NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 20th - Sunday 26th Jan. 2025
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever (Revelation 11:15).
In the prayer call of 11th – 17th December 2023, we wrote a treatise entitled “THE BATTLE FOR THE THRONE”. In that earlier prayer call, we pointed out that every kingdom has a throne, and whoever controls the throne controls the kingdom.
As Nigeria draws close to another election season, it is important to clarify the goal of Christian involvement in the political process. Emerging signals reveal that some Christians do not see any problem with whoever wields power in the country, so long as that person is their preferred candidate. To have one’s preferred candidate in power is one thing, building the Kingdom of God on earth, is another.
Christ left His disciples with two major assignments:
1. Soul winning
2. Establishing the presence and power of the Kingdom of God on earth
There are two spiritual kingdoms operating on the earth. They are the Kingdom of God, headed by Jesus Christ, and the kingdom of the world, headed by Lucifer, as the prince of the world. The assignment of Christians on earth includes promoting the principles and practices of the Kingdom of God in preparation for the return of the Master Who will establish its fulness on earth. For this reason, Jesus Christ taught His disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10).
For Christians, therefore, it is not sufficient that a preferred person is the president, or that a president has good policies. Christians should be more concerned with, “which kingdom is ruling Nigeria? Is it the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of the world?" That is easy to answer simply by observing the policies and actions of the government.
Since Independence in 1960, access to the throne of Nigeria has been through the “law of iniquity”. Successive governments have come into power through dubious, wicked, and treacherous actions. The results of such governments have been deceits and acts of wickedness. It says in Psalm 94:20-21, "Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law? They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood." This Bible verse summarizes the character of successive governments in Nigeria. The country is yet to have a government that can be considered righteous.
The purpose of God is that a government shall emerge in Nigeria reflecting the character of the Kingdom of God. According to Psalm. 89:14, four pillars uphold the throne of God, and these are: “righteousness, justice, mercy, and truth.” "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face." (NKJV)
God desires that the law of access to the throne of Nigeria must be through righteousness, justice, mercy, and truth. These four values have been lacking in the process of emergence of successive governments in Nigeria. Consequently, governance has been by subterfuge, wickedness, corruption, and bloodshed.
The task of the Church is to facilitate the emergence of a government that will reflect the character of the throne of God so that Christ would be enthroned upon Nigeria. No matter the intercession and supplication of the saints, Christ will neither sit on, nor endorse, a throne of iniquity. The throne must be established by righteousness before Christ will honour it with His Presence. Until Christians unite and organize to produce a righteous government, it is not possible to claim that Christ reigns over Nigeria. Undoubtedly, God intervenes in our national affairs and that is the reason the country has not imploded. However, the consequence of the throne of iniquity in the land is starring all citizens in the face. Presently, wickedness and iniquity are running the affairs of Nigeria.
Under the circumstances, what should be the response of Christians? Should some Christians still work to support the throne of iniquity, under the guise that it promises to do some good work? Or should they cooperate with the Holy Spirit to birth a righteous throne for the country?
These questions become pertinent because of a disturbing trend in Christian engagement in politics. Most Christians who participate in politics and governance seem not to know the difference between the throne of iniquity and the throne of righteousness. To some Christians, government is government. Some Christian leaders are secular in their political engagements. They forget that it is Nigeria that is secular, the Church is not. The Church recognizes the secularity of the State, out of respect for other citizens’ freedom of worship, but the Church itself is not secular but sacred. Therefore, when some Church leaders and some Christian elites endorse a government that gained access into power through the law of iniquity, those Christian leaders present themselves as enemies of the Kingdom of God (James 4:4). Anyone who joins Lucifer to strengthen a throne of iniquity cannot claim to belong to Jesus Christ.
Therefore, those Christian leaders whose politics tilts towards worldliness should reappraise their stand. Their commitment in the world will determine their position in eternity. It would be impossible for an individual who spent his life defending and promoting the throne of Satan to expect that Jesus Christ would welcome him into the Kingdom of God. This is probably one of the reasons the Lord will reject many of those who served Him.
Jesus Christ declared in Matt. 7:21-23, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Some of those that the Lord will reject could have served Him meritoriously, but classified as “workers of iniquity,” they would be rejected from eternal life. Their association with the throne of iniquity while on earth would be used to judge their eternal reward. Anyone who supports Lucifer to strengthen his kingdom can never receive eternal rest in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. On that day of judgment, money would be meaningless.
This is one of the reasons we are appealing to Church leaders and Christian elites to join in the efforts to enthrone a righteous ruler over Nigeria. The current political class is corrupt and discredited. Their politics is characterized by deceit, occultism, unrighteousness, and every manner of abominable work. It is embarrassing that some prominent Christian figures in the country support them and are canvassing support for them to remain in office.
The Christian community can produce righteous leadership for Nigeria, but the Church must unite. The key element in delivering a throne of righteousness for Nigeria is Christian unity. This can only be done when Christians understand and accept that they must not associate with a throne of iniquity. The events of the 2023 elections confirm that the government in power did not ascend the throne through righteousness but by the law of iniquity. The throne of iniquity shall not have fellowship with God (Ps. 94:20).
General Overseers, Bishops, Church Officials and the Christian elite should desist from supporting and endorsing thrones of iniquity in the country. They should rather join hands to birth a righteous government that will provide the platform for Christ to reign over Nigeria.
The government of the Kingdom of God shall be established upon Nigeria. Amen.
1). Eph. 1:17-19
Pray that God will endow Christian leaders in Nigeria with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to enable them to understand the difference between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world.
2). Ps. 133
Pray for unity amongst all the various Christian denominations and ministries. Pray that Christians shall be of one mind to produce a righteous government for Nigeria.
3). Gal. 6:14
Pray that the cross shall work deeply in Christian leaders and crucify every lust for money, self promotion, and self interest.
4). 2 Cor. 2:11
By the blood of Jesus, nullify every manipulation and projection of sorcery to divide Christians and hinder political unity amongst the saints.
5). Isaiah 59:19
Raise a banner of the blood of Jesus and barricade in the spirit realm every plan of evil politicians to sustain a throne of iniquity over Nigeria.
6). Isaiah 43:18 19
Pray that God will do a new thing in Nigeria and bring forth a righteous nation.
7). Rev. 11:15
Decree that the kingdom of Nigeria has become the Kingdom of God.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
https://zoom.us/j/96806190505?pwd=K2RqcUN3YjRwQzEzRDZaMUt2N1ZsUT09
Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
https://zoom.us/j/94064259957?pwd=bm13eDlSNTMrZWhVdTl5bmNRRlBHQT09
Meeting ID: 940 6425 9957
Passcode: Altar
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 13th - Sunday 19th Jan. 2025
Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle (Deut. 2:24).
After promising Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the land of Canaan, by an everlasting covenant, God gave the Israelites a curious command as they were about to possess the land. In Deut. 2:24, God instructed them to "begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle." That God has promised an individual or a nation a gift does not imply they should fold their arms and wait. There is a battle to be fought for the manifestation of every promise of God. For the Israelites in the Promised Land, there were giants daring them to go in and possess the land.
In Matthew 12:29, the Lord asks, "Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house?"_ Matthew 11:12 states, " And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force".
The catch phrase in the mouth of many Christians in Nigeria is “The New Nigeria”. Christians are waiting for a restored country filled with righteousness, justice, and peace. In anticipation of the new Nigeria, a lot of prayers and fasting are going on. That is good. However, prayer should not be the only preparation for the manifestation of the new Nigeria. The other side is to “contend in battle”.
It is in contending in battle that Nigeria Christians have a serious challenge. The response of the Church over the years to issues of serious national challenge confirms that Christians in Nigeria are strong in “faith” but weak in “works”. The notion is that having prayed, God would do the rest.
If that attitude does not change, the new Nigeria might be delayed. The new Nigeria would still come, because when God makes a promise, it will come to pass. If a generation does not claim the promise, the next generation would. Therefore, if the promise of the new Nigeria is to be appropriated by this generation of Nigerians, the Church must get militant. The concept of militancy here is not with reference to carrying guns and exploding bombs all over the country. Militancy means that the Church must be prepared to plan and be determined to execute its plan.
A major deficit amongst Christians is the ability to plan. Almost everything is spiritualized and left for God after they have prayed. Meanwhile, in dealing with man, God separates what He would do for man, from what man would do for himself. God only does what man cannot do. If a problem can be solved on the earth, God will not provide the solution from heaven. If an information can be provided on the earth, God will not provide it from heaven. Revelation is God telling an individual what no one can tell him on the earth. There are problems of man that God will not solve from heaven, but man must solve it on the earth.
This is the reality that nations like China, Singapore, Malaysia, not to talk of Europe and USA, have accepted. God gave man brain for man to solve his problems. Even in Israel, where the manifestation of God was rife, God never went to the battle while Israel stayed at home. God always met Israel on the battlefield. The people must be prepared to engage the enemy before God would come and help them.
At present, Nigerians are groaning under cruel taskmasters who pretend to be statesmen. This group of devourers hijacked the state ten years ago with no intention of leaving in 2027. They have stolen, killed, and destroyed (John 10:10). If they are left in office for another ten years, they will continue to steal, kill, and destroy. Majority of the citizens are tired of them. They have replaced governance with propaganda.
If one should ask the average Nigeria Christian what he is doing to get rid of bad government, he would respond with “we are praying”. Ask again, “after the prayers, what are you going to do?” You will hear, “our Church is fasting. After the fasting, you will see what will happen in this country.” Nothing will happen. Faith without works, is dead.
At the National Prayer Altar, we believe in prayers and fasting. The Prayer Altar prays every night for Nigeria, and it will clock three years of unbroken prayer exercise by April 2025. However, we strongly affirm that practical works based on careful planning must be added to prayers. We have often expressed this through some of the interventions we have made on national issues. Everyone ought to pray and work. It is not sufficient to call ourselves to prayer and fasting for Nigeria without adequate strategic planning for Nigeria.
The Nigeria Church has the capacity to transform the country by virtue of its potentials. Christians constitute the largest demographic group in Nigeria. They are the most educated, the most civilized, and the most skilled. They constitute the largest group of academics, intellectuals, scientists, technocrats, business entrepreneurs, skilled artisans, business magnates, and professionals in all fields. Even the wealth of Nigeria, be it oil, gas, ports, water ways, and the bulk of the arable land are on Christian lands. Yet, in Nigeria today, Christians are underdogs. The problem? Christians do not plan; they only pray. Faith without works, is dead.
Even when a plan was prepared, like National Christian Elders Forum did for the Church, some Church leaders killed that plan in 2016. To date, the Nigeria Church has no plan against insurgency, poverty, sexual immorality, corrupt and incompetent government, and apparently no plan to establish a righteous government. Only calls to prayer and fasting!
It can change, and it must. What has been lacking is proper leadership. If Christians will agree and rally round the structure that previous Church leaders built for socio-political engagement of the Church, credible efforts can commence to prepare for the emergence of the new Nigeria. The Nigeria Church has two leadership bodies: the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN). While CAN was established in 1976 to build Church unity and it is managed by the clergy, CSMN was established in 2001 for socio-political engagement of Christians, and it is managed by the laity. Both bodies were established by the five Church groups that make up Christianity in Nigeria. They are the only two groups, so established.
A central mobilizing and harmonizing body is required because of differing denominational and sectional preferences. If Christianity is going to utilize its enormous potentials for societal transformation, Christians must be harmonized to work in unity. Hitherto, Christian political assets have been divided, turning Christians into minority groups during elections.
For 2027, Christians in Nigeria must speak with one voice and consciously present a competent presidential candidate on a credible political party platform. For this to happen, Christians must accept a leadership institution to drive the process. Whoever says Christians should not participate in politics has not read Isaiah 9:6: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder". Christ is the Head, and the Church is His body. The Government is resting upon the “shoulder,” which is His body. It is the responsibility of the Church to provide righteous leadership for Nigeria, and the channel to do that is politics. We must begin to plan.
It would be a shame on all Christians if devourers should return to power in 2027. It would be to our collective condemnation, if the new Nigeria does not manifest as God has promised.
In the meantime, Christians in each denomination/ministry should establish a “Social Forum” for Christians interested in politics and governance to interact. They will work with CSMN to mobilize all the members of their assembly in preparation for the emergence of righteous government in Nigeria. We must match our faith with works. The new Nigeria shall emerge.
CSMN can be contacted at:
1. John 17:21-23
Pray for unity and peace amongst all Christian groups in Nigeria to birth a righteous and just government for the country.
