Interview with Nerida Walker on God's Plan for Pregnancy
The following interview is on the Koorong Bookstores web site (www.koorong.com)
Author of GOD’S PLAN FOR PREGNANCY, Nerida Walker, knows all about miracles. After being told it was “medically impossible” for her husband to have children, they went on to have four children in four and a half years – God’s way!
When did you first become interested in what the Bible says about pregnancy and childbirth?
In January 1994, after my husband Shaun was diagnosed as being sterile. Tests concluded that he had a nonexistent sperm count and he was told that is was medically impossible for him to father a child. But Shaun made a decision to reject the diagnosis because he knew it was God’s will for us to have our own biological children.
How did you react when faced with the diagnosis of your husband’s sterility?
At first I was devastated. All my hopes and dreams of becoming a mother were shattered, and all I could hear in my mind were the words of the doctor that it was “medically impossible for us to have children”. Then I came across a scripture, Exodus 23: 25-26, which said “Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water, I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full lifespan.” This had a huge impact on me. I began to build my faith and I came to know that it was the will of God for me to have my own biological children. Through his Word God showed me that our situation was not impossible, and I learnt to put my trust in what God said, instead of the doctor’s diagnosis. Shaun and I continued to claim healing for Shaun’s body and thanked God for our child. While our circumstances didn’t seem to change immediately, we supported each other in prayer, stood in agreement on God’s Word and spoke words of faith, not words of defeat. Within six months, I became pregnant with our first child!
What doubts/fears/difficulties did you have to overcome to trust in God’s plan for your children?
The natural circumstances and feelings/emotions and the words of the diagnosis that it was “medically impossible” were screaming at me. I had to transform my thinking and renew my mind in order to believe that God would do what he said he would do in his Word. It didn’t take long until I “conceived” God’s Word in my heart as a personal revelation and my whole perspective changed to “my God is able” and that “nothing is impossible with God”.
When and why did you decide to write a book about God’s will concerning pregnancy and children?
During my first pregnancy in 1994 I began to search the bible on what God said on every area of fertility, pregnancy and childbirth. The information and revelation I received while I studied his Word, led me to write my first book A PLAN FOR PREGNANCY – GOD’S PLAN FOR CONCEPTION, PREGNANCY, CHILDBIRTH AND BEYOND (published in 1998), with help from my prayer partner, Julie. There was an overwhelming response to this book, with many women reached all around the world.
After then conceiving and giving birth to another three children (including identical twins), I felt led to expand the book so that rather than only having Scripture references and my testimony, adding the foundational principals of faith and healing and prayer. This was to teach others how to build their faith and then walk by faith in their personal situation.
It’s about giving knowledge on how to cross the line from fear to faith – from the natural to the supernatural through faith in God and trusting his Word.
As well the book, GOD’S PLAN FOR PREGNANCY, we also offer a non-denominational Christian support network called New Life Ministries for those struggling with issues relating to childbearing or healing. The ministry includes weekly meetings (in Sydney, Australia), an on-line support group (Women in Faith) for women across the world, as well as resources and prayer support.
How can families discover God’s will for them regarding having children?
By:
Knowledge - get to know for yourself what God has said in His Word regarding having children.
Renew your Mind - Spend time meditating on the Word so that it becomes real and personal to you. Heb 4:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God.
Begin to Walk by Faith - by what God's Word saus and not by what your natural sitation dictates to you. I'm not talking about denying the facts but learning to call those things that are not as though they were.
What would you say to someone who believed infertility or miscarriage is the will of God?
To know God’s will is what his Word says and in his Word is the provision of children. Also to know that infertility and miscarriage are simply different forms of sickness, and Jesus Christ has provided healing for all of that on the cross, But you cannot take my word for it – you need to “know” this personally for yourself because you are the one that has to walk this out by faith.
What other common misconceptions do you come across regarding God’s plan for pregnancy and childbirth?
That God is trying to teach them something through their personal journey. While God does work all things for good – He is not the author of sickness and disease, it came because of the fall. God sent his Son to pay the price for all of this in the same way and the same time as he paid the price for our sin. In seeking God we find the answers we need and the faith to overcome. We can receive that anytime, not just when we go through difficulties. It’s just that we often only turn to God when we come to a desperate situation.
