Pastor Yemi Davids of Global Impact Church has revealed how God told him to change his name from Ojelade, which is associated with masquerade.

He said he got the message from God many years ago while praying and fasting for progress in ministry.

"On the fifth day of that fast, the Holy Spirit said to me: 'You have to change your surname," Pastor Davids narrated on X.

"My mind could never have gone there. I was expecting God to tell me something like, 'Study 85 scriptures a day' or 'Pray longer hours.' But He said: 'Change your surname. The name you are carrying cannot take you to the next level.'

The cleric said he didn't immediately obey the directive given to him by God.

"Two years later, I was fasting again, crying out: 'Lord, move me to the next level!' And the same instruction came back. That was when I ran to my pastor. He told me: 'For it to come to you a second time, there’s definitely something there.'

"So, I began to inquire. I had never asked the meaning of my surname before. I had been Pastor Ojelade (Masquerade is Royal). Even till now, some of my old classmates still don’t know me when they see me on social media, 'since it’s not Pastor Ojelade they’re familiar with.

"When I asked my father the meaning of our surname, he smiled and said: 'This is a masquerade family. We worship masquerades.'

"I was shocked. I went online to check, and the meaning was there: 'Masquerade is royal.' Imagine—Reverend Masquerade!"

He said his father even admitted that whenever he went to the village during masquerade festivals, they would ask him, 'Where are your children?' And he would have to give offerings on behalf of each child.

"No wonder the Holy Spirit said: 'Change your surname.' Because the enemy is an accuser in the courts of heaven. He knows how to use legal grounds—ancestral covenants, family names, idolatry—to argue why someone should not prosper or advance. That’s why repentance is critical.

"Just like in Nehemiah, before the walls were rebuilt, repentance had to come first.

"So, I told my father: Daddy, I can’t use Jacob either because your second name is Jacob, even Jacob was changed to Israel. He agreed.

"So, I took my baptismal name, David, added an 's' to make it New Testament. That’s how I became Yemi Davids.

"Now, everywhere I go around the world, they know me as Mr. Davids. And I thank God for the grace to obey that instruction, because it was a turning point in my destiny," he concluded.

ASA