2. Rom. 16:17-18
Pray that God will silence and incapacitate those who cause division amongst Christians.
3. James 1:5
Pray for divine wisdom to plan and overcome the wiles of the devil and the craftiness of politicians.
4. 2 Cor. 2:11
Pray against every attack and manipulation of Satan and his forces to destroy the Christian political consensus project.
5. Isaiah 9:6
Pray that the Nigeria Church shall be empowered by God to carry the responsibility to birth a righteous and God-fearing government in Nigeria.
6. Ex. 31:1-6
Pray that everyone that God has filled with wisdom and ability to birth the new Nigeria shall come forth.
7. Rev. 11:15
Proclaim that the Kingdom of Nigeria has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
https://zoom.us/j/96806190505?pwd=K2RqcUN3YjRwQzEzRDZaMUt2N1ZsUT09
Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
https://zoom.us/j/94064259957?pwd=bm13eDlSNTMrZWhVdTl5bmNRRlBHQT09
Meeting ID: 940 6425 9957
Passcode: Altar
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 6th - Sunday 12th Jan. 2025
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat (Gen. 3:6).
The story of humanity started at the Garden of Eden, so did human woes. As we commence another year, it would be good to retrace how humanity got into its present distress, and review what is called “the original sin” of man. At the beginning of this year, a look at the beginning of humanity might offer clues to a successful and peaceful year.
A literal reading of Gen. 3:1-2 shows that a “serpent” deceived Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. That has been the common belief over the ages. A deeper look at the root word translated “serpent” reveals something different. The Hebrew word translated “serpent” is nachash, sometimes pronounced “nahash.” It means, “serpent, shining one, one who shines”. There are Bible scholars who believe that it was “a shining one” who spoke to Eve. It says in 2 Cor. 11:14: ”And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” Revelation 12:9 provides more clarification on the identity of the “serpent” when it says, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.”
The Scriptures confirm that the devil deceived Eve and she ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17). After eating it, she gave the same to her husband, and he also ate. This is where the story gets interesting. Was Adam also deceived by the devil? The Scriptures state emphatically in 1 Tim. 2:14, “And Adam was NOT deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” Adam knew that the devil lied. He knew that they were not supposed to eat of that tree, yet he went ahead to eat the fruit. Satan did not deceive Adam; so, why did Adam willfully disobey God?
We could reconstruct the Genesis account of the creation of man to give us a clearer picture of our aim in what might have been responsible for Adam’s choice. After the creation of man on the sixth day, God rested on the seventh. It was after the day of rest that God assigned Adam the responsibility of tending the garden and giving names to all the animals (Gen. 2:18-20). We do not know how long it took Adam to give names to all the animals. Zoologists spend years in the university to study animals, but Adam named them all. While undertaking that assignment, Adam was alone, and God confirmed that there was neither help nor companion for him. It was at that point that God created Eve and brought her to Adam.
Adam was put to a deep sleep from which he woke up to find a flawlessly beautiful woman by his side. There are many beautiful women in the world, but none could have been as beautiful as Eve. The reason is, when she was created, there was no sin, so her beauty was perfect and flawless. To a man, the most beautiful thing on earth is a woman, while to a woman, the most beautiful thing is a baby. So, imagine a man who had been alone on planet earth suddenly being gifted with the most beautiful woman in the world! For Adam, Eve could do nothing wrong. Whatever Eve wanted, she got from him. Satan watched and decided that Eve was Adam’s weakness.
That was where the problem of humans started. Adam loved the gift more than the Giver. As far as Adam was concerned, pleasing Eve came first. Even though Adam knew that they should not eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, and he had not been deceived by the lie of the devil, he could not say “no” to Eve. There was a contest in the Garden of Eden between God and Eve for the heart of Adam. Unfortunately, Eve won. God became furious and drove the two of them out of His garden. The gift must never replace the Giver.
That “original sin,” as we may describe it in this context, is repeated by many descendants of Adam in various ways, but the consequences remain the same. Whosoever places the gift of God above God vacates the garden of God.
Interestingly, this “original sin” is not committed by unbelievers only. It is found amongst born-again Christians. There are regenerated Christians whom God has blessed with gifts which, unfortunately, have taken precedence over God. There are Christians who cried out to God for a good job. Having got it, the job got more honored than the God who gave it. That person disdains God at the beginning of each week, going late to worship on Sunday, even though they are very punctual at work on other days.
There are Christians whom God placed in important positions, but who ended up compromising truth and righteousness just to ‘keep their job’ and remain ‘relevant’ amongst their peers. Even when they know the righteous demands of God, they choose to forsake His standards and act in ways inconsistent with the will of God. Pleasing the job becomes more important than pleasing God the Giver of the job. Yet, if one should ask them where they would spend eternity, they would point in the direction of heaven. How can someone repeat the “original sin” and hope to be in the garden of God?
Examples abound of Christians who placed ministry, marriage, business, political appointment, children, including foreign visa, above the Giver. In so many ways, descendants of Adam keep re-enacting what occurred in the Garden of Eden, without considering the consequences. Adam unwittingly turned Eve into an idol because, whatever one places above God becomes an idol to that person. The sad truth is that, in our generation, many Bible-believing Christians have turned the gifts of God in their lives into personal idols. No idolater shall find favour before God.
As we commence another year, let Christians search their hearts. The gift of God must not replace God. The commitment and devotion of man to God must not be violated. In other words, in this New Year, PUT GOD FIRST. On the scale of preference of many professing Christians, God occupies a lower place, meanwhile, they expect Him to put them first in His blessings. Some of those who desire God to take their matter seriously treat Him with levity and disdain. Whoever places the gift of God above God will vacate the garden of God.
May we not misplace our priority and end up losing favour with God. Pleasing God must come first in all things. In 2025, Put God First.
1. Ps. 92:1-4
Thank God for grace to enter 2025 peacefully and in good health. Thank God for grace to abide in the faith.
2. 1 John 1:8-10
Confess every sin of placing personal interest above the command and purpose of God.
3. Ps. 90:13-17
Pray for restoration into God’s favour in 2025 in every area of your life where self-will or disobedience might have affected God’s favour.
4. 2 Cor. 5:18-19
Christ came to reconcile God and humans. Pray that the blood of Jesus will cleanse you from every controversy with God, and restore you into the fulness of divine favour in 2025.
5. 2 Cor. 6:14-18
Pray for personal consecration in 2025, so that your obedience to God shall be perfect.
6. Ps. 128
Pray that all members of your family shall walk before God and be perfect in 2025 and retain favour of God.
7. Joel 2:21
Pray for Nigeria, that in 2025, God shall restore the country into divine favour.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
https://zoom.us/j/96806190505?pwd=K2RqcUN3YjRwQzEzRDZaMUt2N1ZsUT09
Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
https://zoom.us/j/94064259957?pwd=bm13eDlSNTMrZWhVdTl5bmNRRlBHQT09
Meeting ID: 940 6425 9957
Passcode: Altar
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 30th Dec. 2024 - Sunday 5th Jan. 2025
Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day (2 Kgs. 6:31).
In 2 Kings 6:25 to 7:2, the Bible narrates an agonizing experience in Israel. The Syrian army had besieged the land and caused a famine that got so extreme, it led to cannibalism. Two mothers negotiated to eat their children one after the other, but the second mother reneged after eating and surviving at the expense of the other’s child. The cheated mother cried to the king for justice. Even though the Bible does not say other atrocities committed by the desperately hungry in their attempt to survive the famine, that singular incidence of infant cannibalism was sufficient to stir the king into murderous rage.
The response of king was, “… God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day" (1 Kings 6:31). What was the fault of Elisha that his head was threatened? Was it the prophet that invited the Syrian siege? Was it he that encouraged the women to eat a child? No, but the king seemed to have held Elisha responsible for the calamity that befell the land because he knew that the prophet had the unction to speak into the situation and change it for the better. The king was furious because Elisha did not speak. Why was the prophet silent until then?
Despite the horrors around him, Prophet Elisha seemed to have been basking in his prophetic serenity, in his house, chatting with “the elders” of the land. If he had any distress, it did not show until the king had issued the threat. Elisha knew at once that danger was coming, then he made the proclamation that released the food to the gates of the city. Until his peace was disturbed and his life was threatened, Prophet Elisha did not respond to the tragedy around him, even though the solution was in his mouth. The first thing the prophet did was to complain that his life was being threatened by that “son of a murderer-” The second thing he did was to embark on self-preservation. He instructed those around him to “shut the door.”
In every generation, there are people that God has raised and empowered to stand for truth and righteousness. The world recognizes this and concludes that “evil triumphs when good men do nothing”. Every generation has “good men” empowered by God to stem the tide of evil. The problem is that, like Elisha, they sometimes become too comfortable to be bothered by the evil going on in their environment. Whenever good men permit themselves to be distracted, and they focus on personal comfort rather than bother about national interest, evil triumphs.
In 1998, after the death of Gen. Sani Abacha and Chief MKO Abiola, Nigeria faced a crisis that could have led to the implosion of the country. In the ensuing tension, a group of elders arose in the land. They were not religious leaders, but they were influential, and their voices commanded attention. They started as a group of nine, made up of Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Chief Solomon Lar, Senator Francis Ellah, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, Chief Bola Ige, Dr. Iyorcha Ayu, Prof. Jerry Gana, Alhaji Sule Lamido and Mallam Adamu Ciroma. That group, known as the G9, which later became G18, and gave birth to G34. It was the G34 that metamorphosized into the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The intervention of those elders helped to stabilize the country and give birth to the current political dispensation which Islamist extremists have corrupted with the politics of religion. Those were elders who spoke when it was imperative. They were not silent.
Nigeria is currently going through unwarranted distress because certain voices that should be speaking are silent. What happened to the country during the 2023 elections should not have been permitted by men and women of good conscience. There were credible and influential voices that should have strategized to resist the obvious perversion of justice and due process. Unfortunately, like Elisha, they were silent while evil and unrighteous men hijacked the government.
Today, propaganda is fast replacing good governance. There are feeble attempts to assure Nigerians that the people who hijacked government meant well for the country. If someone should steal a car and is caught while using that car to carry orphans to school, does that apparent act of kindness justify the theft? Would the owner of the stolen car be persuaded to not seek redress because the car is being used to “help” the needy?
To worsen matters, those who hijacked power in Nigeria are not using it for the benefit of the people. Within seconds of the swearing in, they introduced an unscripted, unplanned, and ill-conceived verbal policy that increased the price of fuel from N195 to N540 per litre. The price of fuel further rose to N617 in 2023, and it is currently over N1,000 per litre. Some vehicle owners spend about N120,000 to fill their tanks in a country where government is still struggling to pay the minimum wage of N70,000. Does it make better sense to kill corruption or kill the people with hunger?
Most ridiculous of all, after ‘tightening the belt’ of Nigerians to the point of strangulation, the hijackers proceeded into a life of flamboyance and extravagance. A new presidential jet was purchased at over N150 billion, and a “presidential yacht” at N5 billion, with legislators receiving new SUV’s estimated at over N160 million each. Meanwhile, the house of the Vice President was completed at total cost of N21 billion, all by people who hijacked the government and promised that they meant well for the country. A Yoruba proverb states, the eye that will see eventide does not make dirt in the morning.
What occurred in Nigeria during the 2023 elections should not have been permitted. Both INEC and the Judiciary should have been checked, but the voices that should have spoken were silent. To date, those voices are still silent. The calamity is not so much the hijacking of government by unrighteous politicians but the muteness of the voices that should be screaming.
If voices did not arise from the political arena, what about from within the Church? God empowered certain people in the Church with unction, like Elisha, but they, too, have become comfortable, like Elisha, chatting away in their homes and at their endless “conventions,” while mothers are eating their children in the land. While we are unaware of reported cases of parental cannibalism in Nigeria, there are growing reports of underage girls prostituting themselves and taking the proceeds home to their famished parents, which is a kind of cannibalism. Should the prophets wait until widespread and public parental cannibalism before their anointed voices will speak to break the siege and open the gates again to bread? Of increasing concern are the many Christian intellectuals and elites who speak in glowing terms of those who should be prosecuted for treason, but seem to see nothing wrong with injustice and unrighteousness.
As the National Prayer Altar pointed out in its conference communique after the 2023 elections, tribalism was not the determinant of the outcome of the elections. The 2023 election was the outcome of the unbridled determination of Islamists, who corrupted every institution in Nigeria to ensure their flagship political party remained in power. This should be of concern to non-Islamists in Nigeria.
