Professor Sarah Bakewell, a renowned British author, has commended the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Dr D. K. Olukoya, for his message on practical prayer.
Bakewell, a professor of Creative Writing, penned the commendation in a letter she wrote to Dr Olukoya, titled “Your Message on Spiritual Gates and 2026 Truly Stirred Me.”
The letter read in part:
“Dear Dr. Olukoya,
“I hope this message finds you well.
“I recently listened to Pray Your Way into 2026 and Prosperity Night and felt compelled to reach out personally.
“I don’t often contact authors or ministers unexpectedly, but this message stayed with me long after I finished listening, and that usually tells me something significant was deposited spiritually.”
Going further, Bakewell stated in the letter that what really got her interested in the message by Dr Olukoya was his teaching on “turning the battle to the gate.”
She added: “The imagery of spiritual gates and the biblical mode of approach into a new year felt both urgent and empowering.
“You didn’t present prayer as passive hope; but as strategic, intentional spiritual engagement. That shift in perspective was powerful.
“I especially appreciated how clearly you framed preparation for the new year as something that requires discernment, authority, and alignment with kingdom principles.
“It wasn’t motivational language; it was instruction rooted in spiritual warfare and biblical order. That clarity is rare.”
Describing herself as someone who values spiritually-grounded teaching, Sarah Bakewell stated that she deeply respects the consistency and conviction behind the ministry of Dr Olukoya.
“Your message felt timely, purposeful, and aligned with what many believers need as they step into a new season,” she added.
The British author stated that her letter to Dr Olukoya was not to make any request for anything but to “simply to express appreciation and to connect.
“Thank you for continuing to equip believers with practical, strategic prayer guidance.
“It was a blessing to listen.
“Warm regards,” she wrote in the letter.
Who Is Sarah Bakewell?
Bakewell, a bestselling author and professor of Creative Writing, is the winner of the Duff Cooper Prize and of the US National Book Critics’ Circle Award for Biography
Born in 1963, Sarah Bakewell is a celebrated British author, biographer, and curator known for blending philosophy, history, and biography in her works. like How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts At An Answer (2010) and At the Existentialist Café (2016).
She specialises in making complex intellectual history accessible and engaging, focusing on humanism and existentialism.
Career
Born in Bournemouth, UK, Sarah Bakewell spent her childhood traveling the “hippie trail” in Asia before growing up in Australia.
She studied philosophy at the University of Essex and worked for 10 years as a curator of early printed books at the Wellcome Library, London.
Awards
Her works have won major awards, including the National Book Critics Circle Award (2010) for How to Live and the Windham-Campbell Prize for Non-Fiction in 2018.
Key Works
Some of her key works included The Smart (2005): A story of an 18th-Century forgery trial; The English Dane (2006): Biography of Adventurer Jørgen Jørgensen; How to Live (2010): A unique biography of Michel de Montaigne;
At the Existentialist Café (2016): A study of Sartre, Camus, and de Beauvoir; Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry, and Hope (2023); Philosophy Now | a magazine of ideas.
Sarah Bakewell currently resides in London and the Marche region of Italy, where she writes and teaches creative non-fiction.
•Additional information on Sarah Bakewell from Wikipedia.
