Lord also told me to declare to the doctor that God would heal him. I wondered what to do if he would not be healed, but somehow I forced myself to tell him about that. Now, Beniyamin is 3 years old, running around in the church. 2 years have passed since he was completely healed in 1992. The doctor told my wife that it was Beniyamin’s Papa’s victory. It is not my victory, but God’s victory. I give thanks to my Lord’s mercy. I wonder if Beniyamin would have been healed or not, if I had not named him Beniyamin. The name Beniyamin has become a name to show God’s glory and love. The Lord reveals his glory through our attitude of listening and obeying. Although we do not listen and obey, He still loves us truly. But we will lose a certain blessing when we do not listen and obey. We should not take the matter of ‘listening and obeying’ lightly.

Paul Akimoto, Pastor, TLCCC Tokyo Antioch Church

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