After the 2015 elections, the Forum of Christian Elders reviewed the state of the country and concluded that, having gained control of power in Nigeria, the Islamists were going to embark on two programs:
First, ensuring that Nigerians are impoverished so that whomsoever they offered money would do their bidding. As predicted by the Elders, the process of impoverishing Nigerians started with Buhari, and it has been accelerated by his successor. Poverty in the land is an agenda of the Islamists.
Second, the Elders predicted that the Islamists would provoke war in the land. The chaos of war would enable them to exterminate all those who could resist their plan to turn Nigeria into an Islamic theocratic state. The attempts to provoke a war in the land are behind the violence from non-state actors across the land. Nigerians should not be deceived into thinking that what is going on is tribal politics. It has nothing to do with ethnicity. The Muslim-Muslim ticket should be a constant reminder that Nigeria is dealing with the politics of religion. Christian elites should be well guided.
The land is in distress. The people have been deliberately impoverished while security of lives is no longer certain. God in His faithfulness has positioned certain voices in the land to speak to promote justice and righteousness. Those voices are within and without the Church. Unfortunately, those divinely-appointed voices are silent. Wherever they are, they should begin to speak to prevent further calamity from befalling the land. The prophets must not be silent anymore.
1). 2 Kings 6:31
Pray that every voice appointed by God to speak for justice and righteousness in Nigeria but which has remained silent should be disturbed by God until they speak.
2). Exodus 34:5-7
Pray that everyone who participated in bringing suffering and sorrow upon the masses of Nigeria shall not be guiltless before God.
3). Ezek. 11:1-2
Decree that those who give wicked counsel in Nigeria, leading to bad governance and the collapse of the economy, shall receive fiery judgment for their evil.
4). Ps. 68:1-2
Pray that every political party that promotes corruption, bloodshed, and electoral malpractice shall cease to exist.
5). Isa. 28:14-15, 18-19
Pray that every politician who gained entry into politics through satanic rituals and covenants shall be destroyed by the same forces of darkness.
6). Ezek. 22:23-28
Pray that every Church leader who endorses unrighteous politicians shall partake of their judgment.
7). Lam. 3:21-23
Pray that as Nigeria enters 2025, God will show mercy to the people and deliver them from taskmasters. Amen.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
https://zoom.us/j/96806190505?pwd=K2RqcUN3YjRwQzEzRDZaMUt2N1ZsUT09
Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
https://zoom.us/j/94064259957?pwd=bm13eDlSNTMrZWhVdTl5bmNRRlBHQT09
Meeting ID: 940 6425 9957
Passcode: Altar
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 23rd - Sunday 29th December 2024
Monday 23rd - Sunday 29th Dec. 2024
THE REASON FOR THE SEASON
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matt. 1:21)
As we celebrate the birth of Christ, we congratulate the global Christian community for grace to be alive to witness Christmas 2024. In view of the merriment and celebrations that accompany Christmas, it is good to remind ourselves why Christ came.
There are different perspectives on the purpose for which God gave His only begotten Son. Those perspectives are defined by individual needs and expectations. However, the purpose for which Christ came is clearly enunciated in Matt. 1:21: "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins." The primary purpose for which Christ came was to save from sin those who believe in Him.
When we call Jesus Saviour, we need to understand what He saved us from. On this matter also, opinions differ. There are Christians who believe that Jesus came to save them from poverty. Others believe He saved them from witches, and there are young wives who believe the Son of God came to save them from their mother-in-law. From the perspective of heaven, Jesus is “Saviour” because He saves from sins.
It is absurd many Christians who proclaim Jesus Lord and Saviour still live sinful lives. Their concept of Christ as Saviour is inconsistent with the purpose of God for sending His Son. Can a Christian claim Christ as Saviour while being unsaved from their sins?
Our worst enemy is neither Satan nor demons, even though they are malevolent foes. Our worst enemy is our personal sin, which opens the door to Satan.
Jesus boldly proclaimed, ..."for the prince of this world cometh, and hath found nothing in me" (John 14:30). The first aim of any believer, who desires to live a victorious Christian life, is to overcome sin in their life, because sin gives Satan legal grounds to operate. Where there is no sin, Satan is helpless.
In John 8:36, the Lord promised, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed". Free from what? Verse 34 gives the answer: free from sin. Jesus did not promise to make us free from Satan but from sin. Anyone free from sin is free from the powers of darkness. Satan is not the taskmaster. Sin is. Satan is merely the executioner. Without sin, Satan has nothing to execute.
In 1 John 3:8, the Scriptures declare that the "purpose" for which Jesus came was to "destroy the works of the devil," referring to "sin". Therefore, when Christians commit sin, or find excuses to remain in sin, they seldom realize that they are handing themselves cheaply over to Satan and his demons to oppress and destroy them. The only entities that profit from the sin an individual commits are devils and demons. The individual committing the sin does not gain anything, no matter the pleasure they seem to derive from the sin; the "fleeting pleasures of sin" that attract eternal punishment. The forces of darkness would usually do everything possible to seduce, entice, provoke, and stimulate someone to commit sin. Once they do, it's a mighty victory for the devil.
To appropriate fully the purpose and the work of Christ, we need to understand the two-fold victories that Christ purchased for us at Calvary. First, through His blood, Christ secured the “forgiveness” of sin for humanity, while through the cross, He gave us “deliverance” from sin. Unfortunately, many Christians appropriate the “forgiveness” from sin but do not press further to receive “deliverance” from sin.
The blood of Jesus will atone for every sin that is confessed, but it does not stop the person from repeating the sin. Only the cross can do that. To be “delivered” from sin, one must go to the cross. Only the cross provides deliverance from sin. Unfortunately, in this generation, not many preachers and church members like to talk about the cross, because of its demands. When a pastor does not teach the cross, he denies his members victory over sin, which ultimately implies the victory of Satan over those members.
Churches often ring with shouts of “the blood of Jesus”, but one rarely hears similar cries of the “cross of Jesus”. Meanwhile, it is the cross that Jesus commanded that His followers should carry. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23). When Christians neglect the provision God has made for a victorious Christian life, what else do they expect God to do? Deliverance from sin, which should be the goal of every Christian, is found in the cross. Romans 6:6 says, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin". The problem of man is a nature of sin referred to as "the old man", which is also called “the Adamic nature”, or “the sin nature”.
The book of Romans distinguishes between the sin of man, and sins of man. The “sin nature” is likened to a factory that produces a product, while the “sins” are the various products. To stop the products from entering the market, the factory must be shut down. The sin is the principle while the sins are the conducts, the manifestations of the principle ruling the life of the individual. We all inherited the same sinful Adamic nature, but our expression of “sins” differs. That is the reason “sin is sin” before God. What matters is the principle guiding the life of the individual. Is it the “old man”, or the “new man” created in the image of Christ? The conduct of the individual reveals the principle that is at work in their life.
The provision God has made to destroy the Adamic nature is to crucify it. Our old man was crucified with Christ, and we must live in this reality. This calls on Christians to adopt the “crucified life”. As Christians, we must affirm Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
As we celebrate Christmas, we should remember that Christ came to atone for our sins and deliver us from the sin nature so that we can reclaim the glory of God. When Adam sinned in Eden, he and Eve lost the glory of God. The first consequence of their sin was that they realized they were naked. They lost the glory that clothed them.
Whenever a Christian sins, he loses glory. He does not lose his life, nor lose his job, neither does his house go on fire. Yet, something terrible happens to him. Every time one sins, one loses glory. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).
Let us persevere and live the crucified life, the life of self-denial, so that we can attain to the fulness of the glory of Christ. Rom. 8:18 says, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us".
Christians are called to be glorified with Christ. There is nothing in this world that can be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." (Rom. 8:29-30). We are called unto glory. Sin is the enemy.
Merry Christmas.
1. Eph. 1:3-5
Thank God for blessing you with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. Thank Him that you are predestined to be adopted into the family of God.
2. Rom. 6:14
Decree that sin shall not have dominion over you.
3. Rom. 6:6
Pray to crucify every manifestation of adamic nature in your life to the cross of Jesus. Pray for the power of the cross of Jesus to grant you total deliverance from the sin nature.
4. Luke 9:23
Pray for grace to live the crucified life and to exercise self-denial for the sake of Christ.
5. 1 John 3:8
Pray that every work of the devil in your life and in the Church shall be destroyed, in the name of Jesus.
6. Eph. 4:11-15
Pray for revival and restoration of sound doctrine in the Nigeria Church.
7. 1 Tim. 2:3-4
Intercede for salvation of souls.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
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Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
https://zoom.us/j/94064259957?pwd=bm13eDlSNTMrZWhVdTl5bmNRRlBHQT09
Meeting ID: 940 6425 9957
Passcode: Altar
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 16th - Sunday 22nd December 2024
And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth (Mal. 2:15).
A few weeks ago, we delivered a message entitled “Godly Seed.” Thereafter, God kept drawing our attention to the condition of youths in this generation. Based on that, the National Prayer Altar organized a seven-day seminar entitled “The Challenge of Godly Parenting: Gen Z.” Seven consecutive speakers provided different perspectives on the same challenge.
Ours can aptly be described as a broken generation, resembling that of Noah before the flood, marked by violence, sexual decadence, and carelessness. As the bedrock of society, the family unit is the starting point for fixing a dysfunctional generation. The age of Noah might be excused for lacking knowledge and light, but not ours, because we have the complete Scriptures, and we understand God’s requirements for producing godly children. Admittedly, there was the strong evil influence of fallen angels (or “sons of God”) in the days of Noah; our generation is witnessing the same demonic invasion. Nevertheless, our generation has the Scriptures, the blood of Jesus, and the name of Jesus to counter demonic invasions.
In Mal. 2:15, God made it clear that the purpose of marriage is to produce “godly seed”. A successful marriage is not defined by the prosperity or wealth of the couple but by the godliness of their children. This is where a lot of families (unfortunately, some Christian families also), have failed the test of marriage. Any Christian marriage that does not produce godly children, according to the character of Christ, cannot be described in the presence of God as successful.
Between God and many Christians in this generation, the parameters for measuring a successful marriage differ. While God expects “godly seed” from a marriage, some families think that material resources or financial status is what God is looking for. Families need money to fulfil obligations, but the pursuit of wealth should not take precedence over the godly upbringing of children.
Abandoning God’s word to adopt secular wisdom on bringing up children, this generation has run itself into trouble. For example, Dr Benjamin Spock, contrary to the Bible principle on the rod of correction, insists that “Physical punishment teaches children that the larger, stronger person has the power to get his way, whether or not he is in the right, and they may resent this in the parent.” Inspired by that deviant paediatrician, generations of parents started to decline their application of the “rod of correction” in bringing up children. In many western nations, if a parent should spank their child for misconduct, they risk being arrested. What does the Bible say?
“The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame” (Prov. 29:15).
“Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul” (Prov. 29:17).
“Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying” (Prov. 19:18).
“Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell” (Prov. 23:13-14).
There are parents in our generation who consider it “wicked punishment” to smack a child for wrongdoing. Unfortunately, theirs is “wicked love.” No parent loves their child more than God does. If God says the rod of correction drives foolishness from the heart of a child (Prov. 22:15), no paediatrician or child psychologist knows better. The word of the Creator cannot be contested by His creatures. It takes a disciplined person to enforce discipline. People who prefer self-indulgence to self-discipline would only transfer their attitude to their children. Ironically, they hate the result in later years.
In this call to prayers, we assert that there is nothing wrong with children in this generation. The problem is with the parents. The carelessness and indifference with which many people approach parenting is what has produced a broken generation of youths who are rebellious, cultists, drug addicts, sexually immoral, and indifferent to the things of God. Children learn by imitation of what they see their parents and other elders do. Parents are the first set of people that children trust. When parents are not available to provide the guidance and counselling that the child needs, they transfer their trust to their teacher and to social media. Where parents are available, the child will not be swayed by distractions outside the home.
The difference between children of older generations and those of this generation is that children of this information age have a lot of options that children at other times did not have. So, if parents are not available, social media, teachers, counsellors, and of course, peer pressure, fill the gap. When a child carries a smart phone, the entire world is at their fingertips.
Most Christians in this generation, under the influence of the erroneous prosperity message in the Church, are consumed with the desire to make wealth. Consequently, they devote their time to what matters to them most: business and career. Many parents entrust the responsibility of bringing up their children to housemaids and expensive schools. Schools will impart knowledge and education, but character formation is done at home. Therefore, the responsibility is on Christian parents to review how they are parenting, whether they are following the Owner’s manual, the Word of God, or they are subscribed to secular reasoning and expecting godly results from their children. Secular reasoning will produce secular results; obedience to God will produce Godly seeds. The choice is up to the parent.