Tell us about some of the success stories in your ministry over the years
I have received so many testimonies and photos from women worldwide who now have children or have overcome obstacles in their pregnancy and births because they have been encouraged to apply the Word of God to their lives. Women have been healed of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, endometriosis and other hormonal disorders; husbands have been healed of low or no sperm count; women have conceived despite seemingly impossible odds, such as severely damaged fallopian tubes; and babies have triumphed over threatened miscarriages and other developmental problems.
For example, one lady had tried to conceive for nine years. She had been diagnosed as infertile, producing antibodies, having bad eggs, and her husband had low motility and bacteria in his sperm. After five failed IUI and two failed IVF attempts, she found the New Life Ministries website, purchased GOD’S PLAN FOR PREGNANCY, and joined the Women in Faith on-line support group. She began to build her faith and believe God’s promises about children in spite of her circumstances. She conceived without any treatment and gave birth to a healthy little girl, Moriah.
What lasting impacts has reading God’s Word about childbearing had on your faith?
That God cares about every detail of our lives. If it is a concern to us, then it is a concern to Him. However, what has impacted me the most is my relationship with Him. God said to Abraham in Genesis 15:1 “I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward”. While I was already a devoted Christian I found that God was “my reward”, not the baby or answer to prayer. He loves us so much that He gave us himself – he gave us Jesus! When I discovered this, my perspective changed and my life was transformed forever. Since then my relationship with God has deepened and continues to grow.
As well as running New Life Ministries, Nerida ministers alongside her husband Shaun, as Senior Pastors of River Christian Church in Kariong on the New South Wales Central Coast, Australia.
As the spread of Nerida’s ministry grows to many countries overseas, she will be speaking at the Bringing Life to Barrenness Conference on 1-3 June 2007 in Buckinghamshire, UK.
For more information about the New Life Ministries support network, visit www.newlifeministries.com.au
Author of GOD’S PLAN FOR PREGNANCY, Nerida Walker, knows all about miracles. After being told it was “medically impossible” for her husband to have children, they went on to have four children in four and a half years – God’s way!
When did you first become interested in what the Bible says about pregnancy and childbirth?
In January 1994, after my husband Shaun was diagnosed as being sterile. Tests concluded that he had a nonexistent sperm count and he was told that is was medically impossible for him to father a child. But Shaun made a decision to reject the diagnosis because he knew it was God’s will for us to have our own biological children.
How did you react when faced with the diagnosis of your husband’s sterility?
At first I was devastated. All my hopes and dreams of becoming a mother were shattered, and all I could hear in my mind were the words of the doctor that it was “medically impossible for us to have children”. Then I came across a scripture, Exodus 23: 25-26, which said “Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water, I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full lifespan.” This had a huge impact on me. I began to build my faith and I came to know that it was the will of God for me to have my own biological children. Through his Word God showed me that our situation was not impossible, and I learnt to put my trust in what God said, instead of the doctor’s diagnosis. Shaun and I continued to claim healing for Shaun’s body and thanked God for our child. While our circumstances didn’t seem to change immediately, we supported each other in prayer, stood in agreement on God’s Word and spoke words of faith, not words of defeat. Within six months, I became pregnant with our first child!
What doubts/fears/difficulties did you have to overcome to trust in God’s plan for your children?
The natural circumstances and feelings/emotions and the words of the diagnosis that it was “medically impossible” were screaming at me. I had to transform my thinking and renew my mind in order to believe that God would do what he said he would do in his Word. It didn’t take long until I “conceived” God’s Word in my heart as a personal revelation and my whole perspective changed to “my God is able” and that “nothing is impossible with God”.
When and why did you decide to write a book about God’s will concerning pregnancy and children?
During my first pregnancy in 1994 I began to search the bible on what God said on every area of fertility, pregnancy and childbirth. The information and revelation I received while I studied his Word, led me to write my first book A PLAN FOR PREGNANCY – GOD’S PLAN FOR CONCEPTION, PREGNANCY, CHILDBIRTH AND BEYOND (published in 1998), with help from my prayer partner, Julie. There was an overwhelming response to this book, with many women reached all around the world.