For those willing to adopt Godly standards in bringing up their children, the following suggestions would be helpful:
1. Parents should activate “home training” for their children. Most children encountered on the streets display lack of home training. Home training comes with spanking, whenever it is necessary. This does not advocate “wicked punishment”; it prevents “wicked love” in which a child is left to decide what is right or wrong. The Bible commands: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6). Train the child from home.
2. Parental love is spelled T-I-M-E. Devote quality time to be with your children and to answer their questions. Housemaids and expensive schools are no substitutes for godly parenting.
3. As Christians, ensure daily family devotions. If your family sets time aside to eat, that family must set time aside for family devotion. It is at the family devotion that children learn to apply the Word of God to practical situations. Each family should pray and study the Word of God together. It is also at the family devotion that parents impart godly values to their children.
4. Set good example for the children. In Col. 3:18-20, God commands the husband to “love” his wife, the wife to “submit” to her husband, and children to “obey” their parents. Before a family can have “obedient” children, father and mother must fulfill their obligations. In effect, love + submission = obedience.
5. In this age of “digital addiction”, introduce “cyber-fasting” for everyone in the family, including the parents. This could be a day in the week during which no one surfs the internet, goes on social media, or plays any game, for some hours. Teach your children to develop the ability to resist the addictive influence of social media.
6. For families with children far from home, it is possible to connect daily to study the Word of God as a family, by using some Bible Apps. One of such Apps is “You Version” which enables a group to read the same Bible passage and make comments for everyone in the group to read. With this App, parents can ensure that their children in secondary school dormitories participate in the daily family devotion.
7. In this age of LGBTQ, cultism, drug addiction, sexual immorality, and other vices, parents should pray daily for their children and soak them in the blood of Jesus Christ.
It is possible to bring up godly children in this generation if parents are willing to do it. May our hearts be willing to produce godly seeds for God.
1. Job 39:13-18
Confess and repent of the negligence of many Christian parents towards godly parenting.
2. Luke 17:26
Pray for soberness amongst Christian parents, that they would not get carried away by worldliness, as in the days of Noah, when the judgment of God caught them unawares. Pray that Christian parents would be diligent to bring up their children in the way of God.
3. Gen. 18:17-19
Pray that Christian parents shall be committed to raising children that shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment, as God confessed about Abraham.
4. Mal. 4:5-6
Pray forgiveness and reconciliation for families with problems between children and parents.
5. Is. 54:13
Pray that God would teach our children.
6. Joel 2:28-29
Pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on youths in this generation.
7. Eph. 6:4
Pray that fathers in this generation shall be diligent and responsible to provide godly leadership to their children.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
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Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
https://zoom.us/j/94064259957?pwd=bm13eDlSNTMrZWhVdTl5bmNRRlBHQT09
Meeting ID: 940 6425 9957
Passcode: Altar
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 9th - Sunday 15th Dec. 2024
Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants (Lev. 18:24-25).
On Wednesday 4th December 2024, the National Prayer Altar held a press conference in Lagos to address the vexing issue of moral decadence and sexual perversion in Nigeria. The press conference was a follow-up to the issues raised in Part 1 of this discourse. Excerpts from that press conference make up this prayer call.
At present, Nigeria is reeling under the crushing weight of social disorder, injustice, corruption, and the unimaginable suffering of the populace. A lot of prayers have been said and are still being said. While we thank God for the prayers, the situation seems to be getting worse. God pointed out in Isaiah 59:1-2 that His hands are not too short to save, neither His ears too heavy to hear, but sin causes God to hide His face.
Mercifully, God is shining His light to show Nigerians, particularly the Christian intercessory community, where the problem lies. Politicians are not too strong for God to handle them, neither are the terrorists too mighty to be neutralized. Satan has smuggled into Nigeria an abomination that he knows will incur the wrath of God. That abomination is explained in Lev. 18:24-25. The Amorites who committed it then were cast out of the land of Canaan and Israel moved in to take their place, but not without being warned not to make the mistake of those they had replaced. Israel ignored the warning, and was also cast out. That abomination is what God is pointing to in Nigeria. We may now understand why foreign terrorists have multiplied in Nigeria, each group bent on land-grabbing. The signal seems to have gone off in the spirit realm that there is a land available for them to take over.
Sadly, through the unfortunate patronage of some western nations, the obnoxious counterculture that expresses itself as homosexuality, lesbianism, cross-dressing, and all the weird contours accommodated under the deplorable LGBTQ umbrella, is fast spreading in Nigeria, and the populace is being subtly desensitized to its social evils by describing it as a “lifestyle.” The Bible calls it sodomy.
That behaviour is unacceptable to us because our culture forbids, our religions forbid it, and our law has proscribed it. Unfortunately, many in the upper rungs of the social ladder have been publicly implicated. Strangely, they have not denied it publicly.
Nigeria has many problems. While we work to improve the country, we should not open the door to additional problems. Sodomy does not promote any land; it incurs the wrath of God. The nations that promote sodomy are gradually declining.
As people of faith, we affirm that “righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Sodomy is sin against God and humanity. As watchmen, we publicly confess, repent of, and renounce sodomy in Nigeria. We condemn LGBTQ in all its ramifications, as well as its sponsors in the country.
In Leviticus 18 God warns that sexual perversion pollutes the land, forcing it to “vomit” its inhabitants. Nigerians have been emigrating in droves through borders and through the many mass mass graves that dot our landscape. Is the land already vomiting its inhabitants?
God warned that when the polluted land vomits its inhabitants, a new race will take it over. In the past few years, various land grabbing terrorist groups have begun to play that role: Boko Haram, Fulani ‘herdsmen’ militia, Al Qaeda, ISWAP, bandits, and lately, Lakurawa. Is the consequence of sodomy starring Nigeria in the face? That is an existential threat.
According to Rom. 1:26-28, when a people wilfully reject the knowledge of God, He hands them over to a mind that is depraved, degenerate, and perverted. When the Nigeria Church transferred allegiance from Christ to Mammon, under the guise of the “prosperity message”, the Church provoked the spirit of jealousy (Ez. 8:3). The proliferation of sexual perversions in Nigeria came with the prosperity message. It is time to return to the message of the cross of Jesus.
At the press conference, the National Prayer Altar made the following recommendations:
1. Sunday 15th December 2024 to be declared a day of prayer and fasting for the sins of sodomy, sexual perversion, and all doctrinal errors in the Church.
2. Government should strengthen legislation against sodomy by including “cross dressing” in the 14-year jail term for homosexual offenders. Those who promote or justify homosexuality should also be prosecuted under the same law.
3. Homosexuality and lesbianism, having already been criminalized in Nigeria, should not be considered “freedom of choice,” for the same reason that drug trafficking and armed robbery cannot be classed under freedom of choice.
4. The National Film and Video Censors Board should ensure greater policing of entertainment materials in the country.
5. The Ministry of Education should ensure that compromising materials are removed from the curricula of schools, and there should be greater monitoring of school dormitories.
6. Nigerians should expose politicians and religious leaders who engage in homosexuality, and they should be barred from public offices.
7. Foreign NGOs that sponsor deplorable projects in Nigeria should be exposed and prosecuted.
8. Parents should activate “home training” for their children. Godly character-building should commence from the homes. All Christian families should ensure they have family devotion to instill Godly values in the children.
It is written, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Pro. 14:34).
1. Ez. 9:3-4
Condemn and renounce sodomy and sexual perversions in Nigeria. Proclaim before God that you are not part of it neither do you endorse it in any way.
2. Isaiah 29:6-8
Pronounce judgment upon all who sponsor and promote LGBTQ in Nigeria. Decree that only they shall bear the consequence of their evil actions.
3. John 8:34-36
Ask God’s grace for repentance and deliverance for those entrapped but wiling to be free.
4. Eph. 1:7
Plead the blood of Jesus to cleanse and justify Nigeria from the destructive consequence of sodomy.
5. Nahum 3:4-6
Pray that any preacher involved in sodomy or lesbianism shall be exposed in the name of Jesus.
6. Jer. 3:15
Pray that Nigeria shall have a new generation of leaders that will promote Godly family values and righteousness in governance.
7. Isaiah 54:13
Pray that God shall shield children and youths them from the evil influence of LGBTQ.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
https://zoom.us/j/96806190505?pwd=K2RqcUN3YjRwQzEzRDZaMUt2N1ZsUT09
Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
https://zoom.us/j/94064259957?pwd=bm13eDlSNTMrZWhVdTl5bmNRRlBHQT09
Meeting ID: 940 6425 9957
Passcode: Altar
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 2nd Dec. - Sunday 8th Dec. 2024
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).
William Carey, who is called the father of modern missions, served the Lord in India for many years. He was very concerned about his son, Felix. The young man had promised to become a missionary, but he reneged on his vows when the Queen of England appointed him ambassador to Burma. Carey wrote to his friends, asking prayer for his son. He said, “Pray for Felix. He has degenerated into an ambassador of the British government when he should be serving the King of kings.”
If Felix were a brother in the present-day Church, he would have been crucified by his own brethren if he turned down the appointment as British ambassador to Burma and became a missionary. Some Christians would have cursed his ‘overzealousness.’ Felix’s choice, which his father described as “degeneration”, would have been the ‘perfect choice’ of many professing Christians today.
The modern Church has managed to produce many Christians whose priorities in life are not in alignment with the preference of heaven. Consequently, we have a disconnect between what Christians are and what the Scriptures call them to be. That disconnect has created a conflict within the Church, so that many believers struggle between what they read in the Bible and what their environment demands of them. To resolve the dilemma, we must return to the Scriptures for what Jesus empowered Christians to be and to do.
In one of our previous prayer calls, we pointed out that God gave the Old Testament saint the power to get wealth (Deut. 8:18) but gave the New Testament saint power to witness (Acts 1:8). It can be said therefore that the materialism that elevates the “power to get wealth” is inconsistent with the reality of New Testament life.
The word translated “witness” in Acts 1:8 is the Greek work martus, which has the same toot as “martyr”. What the Lord was saying, in effect was, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be martyrs unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
To help us to better understand what the Lord was saying in Acts 1:8, we shall render it thus, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall die for me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Some people had to die for Christ before the gospel could reach us. That was the call that Peter, James, Paul, Matthew, Thomas, and all the other disciples of Jesus Christ obeyed; that was the call that enabled them to serve Christ in their generation. Everywhere the gospel has made impact, people have laid down their lives in obedience to Acts 1:8. The Church of Jesus Christ makes impact where men willingly lay down their lives, passions, ambitions, and reputation for the sake of the gospel. It is only when the corn of wheat falls and dies that it brings forth much fruit (John 12:24).
In our generation, God’s call for His people to be witnesses has been diverted into a call for the “power to get wealth”. That is the reason we lack men and women who are willing to defend the righteousness of Christianity with their last breath. The result is a Church that is making itself irrelevant to heaven, and lacks impact on the earth. The power of the Church is made manifest where there are people willing to lay down their lives, as Jesus commanded. The Scriptures confirm in 2 Tim. 2:11: “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”
Today, the Church is reeling in scandals upon scandals, and the positive impact of Christianity is no longer strong on the society. As the salt of the earth and the light of the world, the Church is failing in its commission because there are fewer people willing to be “witnesses” for Christ. Being a “witness” as Jesus commanded in Acts 1:8 is more than going out on evangelism or conducting outreaches. It implies a life that is unwavering in obedience and commitment to Christ, even to the point of death.
A “witness” for Christ in a government ministry in Nigeria, at the risk of demotion or even dismissal, should reject his ‘share’ from extra-budgetary allocations. A “witness” for Christ in politics should not steal public funds, even at the risk of not winning re-election. The “witness” for Christ in University administration should keep from embezzlement of funds, and “witnesses” for Christ in the Police, Customs, and the Army should reject inducements to abuse power and extort money from defenceless citizens.
One major area where “witnesses” are lacking is the altar. Most of those who lead the Church in this generation have shown, by words and actions, that they did not receive the power to be “witnesses” for Christ. Much of the crisis of credibility assailing the Church flows from the pulpit. The “hirelings” who have invaded the altar should be cast out. Those who get more committed to the power to get wealth than the power to die for Jesus should not be given recognition as “servants of Christ.” They are priests of Mammon.
Until Christians begin to take a stand for everything Christ represents, whatever it costs, they will make little impact in their generation. A life surrendered to the Lord lasts longer than the life that pursues the vanities of the world. The disciples were lowly and uneducated men, their only recognition being that they had “been with Jesus”. Peter, James, and John did not sit with the elites in the palace where Caesar held court; they were not one of the Senators who ruled the Roman empire. However, today, we call our sons “Peter,” “James,” and “John,” while we call our dogs “Caesar,” “Nero,” and “Brutus.” That’s the difference between lives committed to Jesus and the rest.
We received power after that the Holy Ghost came upon us. That power was to enable us to take a stand for Jesus, even if it meant death. Anyone who claims to have received the baptism in the Holy Ghost but cannot stand for truth and righteousness needs to check the power that they received. Therefore, “pray for Felix” and for every Christian whose priority in life is like that of Felix. Anyone who has placed temporary comfort and worldly recognition above the call of Jesus requires prayers. It is not wisdom to jeopardize eternal glory for temporal luxury and fame.
Every Christian must stand for Christ while there is time. For Christians in Nigeria, it is time to place righteousness above material and temporal needs. The involvement of Christians in acts of corruption must cease. Rather, they should stand for truth and righteousness at every point. That is the way to the new Nigeria. God bless you.
1. Eph. 2:8-9
Thank God for your salvation. It is by grace that we are saved. Thank God that the gospel came to Nigeria.
2. 2 Cor. 5:21
Thank God for the sacrifice of atonement through Jesus Christ. Thank God for that sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven and we are saved.
3. 2 Cor. 5:15
Pray for total commitment to Christ by all Christians. Pray that in all things, Christians shall receive grace to place Christ first.
4. 1 John 2:15-17
Pray that the glamour and fake beauty of the world will not seduce Christians away from Christ.
5. Philp. 1:20-21
Pray for purposeful determination by Christians, to do the will of God.
6. John 10:11-13
Pray that God will uproot all hirelings from the Nigeria Church, who teach errors and lead Christians away from the Good Shepherd.
7. 1 Pet. 1:13-16
Pray for the spirit of sanctification to rest upon Nigeria Christians, to be separated from sin and evil, and to be consecrated to God and His ways.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
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NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 25th Nov. - Sunday 1st Dec. 2024
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye (Matt. 7:3-5).
At present, Nigeria is going through a lot of upheavals, economically, socially, and emotionally. All accusing fingers are pointing at the people in government, with the greatest accusation going to the president of the country. While we are not excusing the APC government or the president, there are other directions in which to also point our accusing fingers.
What role have citizens played to bring Nigeria to its sorry state? What moral ground do Nigerians have to complain against disarray in the country when, at individual levels, many Nigerians are corrupt, wicked, and self-seeking?
We cannot to talk to all Nigerians, but the Bible gives us authority to address the Christians. In 2 Chro. 7:14, God says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
God confirms here that His people have “wicked ways,” that only if they repent would He hear their cry from heaven and heal their land. The conclusion is that Nigeria is going through distress because of the “wicked ways” of the “the people of God.” From all indications, the indignation might persist until the people forsake their evil ways and return to righteousness.
A few months ago, a senior official of the Central Bank of Nigeria was arrested for various acts of corruption. The stolen funds credited to that individual ran into trillions of Naira. A particular monetary policy of his, had thrown the entire country into a spin for months, to the point that a distraught man stripped himself naked in a banking hall as he was unable to withdraw his money to feed his family. When that former CBN official showed up in court after being arrested, he was carrying a Bible as big as the two tablets of the Ten Commandments. That was understandably a Christian, who identifies as one of ‘the people of God.’
Just last week, a Vice Chancellor in southern Nigeria was removed from office by the Federal Government for fraudulent claims to being a professor. His defence was described by Premium Times as “tissues of lies and misinformation.” He is a Christian. There are scandals upon scandals involving Christians in political and administrative offices, as well as in other spaces of the traditional ‘marketplace.’ The late Archbishop Benson Idahosa was reported to have said, “Many are called, but few are thieves.”
That raises a very important question: What are all the preachers in the country doing? If the Church was established by God for spiritual and moral reformation, what kind of Christians are being produced by the ministers of the gospel? There is neither reformation nor morality in the lives of many Churchgoers in Nigeria. Some of the most wicked, greedy, mean, and vindictive people in this country call themselves by the name of God. Unfortunately, many of them are even called pastors. The grave lawlessness and impunity of politicians seems kindergarten when compared to the character of some “men of God.” It could mean looking for trouble to demand accountability from some church leaders. To them, it is an affront to be called upon to account for their actions and decisions.
When Church leaders demonstrate such impunity and recklessness to accountability, what would they impart to their churchgoers? They make laws that target others but exclude themselves. Does God practise such double standard? Even corrupt politicians step down once their tenure is over, but many pastors would scheme their way on. Ironically, they preach morality.
If Nigeria is in distress today, the Christian should look in the mirror. Before pointing at the speck in the eyes of Tinubu the President, Christians should remove the log in their own eyes. God did not say, “If the president will turn from his wicked ways…”; He said, “If My people, which are called by my name ….” God is not waiting for Tinubu to change before healing Nigeria. He is waiting for Christians to change. Psalm 51:6 says, “thou desirest truth in the inward parts.” Christians should admit the role they played and are still playing in the calamities of Nigeria. When Christians collect bribes in government ministries, fornicate, and break laws without remorse, what do they expect would happen to the country?
If no one will talk to us, let us talk to ourselves. Nigerian Christians, we are not doing well in godly character. Many Christians have adopted the hypocritical and pretentious character of the Church leaders, most of whom are hirelings. They are not good shepherds. It is the Church leaders who cause division amongst the saints, and they are the people who introduce satanic doctrines that ridicule Christianity and inflame greed and vanity in the people of God.
It is good that some Christians are praying for Nigeria. It should go on. However, beyond prayers, Christians should individually appraise their character, whether it is Christlike or not. In name, many Christians follow Christ, but in character, they follow Satan. If the Church should embraces righteousness as a way of life, Nigeria will turn around for good, without delay.
Prophet Hosea wrote, ”Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up” (Hos. 6:1). It is a call for Christians in Nigeria to become Christlike. Because of the iniquity of the Church, the land is mourning. Let us call ourselves to order and stop following charismatic liars in the Church whose god is their belly.
It appears that this generation of ministers was trained in hypocrisy and greed. When they speak, they condemn immorality and corruption in the Church, but they do worse than what they condemn. The unfortunate thing is that their congregations know this, but “they love to have it so” (Jer. 5:31).
It is time to proclaim repentance in all churches. Nigeria requires healing, and the Church should quickly facilitate divine intervention. The situation in the country should not be worse than it currently is. May God have mercy on us and heal our land. Amen.
1. 2 Chro. 7:14
Confess the “wicked ways” of the people of God, and pray that God would purge the Church.
2. Mal. 3:3-5
Pray that God will purge pastors and all ministers of the gospel in Nigeria and hasten the judgment He has decreed against those who pollute His sanctuary.
3. Eph. 1:7
Plead the blood of Jesus to atone for the sins of Christians in Nigeria. Pray that God will have mercy and purify His Church.
4. Ps. 75:6-7
Pray that God would promote righteous and God-fearing men/women in the Church, to occupy leadership positions.
5. Isaiah 26:9-11
Pray that God would have mercy upon Nigeria and judge evil, wherever it is found.
6. Joel 2:28-30
Pray for revival in the land.
7. Matt. 16:19
Take authority over Satan and all the forces of darkness behind bloodshed, kidnapping, corruption, and perversion in the land. Bind and cast all those evil forces out of Nigeria.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
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Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
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NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 18th October - Sunday 24th November 2024
But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full (Gen. 15:16).
Whenever iniquity is full, judgment follows. God has programmed the land in such a way that, whenever the iniquity of the people living on it is full, the land vomits them. It is a divine ordination. In Leviticus 18, God listed the iniquity of the Amorites, the descendants of Noah through Ham and Canaan. The Amorites had filled the land of Canaan with acts of sexual perversion that activated the divinely programmed judgment. This judgment occasionally takes a long time before it falls. In the case of the Amorites, it took four hundred years, while God was patient if the people would repent. Within that period, the replacement people were being prepared in Egypt.
While Israel was preparing to replace the Amorites in Canaan, God warned them about the laws of the land. They were not to commit sexual perversion, otherwise what had been programmed into the land would be activated against them. Israel thought that God was unserious. They filled the land with perversion. God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not save them. The ten northern tribes were vomited out completely, and they lost the land. The southern tribe of Judah, probably assuming that the Amorites and the northern tribes of Israel were not as special to God as they, also filled the land with perversion, and the land vomited them into Babylonian captivity.
God is warning Nigeria that her iniquity is becoming full. Already, the land has started vomiting its inhabitants. It is called the “japa syndrome.” People are being forced to leave the country in droves. Some leave through the airports, some through land borders, while others “japa” by trekking through the desert, and multitudes more are vomited into their graves. The land is vomiting its inhabitants because of the weight of iniquity upon it.
Those preparing to take over the land have arrived. They started arriving as Boko Haram. It was followed by Fulani Herdsmen, then, Al Qaeda, Islamic State West Africa Province, Ansaru, Bandits, and the latest group is called Lakurawa, that arrived from Niger Republic. They all have one thing in common: land grabbing. The land is already calling for fresh people to inhabit it. If Nigerians think that they are more special than Israel, they will soon realize that they are not, if there is no national rethink. If God could cast out Israel from the land that He swore by an oath to give to Abraham and his descendants, He will cast out any people who violate His moral standards.
What is “the iniquity of the Amorites”? Leviticus 18 summarises it as acts of sexual perversions that violate God’s moral code. Topical amongst them are: homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, incest, and paedophile. Nigeria is outwardly known as a religious country, but under its veneer of religiosity lurks the dark passions of men and women; a stench and an abomination to God. Homosexuality in Nigeria has its roots in the core north, where there are public male prostitutes called “Yan Daudu” or “Dan Daudu.” They are common there.
Homosexuality in Nigeria became a national malaise under a military ruler who ran a cult of homosexuals in the army. Members of that cult, who were referred to as his “boys,” were favoured with juicy political and administrative appointments in his government. A retired military officer boldly granted an interview in the media and revealed sordid details of the perversion that entered the army through that military ruler. The officer stated that male “bottom power” was the basis for officers’ progress in the military.
Because that evil was not checked, it was also adopted by those seeking political power in Nigeria. It is now reported as an epidemic in political circles where “godfathers” demand sodomy for political sponsorship. In the 2023 elections, some of the prominent candidates were allegedly involved in sodomy. The virus has also entered the entertainment industry in Nigeria. Many celebrities are alleged to be sodomites.
A few weeks ago, a blogger published three lists of male celebrities in Nigeria involved in sodomy. The shocking thing was that those listed did not head to the court to clear their names. Even if the legal option was not considered, it was expected that anyone falsely accused of such a grievous lifestyle in this culture would at least have done a rebuttal, yet those are the influencers on social media, that youths follow, emulating their lifestyle.
Not only in the entertainment industry but also in the banking sector it is now reported that promotion and retention of jobs in some banks is based on “bottom power.” Some banks are already notorious for employing beautiful young women and sending them out to prostitute their bodies as “marketers,” to obtain deposits from rich men. Homosexuality is fast becoming the qualification to access juicy contracts and business opportunities in the land. In secondary school boarding houses, homosexuality and lesbianism are becoming rampant. The iniquity of the Amorites is spreading in the land. The street name for it is “Agege” – not the Agege area in Lagos city, but “a-gay-gay.”
If this evil were restricted to secular circles, it might have been dismissed as a manifestation of the sin nature. Shockingly, a major Christian denomination was embroiled in a scandal a few days ago, that some of its pastors were sodomizing teenage boys. The scandal led to the suspension of two pastors while investigation continues. Who, but God, knows what is going on in other denominations and in other religions?
The matter escalated when a prophetess from USA, Sister Celestial, gave a five-hour prophecy on Nigeria in which she described the National ID of the country in heaven as sodomy. That prophecy not only described what goes on in the country but has raised the alarm that the evil has attracted divine displeasure, and God is poised to judge the land on account of the sodomy of some of the people, particularly the leaders. When political leaders get involved, it becomes a national sin. (A short clip of the prophecy is below.)
The desperation to survive is making many people vulnerable. As the economy shrinks, men become desperate to earn income and some yield ground to abominations.