After then conceiving and giving birth to another three children (including identical twins), I felt led to expand the book so that rather than only having Scripture references and my testimony, adding the foundational principals of faith and healing and prayer. This was to teach others how to build their faith and then walk by faith in their personal situation.
It’s about giving knowledge on how to cross the line from fear to faith – from the natural to the supernatural through faith in God and trusting his Word.
As well the book, GOD’S PLAN FOR PREGNANCY, we also offer a non-denominational Christian support network called New Life Ministries for those struggling with issues relating to childbearing or healing. The ministry includes weekly meetings (in Sydney, Australia), an on-line support group (Women in Faith) for women across the world, as well as resources and prayer support.
How can families discover God’s will for them regarding having children?
By:
Knowledge - get to know for yourself what God has said in His Word regarding having children.
Renew your Mind - Spend time meditating on the Word so that it becomes real and personal to you. Heb 4:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God.
Begin to Walk by Faith - by what God's Word saus and not by what your natural sitation dictates to you. I'm not talking about denying the facts but learning to call those things that are not as though they were.
What would you say to someone who believed infertility or miscarriage is the will of God?
To know God’s will is what his Word says and in his Word is the provision of children. Also to know that infertility and miscarriage are simply different forms of sickness, and Jesus Christ has provided healing for all of that on the cross, But you cannot take my word for it – you need to “know” this personally for yourself because you are the one that has to walk this out by faith.
What other common misconceptions do you come across regarding God’s plan for pregnancy and childbirth?
That God is trying to teach them something through their personal journey. While God does work all things for good – He is not the author of sickness and disease, it came because of the fall. God sent his Son to pay the price for all of this in the same way and the same time as he paid the price for our sin. In seeking God we find the answers we need and the faith to overcome. We can receive that anytime, not just when we go through difficulties. It’s just that we often only turn to God when we come to a desperate situation.
Tell us about some of the success stories in your ministry over the years
I have received so many testimonies and photos from women worldwide who now have children or have overcome obstacles in their pregnancy and births because they have been encouraged to apply the Word of God to their lives. Women have been healed of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, endometriosis and other hormonal disorders; husbands have been healed of low or no sperm count; women have conceived despite seemingly impossible odds, such as severely damaged fallopian tubes; and babies have triumphed over threatened miscarriages and other developmental problems.
For example, one lady had tried to conceive for nine years. She had been diagnosed as infertile, producing antibodies, having bad eggs, and her husband had low motility and bacteria in his sperm. After five failed IUI and two failed IVF attempts, she found the New Life Ministries website, purchased GOD’S PLAN FOR PREGNANCY, and joined the Women in Faith on-line support group. She began to build her faith and believe God’s promises about children in spite of her circumstances. She conceived without any treatment and gave birth to a healthy little girl, Moriah.
What lasting impacts has reading God’s Word about childbearing had on your faith?
That God cares about every detail of our lives. If it is a concern to us, then it is a concern to Him. However, what has impacted me the most is my relationship with Him. God said to Abraham in Genesis 15:1 “I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward”. While I was already a devoted Christian I found that God was “my reward”, not the baby or answer to prayer. He loves us so much that He gave us himself – he gave us Jesus! When I discovered this, my perspective changed and my life was transformed forever. Since then my relationship with God has deepened and continues to grow.
As well as running New Life Ministries, Nerida ministers alongside her husband Shaun, as Senior Pastors of River Christian Church in Kariong on the New South Wales Central Coast, Australia.
As the spread of Nerida’s ministry grows to many countries overseas, she will be speaking at the Bringing Life to Barrenness Conference on 1-3 June 2007 in Buckinghamshire, UK.
For more information about the New Life Ministries support network, visit www.newlifeministries.com.au
Press Articles
The following review was taken from the Solid Rock Magazine from Senior Pastor Joseph Prince's church New Creation Church, Singapore. June 2007 edition, page 57. Please note this is the old cover.
The Following Article was in the Australian Christian Women Magazine, February 2005.