As a country, Nigeria by legislation rejects sodomy in all its ramifications. We also, as citizens, reject LGBTQ and we condemn its sponsors, locally and internationally. Homosexuality is not an “alternative lifestyle” (as some have chosen to euphemistically call it), it is the highest degradation of humanity by Lucifer the enemy of God and man. Men who would otherwise loathe to touch faeces, use their manhood to pack it. When people reject the knowledge of God, they slide into a state lower than animals (Rom. 1:18-28). There is no record that animals indulge in sodomy. As dirty as the pig is, it does not; neither the goat reputed for stubbornness. It is depraved men and women, who have lost the knowledge and glory of God, who indulge in it.
In Nigeria, we have three grounds for rejecting sodomy: cultural, religious, and legal.
1. Our culture as Africans forbids sodomy.
2. Every religion practised in Nigeria is opposed to sodomy.
3. Legally, sodomy is prohibited in Nigeria by virtue of the law promulgated in January 2014. Whosoever is convicted of homosexuality is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years.
For the foregoing, it is time to speak out against this evil and condemn it before it destroys us as a people and cost us the land that our ancestors passed to us. They gave us this land, not sodomy.
The time has come to expose all those engaged in sodomy in Nigeria, and shame them publicly. The time has come to insist that every homosexual politician be exposed, and never be allowed back into political leadership. We should not put people into political offices only for them to use their authority as leaders to defile the land and bring curses upon us.
The Church must publicly condemn and renounce sodomy in Nigeria. That is necessary, to show God that sodomy has been judged in Nigeria, so that He would no longer need to judge the country on account of the same abomination. Such an action would be a first step to avert the potential judgment on the land for “the iniquity of the Amorites.” Christian leaders should be proactive on this matter.
Parents should also start talking to their children and warn them against sodomy. The critical education called “home training” must be activated in families. Boys and girls must be trained to resist and reject LGBTQ advancement. Once this critical education is applied at home, children will resist it wherever they encounter it. May God deliver us and heal our land. Amen.
1. Prov. 28:13
Confess the sin of sodomy in Nigeria. Acknowledge that the land has been polluted and the moral standards of God have been violated; that the people of the land have sinned against God.
2. Lev. 18:22-25
Condemn the sin of sodomy and all manners of perversion and pollution in Nigeria. Pronounce judgment on all who do it.
3. Ez. 22:23-31
Stand in the gap for Nigeria. Plead with God to judge only those who pollute the land.
4. Ez. 8:7-12
Pray for divine exposure and public shame of all who engage in sodomy and the defilement in Nigeria.
5. Joel 2:28-29
Pray that the youths in the land shall be delivered and preserved from the evil of LGBTQ. Pronounce judgment on Nigerians and foreign nationals who sponsor and promote LGBTQ in Nigeria.
6. 2 Kings 9:4-10
Pray that God will raise a righteous ruler in the land, who will execute judgment on all sodomites and all those who defile the land with bloodshed, perversion, and corruption.
7. Prov. 22:6
Pray for families, that parents shall be diligent to inculcate home training into their children; for peace and unity in marriages, to ensure that children grow up under proper parental guidance.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
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Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
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NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 11th October - Sunday 17th November 2024
The shattering sounds started in the middle of the night. You were horrified to hear rapid gunshots in your neighbourhood, mingled with screams of fear and terror. Some neighbours were screaming for help. You could clearly hear some shouting, “They are killing us! They are killing us!” As you jumped out of bed in terror, there was loud banging on your gate, with gunshots, right in front of your house. The killers were trying to break in! As they banged your gate, the killers were screaming, “Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!!” At once you knew the Islamist terrorists were in your neighbourhood, on a mission to murder all Christians they would find.
There was no time to search for decent clothes, mobile phones, or your ATM card. Your only instinct was survival. In your panic, you forgot where the children were in the house. You could only shout “Everybody, run, run!” As you were giving the command, you were on your way out, in a mad rush to the only escape route, the backyard fence. It remains a mystery how you managed to scale the fence. As you landed on the other side of the fence, you ran as fast as your legs could carry you far away from the house you sweated to build for your family. Even the members of your family were nowhere to be seen. Everybody had to take care of themselves.
You joined other survivors in a long trek through the night into the next community, about five kilometres away. When you looked back, at what was your home, the skyline was aglow with orange colour from burning houses. The terrorists were setting buildings on fire and killing every Christian they could sight. There were thirteen people in your house that night, but you could only see yourself. Your senses were numbed. You just trudged along like a zombie. In your confusion, you asked yourself repeatedly, “Where are the Policemen?” “Where was the Army?”
When the survivors arrived at the next community, in the early hours of the morning, they found their way into a government premises that became the IDP camp. With no clothing, no food, and no money, everyone was at the mercy of the elements. Some of the people in the host community provided wrappers for those who fled naked, and shared the little food they had. This was to be the pattern of survival for many months. No one showed up from the government. To worsen matters, no one showed up from the Church.
The most painful part of the experience was the lack of empathy from fellow Christians. You then asked, “Where is the love of Christ?” After a few days, representatives of an NGO arrived to interview the survivors, and they also brought some food relief. That was when you inquired about the Church in Nigeria. How is the Church doing?
The officials of the NGO reported that life continued as usual. The Christian brethren kept contributing money to build Cathedrals, while some “men of God” increased their fleet of exotic vehicles. A mega pastor travelled to USA with an entourage of 50 members for a 'special program' while the Church leaders from the apex body of Christianity visited the president in Aso Villa. They did not raise the issue of Christian IDPs, so that they would not offend the president. They took a group photograph with the president, and they assured him that they were praying for him to succeed and win re-election.
Then, you asked the NGO official, “Don’t they know that we are here?”
“Yes,” replied the NGO official, “they know that you are here, but they don’t care. You are not their priority.”
“But”, you protested, “Jesus said we should love one another?”
The NGO official looked at you in the face, and said bluntly, “There is a lot of difference between what the Lord said, and what men do.”
As you thought about this conversation with the NGO officials in 2014, it dawned on you that it is now 2024. You have been in the IDP camp for ten years, still, the Church has not come. Many Cathedrals have been built within that ten-year period, and many exotic vehicles have been bought, but the Christian IDPs remain neglected and abandoned.
This is a real life story, of which some Christian would say, “God forbid”. Unfortunately, some Christians are going through this situation, and some have been in the IDP camps for over ten years. They did not commit any crime.
Watchman Nee wrote in one of his books that the highest principle in the universe is the vindication of God. In every situation, God must be vindicated. In the case of the persecuted Christians in Nigeria, God made sufficient arrangements for the persecuted Christians to be taken care of, and the genocide to be prevented. In 2014, while Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor was the president of CAN, God initiated a program of fund mobilization to take care of persecuted Christians in Nigeria and a Strategy Document to be implemented to curtail the excesses of the Islamists. Pastor Oritsejafor accepted the proposals and was instrumental in getting both approved by the National Executive Committee of CAN in 2014 and 2015 before his tenure came to an end and he vacated the office. If those plans had subsequently been executed, the trajectory of Nigeria today would have been different because, the right steps would have been taken. God made adequate arrangements to take care of the persecuted Christians. God is vindicated.
After Pastor Oritsejafor left office as the president of CAN, those who took over from him had other priorities. God did not neglect the persecuted Christians, men did. According to the plan of God, no Christian in Nigeria should have remained in an IDP camp as of 2024.
If some Church leaders acted the way that they did, how about the individual Christians? Should they also follow suit? On Judgment Day, we shall stand as individuals before Christ to render account. If each Christian in Nigeria should contribute a minimum N500 a month to support persecuted Christians, a pool of funds should be available to succour the brethren languishing in the IDP camps.
What has happened to the persecuted Christians could have happened to any Christian. They did not commit any crime, neither did they offend God. They only chose to be Christians, just like every other Christian. Their misfortune is that they were born in the part of the country where the Islamists operate. How many Christians would wish to be neglected the way the IDPs have been neglected by the Nigeria Church?
It is time for all Christians in Nigeria to repent and change their attitude towards their persecuted brethren. While it may not be possible to reach the Church leaders who evidently live in another realm, individual Christians can still be reached. The reader of this prayer call has been reached and he/she can reach other Christians. Let us join hands to demonstrate the love of Christ. We can afford to give, no matter how little it may be.
For more information about how to support persecuted Christians, please visit www.layfaithful.org/donate
May we not encounter this kind of evil in the days of our pilgrimage on earth. God bless you.
1). Matt. 25:31,41-46
Confess the sin of Nigeria Church in neglecting the persecuted Christians in the country. In neglecting the persecuted Christians, the Church neglected Christ.
2). Rev. 3:19
Pray for genuine repentance in the Church, that will propel Christians to take care of the persecuted Christians.
3). Rom. 2:5-6
Pray for the judgment of God on all in the Church who callously prevented help from reaching the persecuted Christians.
4). Isaiah 26:5-8
Pray God’s judgment on all the terrorists and their sponsors, locally and internationally, for their unprovoked and unwarranted attacks on the saints of God in Nigeria.
5). Matt. 25:30
Pray God’s judgment on all government and security officials who failed in their responsibility to protect persecuted Christians.
6). Isaiah 40:1-5
Pray for comfort, encouragement, and strength for the persecuted.
7). Isaiah 45:12-13
Pray that God will raise righteous leadership in the country, that will execute judgment on all religious fundamentalists and ensure that the Christian IDPs return to their ancestral homelands peacefully.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
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Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
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NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 4th October - Sunday 10th November 2024
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins (Isaiah 58:1)
Some years ago, the Lord gave a revelation to an elderly Nigerian evangelist concerning the state of the Church in Nigeria. In that revelation, the leader of a large denomination in Nigeria was leading a massive crowd along a road. His sheep dutifully followed him. Suddenly, the leader was blind in both eyes. The congregation, following, could only see his back and was unaware that disaster had struck the leader. The blind leader had veered off the road and run into a bush. The congregation followed, none of them raising an alarm that they had left the road. The deeper the leader went into the bush, so relentlessly the people followed.
In 2024, Sister Celestial, based in the US, published a prophecy about the state of the Nigeria Church, and Nigeria as a country. She prophesied as follows: “Nigeria, you are so deceived, and you are so stubborn. You are willing to be destroyed for the sin of one man. You are so addicted to the pornography of worshipping these naked men and women standing on your pulpits. So many of them are defiled, even if I do not know their names. Your pulpits are compromised in Nigeria. But you are addicted to the pornography of staring at the nakedness of these men and women …” (The clips from the message are posted below.)
It would not be surprising if some people in the Church object to the message by Sister Celestial. It should however be borne in mind that the revelation of the blind denominational leader came many years earlier, and there have been similar prophecies, all pointing to the fact that all is not well with Christian leadership in Nigeria. The state of the Church, as well as that of the country are indications that the light of many Christians in Nigeria is not shinning. The problem is the leadership. That was one reason the apocalyptic letters of Jesus to the seven churches in Asia, in the book of Revelation, were directed at the pastors, not the members of the Church.
The situation of the Church in Nigeria appears to be worse than the blind leading the blind. The irony, in the case of Nigeria, is that it is the blind leading those who can see. Both revelations narrated above seem to point in this direction. Even if some erring Church leaders are unaware of what they are doing, the average Christian in Nigeria is not oblivious. And this is the mystery in dealing with Christians in Nigeria. They are aware of what is going on, yet continue to endorse it, support it, and fund it. The unquestionable loyalty that many Christians demonstrate, to openly erring Church leaders, could be the reason the Lord lamented through Sis Celestial, that Nigerian Christians are “stubborn and willing to be destroyed for the sin of one man.”
Now, the entire country is reeling from blow after blow of economic mismanagement, societal disorder, insecurity, collapse of infrastructure, as well as flagrant and odious acts of corruption and injustice. Yet, many Christians do not want to talk about how the All Progressives Congress (APC) got into power. APC was able to mobilize substantial Christian support in 2014 and 2015 because a particular church leader countered a warning from God that Christians should not support APC. The Church was warned. The warning came strongly, that APC should not be permitted to form a government. That Church leader wrote a letter and countered the warning. There is intense suffering in the land because of the action of that singular individual. To date, people do not want to talk about what happened, talk less of demanding accountability from that pastor.
The compromise of church leaders did not stop there. Buhari was able to return to power in 2019 because another church leader wilfully frustrated a program of Christian Political Consensus. That project was aimed at uniting Christians at the polls to use their numerical advantage to put an end to the misrule of Muhammadu Buhari after his first term. That Church leader destroyed the consensus, leaving the Church divided and weak. After Buhari had successfully manipulated the polls, that church leader and his group were amongst the first set of people to rush to Aso Villa to congratulate the man that was supervising genocide against Christians.
In 2023, when APC announced its obnoxious Muslim-Muslim ticket, Church leaders rolled out the red carpet for the APC candidates, at the National Christian Centre. The Church leaders also welcomed another Muslim candidate of the other major political party, with no evidence that they were available to welcome the one notable Christian candidate in that election. In effect, Church leaders openly endorsed Muslim Presidential candidates, but not Christian candidates.
Emerging signals indicate that if the Christian community is not watchful and vocal, the Church leaders will return to the market for the 2027 elections. The transactional leadership that invaded the Church in recent years is at the root of the calamity that befell Nigeria. The spiritual authority of the Church has been used repeatedly to place Islamist fundamentalists in the Presidency while there are more competent and capable Christians in the electoral race. The Church, if well harmonized and mobilized, has the capacity to provide righteous leadership for Nigeria. Unfortunately, the Church is currently being led by men and women who place personal and selfish interests above that of Christ and His people.
Curiously, the Lord has started speaking about judgment upon the Church as well as upon Nigeria. At a prayer meeting on 1st October 2024, the Lord sent a word, that the prayers of Nigeria Christians should align with His will if results were to be seen. The Lord declared that He wanted to judge the Church and the country, and that was the prayer that Christians should focus on.
Hear what Prophet Ezekiel said in Ezekiel 9:4-6 when God was going to judge Jerusalem:
And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary.
It is not enough that one is clean and undefiled from the abominations in the Church, one must in addition show God that he/she does not approve of them. God expects His children to condemn evil wherever they see it. Neutrality in this case is taken as endorsement. Therefore, to prevent collateral damage, in which the innocent will partake of the judgment of evil doers, Christians should be vocal against the evils taking place in the Church and in the land.
Secondly, Christians should organize to demand accountability from erring and reckless Church leaders. 1 Cor. 11:31 says, "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged." Christians should demand that those who compromised the Church, leading to the emergence of APC in power, should openly renounce the evil they committed.
Thirdly, there is need for a national Christian solemn assembly, to confess the role of the Church in facilitating evil politicians into political offices in the country. The Nigeria Church cannot absolve itself of complicity in all the atrocities of APC in the past ten years. Without the active support of some Church leaders, APC could never have come into power and “won” re-election twice.
Maybe, if Nigeria Christians should heed the prophetic warnings, the judgment of God might be averted. But if the usual attitude of indifference is maintained, then, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus”. (Rev. 22:20).
1). 2 Chr. 7:14
Confess the permissiveness and complicity of some Christian leaders, which led to the emergence of corrupt people in government in Nigeria. The compromise of those Christian leaders brought evil and afflictions upon the land.
2). 1 Cor. 11:31
Condemn every political action of church leaders that run contrary to the will and purpose of God for the Church and the country. Absolve the Church of such actions.
3) 1 Jn. 1:9
Confess every act of lawlessness, impunity, corruption, and immorality taking place in the Church. Pray forgiveness of God for the Nigeria Church.
4). 2 Tim. 1:7
Pray that Christians shall be delivered from timidity and fear of men. Pray that Christians shall be bold to confront evil and acts of unrighteousness in the Church, without fear of men.
5). Matt. 15: 13
Pray that God would uproot every minister of the gospel that is not doing the perfect will of God in the Church and in the country.
6). Isaiah 26:9-11
Pray for the judgment of God upon the Church, and upon wicked rulers in Nigeria, so that the land will experience righteousness and peace.
7). Neh. 5:14-15
Pray that God would raise new leaders for the Church and the nation, men and women who fear God.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
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Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
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Passcode: Altar
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 28th October - Sunday 3rd November 2024
“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19).
Now it came to pass that there was a group that called themselves “fishermen.” And lo, there were many fishes in the waters all around; in the streams and lakes, and the fishes were hungry. Week after week, month after month, and year after year, those fishermen met at meetings and talked about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing. Year after year, they carefully defined what fishing meant, defended fishing as an occupation, and declared that fishing was always to be a primary task of fishermen.
Continually, they searched for new and better methods of fishing, and for new and better definitions of fishing. Further, they said, “The fishing industry exists by fishing, as fire exists by burning.” They loved slogans such as “Fishing is the task of every fisherman,” and “Every fisherman is a fisher,” and “A fisherman’s outpost for every fisherman’s club.” They sponsored special meetings called “Fishermen’s Campaigns” and “The Month for Fishermen to Fish.” They sponsored costly nationwide and worldwide congresses to discuss fishing, to promote fishing, and hear about all the ways of fishing, such as the new fishing equipment, fish calls, and whether some new bait had been discovered.
Those fishermen built large, beautiful buildings called “Fishing Headquarters.” The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman, and every fisherman should fish. One thing they never did, however, was fish.
In addition to meeting regularly, they organized a board to send out fishermen to other places where there were many fish. All the fishermen seemed to agree that what was needed was a board which could challenge fishermen to be faithful in fishing. The board was formed by those who had the great vision and courage to speak about fishing, to define fishing, and to promote the idea of fishing in faraway streams and lakes where many other fish of different colours lived.
Also, the board hired staff and appointed committees and held many meetings to define fishing, to defend fishing, and to decide what new streams should be thought about. But the staff and committee members never fished.
Large, elaborate, and expensive training centers were built whose original and primary purpose was to teach fishermen how to fish. Over the years, courses were offered on the needs of fish, the nature of fish, where to find fish, the psychological reactions of fish, and how to approach and feed fish. The teachers had doctorates in fishiology, even though they themselves never fished. They only taught fishing. Year after year, after tedious trainings, many were graduated and given fishing licenses. They were sent out to do full-time fishing, some to distant waters filled with fish.
Some spent much time to study and travel to learn the history of fishing and to see faraway places where the founding fathers did great fishing in centuries past. They lauded the faithful fishermen of years before who handed down the idea of fishing.
Further, the fishermen built large printing houses to publish fishing guides. Presses were kept busy day and night to produce materials solely devoted to fishing methods, equipment, and programs to arrange and to encourage meetings to talk about fishing. A speakers’ bureau was also provided to schedule special speakers on the subject of fishing.
Many who felt the call to be fishermen responded. They were commissioned and sent to fish. But, like fishermen back home, they never fished. Like the fishermen back home, they engaged in all kinds of other occupations. They built power plants to pump water for fish and tractors to plow new waterways. They made all kinds of equipment to travel here and there to look at fish hatcheries. Some also said they wanted to be part of the fishing party, but they felt called to furnish fishing equipment. Others felt that their job was to relate to the fish in a good way so the fish would know the difference between good and bad fishermen. Others felt that simply letting the fish know that they were nice land-loving neighbours was enough.
After one stirring meeting on “The Necessity for Fishing,” one young fellow left the meeting and went fishing. The next day he reported that he had caught two outstanding fish. He was honoured for his excellent catch and scheduled to visit all the big meetings possible to tell how he did it. So, he quit his fishing in order to have time to tell about the experience to the other fishermen. He was also placed on the Fishermen’s General Board as a person of considerable experience.
Now it’s true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish every day. They received the ridicule of some who made fun of their fishermen’s clubs and the fact that they claimed to be fishermen yet never fished. They wondered about those who felt it was of little use to attend the weekly meetings to talk about fishing. After all, were they not following the Master who said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men?”
Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those who didn’t catch fish were really not fishermen, no matter how much they claimed to be. Yet it did sound correct. Is a person a fisherman if, year after year, he never caught a fish? – Drescher
Many will remember the Sunday School song, “I will make you fishers of men, if you follow Me.” While not all Christians are called into full time missionary work, every Christian is called to soul winning. Unfortunately, the modern-day Church seems to have changed that Sunday School song to, “I will make you richer than men, if you follow Me.”
Can a fisherman be called a fisherman if he does not catch fishes? In like manner, can a Christian be called a Christian if he does not win souls? Could a person be said to be following Jesus, yet he does not win souls? Therefore, we need to highlight the following points:
1. It is imperative for every Christian to participate in soulwinning. It is the command of the Lord.
2. Soulwinning and discipleship should form the core of all the doctrines in the Church.
3. Souls are meant to be won into the Kingdom of God, based on repentance from sins (Matt. 3:2; Matt. 4: 17; Luke 24:46-47). The prevalent doctrine of “gospel of benefits” should be discontinued because it produces “false converts” who claim to be Christians yet are not converted based on “repentance and remission of sins” (Luke 24:47). “False converts” is the reason many churches are filled with people while the fruit of Christianity is not evident on the streets, in offices, and in many homes.
4. Therefore, Christians must consider strategies to win souls into the Kingdom of God. It is a task that must be done. One strategy that should be revived is the distribution of gospel tracts. Christians should form teams of twos and target unsaved groups in their communities. Primary and Secondary Schools are vital target groups.
Those who desire to become active in soul winning, and require gospel tracts for the purpose, could visit www.houseofkaris.net/tracts to obtain tracts. The materials could be copied and given to printers to produce. Those who desire tracts for special groups could contact
Jesus Christ says, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:14). May our hearts be tender to obey the commands of the Lord.
1. John 1: 9
Ask God’s forgiveness for every missed opportunity to win souls into the Kingdom of God. Also, pray forgiveness for the Church in Nigeria, for neglecting soul winning.
2. Luke 24:46-47
Pray that Church leaders and all soul winners shall shun the “gospel of benefits” and concentrate on preaching repentance and remission of sins in obedience to the command of Jesus Christ.
3. 1 Thes. 2:1-5
Pray for boldness and wisdom for all who desire to win souls into the Kingdom of God.
4. Acts 1:8
Pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon all who desire to win souls.
5. 2 Tim. 1:7
Take authority over the spirit of fear which Satan uses to intimidate and discourage Christians from soul winning.
6. Matt. 15:13
Pray to uproot all false teachers from the Church.
7. 1 Tim. 2:3-4
Intercede for the salvation of all.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
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Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 21st October - Sunday 27th October 2024
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).
In the past few weeks, we have been examining various issues in the Church in anticipation of the much-awaited revival. Expectedly, some of the prayer calls elicited notable responses, especially from some who considered their concept of “Christianity” challenged. In the past few prayer calls, we have posed questions like, “Where did the prosperity message come from?”, “What is the purpose of the Church?”, and last week we sought to highlight the misalignment of Old and New Testament principles, resulting in a distortion of heavenly focus for many New Testament saints.
We are impelled from the foregoing to delve deeper into the Word of God and understand how God presented His word to us. When the Bible commands in 2 Tim. 2:15 to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth," it is to prevent a mishandling of the word of God through ignorance, and in some cases, through the deliberate mischief of false teachers.
In the New Testament, two different Greek words are used to describe the word of God: logos and rhema.
Logos is the revelation of God in His word and as His Word. John 1:1 states, "In the beginning was the Word [logos], and the Word [logos] was with God, and the Word [logos] was God." The Scripture, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 is logos, that is, God revealing Himself to man through the written word. The character, purpose, plans of God are revealed in the logos. Since no one has seen God, and no one on earth has had the opportunity of living with Him physically to understand His character, God chose to reveal Himself through His Word. By studying the Word of God, we come to know Who God is and how to relate with Him.
Rhema, on the other hand, is generally described as a specific word, given to a specific individual, at a specific time, for a specific purpose. While the entire logos is available for us to study, the entire Bible does not constitute a rhema to anyone. God chooses which word to 'quicken' to any person, under different circumstances. It is the rhema that gives someone faith. Basically, rhema is God committing Himself to someone, that He would do something. It displeases God when He speaks thus to an individual and that person does not believe Him (Heb. 11:6). When that happens, God charges the fellow with unbelief. Without a rhema, there is no faith based on a specific word for that specific individual for any specific purpose.
It says in Rom. 10:17, ”So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word [rhema] of God.” That is how faith comes - by hearing. It is the rhema that produces faith from the 'hearing' of the logos.
How did Mary receive the news from Angel Gabriel that she would give birth to the Messiah? Luke 1:38 says, ”And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word" - rhema.
John the Baptist headed for the wilderness, very certain that men would come to him because, according to Luke 3:2, ”… the word [rhema] of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.” Peter told the Lord, ”… Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word [rhema], I will let down the net" (Luke 5:5).
The rhema that God gives a person encapsulates the power, the grace, the anointing, and everything that is needed to accomplish the purpose for which God has spoken that word. Isaiah 55:11 says, ”So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void.” For that reason, it is serious offence to disbelieve what God has said.
Some individuals attempt to convert the logos into a rhema. Because something is in the Bible does not imply that it applies to you. That is where prayer comes in. One needs to pray and discern God’s will concerning a matter, before jumping to conclusions that God wants to intervene. It is not enough to pray, it is also important that we exercises patience and wait for God to speak, rather than do something in presumption, which is the opposite of faith. The following short story illustrates the point.
A group of young people in South Korea wanted to go for a retreat but their way was blocked by a flooded river. While they stood at the bank, three girls reasoned that since Peter walked on water, they too could walk on water. They prayed and stepped into the flooded river. It carried them away, and the secular press had a field day mocking the Christians and their God. Pastor Cho took the matter to God and God referred him to Matt. 14:28: ”And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.”
The word “come” was the rhema that enabled Peter to walk on the water. When he lost sight of the Master's call to, “Come,” he started to sink. Those three girls sought to re-enact what Peter had done whereas Jesus did not 'tell' them in those specific circumstances to “Come." It was presumption, not faith.
Unfortunately, that is what many Christians do, and they become frustrated, believing God to do what He never promised to do for them. The "hyper-faith" theology of “see it, claim it, and have it” has done a lot of damage to many Christians who now find it difficult to trust God.
What many Christians call faith is “hope.” It is okay to pick a promise in the Bible and pray that God would fulfill it in one’s life. However, the person praying must wait for God to speak, then they can claim the promise. There are cases in which God could prompt someone to take a step to accomplish what God already has in mind. A good example is the woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8:43-48).
God can give a rhema from out of the logos, or He can use a dream, a prophecy, or a word of knowledge. God is so creative He can even use the traffic light to give a rhema. One thing is clear, when an individual receives a rhema they will know that God has spoken to them in that specific way about the specific matter.
The prayer call of last week stated that the mandate of the New Testament saint was different from that of the Old Testament saint.
”God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds" (Heb. 1:1-2).
God spoke to the Old Testament saints “by the prophets” (Moses, Isaiah, Micah, etc), but He speaks to “us” (the Church) by “His Son” (Jesus Christ). If the OT prophet said, “God gives you power to get wealth” and the Son says, “ye shall receive power to witness," the Christian must ensure what the Son says. If the OT prophets said, “an eye for an eye”, and the Son says, “if they slap you on one cheek turn the other,” we must follow the instruction of the Son. If the prophets promised a land flowing with milk and honey, and the Son says, “in this world ye shall have tribulation,” we should prepare to endure difficulties.
When Christians return to the commands of the Master, the Church would have been ready for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. John 10:27 says, ”My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” May Christians in this generation hear the voice of the Master.
1). John 10:27
Pray that the spirit of obedience shall rest on Nigeria Christians, and they shall obey the commands of Jesus Christ.
2). John 8: 32
Pray that Christians in Nigeria shall be grounded in the truth of the word of God.
3). 2 Pet. 2:17-20
Pray that Nigeria Christians shall be delivered from the influence of false teachers who pervert the word of God for personal gain.
4). 2 Pet. 2:1-2
Pray that all false teachers be uprooted from the Church.
5). Gal. 1:6-9
Many Christians have been led astray by hyper-faith teachers. Pray that Christians shall be delivered from the presumption that leads to expecting what God never promised.
6). Col. 2:6-10.
Those who practise syncretism in the Church (the combination of Christianity and human tradition) rely mostly on the OT practices and promises to promote their craft. Pray that God shall dismantle syncretism in the Nigeria Church and guide His people to follow Jesus Christ alone.
7). John 16:13-14
Pray for fresh a outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Nigeria.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
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Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 14th October - Sunday 20th October 2024
The Scofield Reference Bible laments what it describes as “the judaizing of the New Testament Church,” referring to a practice in the Church in which the principles, regulations, and practices of Judaism are applied to New Testament saints. According to Cyrus I. Scofield, the practice has greatly hindered the Church from fulfilling its mission, both to God and to men.
To avoid that pitfall, Holy Spirit, through apostle Paul, placed an instruction in the New Testament for pastors to, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). The cause of much of the doctrinal errors in the Church is the inability of many Bible teachers to “rightly divide the word of truth.” In many instances, the commandments meant for OT saints are applied to NT saints, while the promises of God are similarly misapplied.
In Bible colleges, “Hermeneutics” is a course that deals with interpreting the Bible. It states that before a passage in the Bible can be properly interpreted, it is important to note context: who is speaking, to whom, and under what circumstance. If that rule is applied to our current understanding of the Bible, it shall be discovered that much of what is practised as Christianity in the Nigeria Church is a mixture of OT and NT principles. That is the ‘mixture’ that has opened the door to syncretism, the combination of Christianity and tradition, resulting in the paucity of Christlike character in the Church.
Christians need to note that God related to humans under different dispensations, each dispensation with its rules and regulations. Bible scholars have identified the following dispensations of God’s dealing with the world:
1. the dispensation of innocence – the Adamic dispensation
2. the dispensation of conscience – the Enoch dispensation
3. the dispensation of human government – the Noahic dispensation
4. the dispensation of promise – the Abrahamic dispensation
5. the dispensation of the law – the Mosaic dispensation
6. the dispensation of grace – the Church age
7. the dispensation of millennium reign – the Messianic dispensation
A comparison of the OT saint under the Mosaic law with the NT saint under the dispensation of grace reveals that both saints have different origins, different assignments, and differing rewards. While the OT saint originated from the patriarchs, the NT saint originated from the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-8). The OT saint was commanded to separate himself from the nations, but the NT saint was commanded to go to the nations. The OT saint was promised a reward in the Promised Land while the NT saint would get his reward in heaven, if he successfully accomplished the will of God (1 Pet.1:4). While the OT saint requires the blood of bulls and goats to atone for his sin and grant him access to God, the NT saint only requires the blood of Jesus. Their modes of worship equally differed. While the OT saint is permitted to worship only at the Temple, the NT saint can worship anywhere two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus.
One major issue in the Church is that there are many “Christians” who by confession identify with Jesus Christ but in practice and character follow Moses. This is one reason Deut. 8:18 (power to get wealth) is popular in the Church while Acts 1:8 (power to witness) is not. God gave the OT saints power to get wealth while He gave the NT saints power to witness. Many New Testament saints are pursuing the power to get wealth (OT promise) to the detriment of soul winning (NT assignment).
In Matt. 5, the Lord repeatedly cited portions of the OT and overrode them with new regulations for the dispensation of grace. The Lord kept repeating, “You have heard that it was said by them of old time, … but I say unto you…” This statement is repeated in verses 21, 27, 31, 33, 38, and 43. New Testament saints are meant to follow the new regulations that replace the old. What the Lord did in Matthew 5 was a way of confirming that the regulations for Christians were different from those of the OT saints. The Church is not under the law, but under grace (Rom. 6:14). In Gal. 3:10, the Bible declares, ”For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse”, while verse 11 continues, ”that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident….”
Unfortunately, for various reasons, many pastors present OT regulations as mandates for Christians, making some people to ask, “Why, then, was the OT preserved and presented to NT saints?”
The question is answered in 1 Cor. 10:6,11: ”Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (v. 11). Romans 15:4 says, ”For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” The Old Testament was preserved for the New Testament saint to learn about the experiences and mistakes of those who went before, and learn to avoid their pitfalls. This is the essence of 1 Cor. 10:1-13. Readers should read the passage and note the five offences that the OT saints committed in the wilderness, that led God to destroy them after taking them out of Egypt. Jude 5 declares that God saved them out of Egypt and later destroyed them for unbelief. The NT saint is warned not to commit any of those five offences. (Teachings on those five offences can be found at www.houseofkaris.net/audio: “Ambush on the Road to the Promised Land” - Parts 1-5.)
If the Church is going to be revived and make impact in this generation, there must be a total return to the New Testament. Believers were called “Christians” in Antioch (Acts. 11:26) because people saw that they were like Christ. In this generation, it is difficult to find Christians who are like Christ, because most Christians do not wholly follow the teachings of Christ. It is time to return to Christlikeness. That is the way to revival.
1. 1 John 1:9
Confess the sins of the Nigeria Church for deviations in any way from the commands of Jesus Christ, e.g., concerning brotherly love in the Church, unity of the saints, soul winning under the Great Commission, as well as in following the example of Christ as a servant.
2. John 8:32
Pray for the Nigeria Church that it shall be wholly established in the truth of the Word of God.
3. 2 Tim. 2:15
Intercede for ministers of the gospel, that they shall receive grace to rightly divide the word of truth and teach believers nothing but the truth.
4. Matt. 28:19-20
Pray that, henceforth, the Nigeria Church shall focus on making disciples rather than on building cathedrals.
5. Rom. 8:14
Pray that Christians shall receive grace to have personal relationship with Holy Spirit, that the manifestation of Holy Spirit shall be real to every Christian.
6. Eph. 4:11-15
Pray that ministers of the gospel shall receive grace to teach the whole counsel of God so that the saints can mature into the fulness of the stature of Christ.
7. 2 Pet. 2:1-3
Pray that God shall uproot from the Church all false teachers who deceive Christians into following mammon instead of wholly following Christ.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
https://zoom.us/j/96806190505?pwd=K2RqcUN3YjRwQzEzRDZaMUt2N1ZsUT09
Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 7th October - Sunday 13th October 2024
I see a crowd
I see cash
I see cars
But I do not see Christ
- Pastor S. G. Elton
A group of foreign intercessors visited Nigeria some years ago to assess the internationally acclaimed revival going on in the country. After their exercise, they wrote a short report as follows: “The Nigerian Church is five miles wide, but one inch deep.”
Undeniably, there was a revival in Nigeria from the ‘70s and it culminated in a massive conversion of souls and the birth of many 'new generation' churches, most of them evangelical. The orthodox denominations also witnessed a huge expansion. Nationwide, the population of Christians increased.
Unfortunately, the population increase did not translate into national transformation. As the churches multiplied, darkness rather than light covered Nigeria. All manner of vices assailed the country until bloodshed became a daily occurrence and genocide unfortunately became part of the national identity. Churches were not spared, as scandal upon scandal rocked many churches and their ministers. Churches became known for greed, covetousness, and compromise. To worsen matters, allegations of occult practices, mocked as "charismatic witchcraft," plagued the Church.
What polluted the revival that should have transformed the country and launch it into its assignment as a missionary nation? The answer lay in the desire of some preachers to be famous, wealthy, and influential. The consequence of that evil desire was what God lamented to Pastor Elton as the proliferation of crowds, cash, and cars, without Christ. Of course, any obsession with those items indicates a separation from Christ. While there is nothing wrong with a crowd gathering to worship, or cash and cars in the church, the problem starts when the motive for acquiring them is personal lust rather than the Kingdom of God.
The first indication that a minister of the gospel has missed the mark is the desire to be celebrated. Some want to be famous, influential, and adored. That inordinate ambition has driven them into seeking 'powers' from the dark world. They appear to have forgotten that Christ did call anyone to be a superstar or a celebrity in His Church, but to be servants. It is an anomaly when servants seek to be famous and be treated like celebrities.
A bishop shared an impactful vision of a valedictory program in Heaven. In the revelation, men were being sent off to the earth to serve God. As each one was departing, a party was thrown to usher him out of Heaven, with the expectation that he was going into the world to do the will of the King of kings and Lord of Lords. It was like the send-forth of a country’s ambassador into a foreign country. What the bishop witnessed in that heavenly realm was lavish and glamorous. However, when it came to his turn, instead of a lavish party, an angel handed him the equivalent of a packet of Cabin Biscuits. There was no trumpet sound, no music, no wine, no rich food, and of course, no rejoicing. Stunned at the “shabby” treatment, he approached the angel who was the Master of Ceremony to protest. As he opened his mouth to complain, the angel’s face turned into fury. His eyes blazed like liquid fire, and he roared in wrath, “That is how all of you are. When heaven sends you to the earth, you are celebrated in the hope that you are going to serve God. When you get there you mess up your assignment. Henceforth, there shall be no celebration for any of you again in heaven. If you complete your assignment and return successfully, you shall be celebrated!”
The bishop said he woke up fearing he was dead. The fury he saw on the face of the angel and the force of the words he heard made him conclude that he was dead. He woke up sweating and shaking in fear. He said he did not know how he managed to survive that encounter.
The Nigerian revival was messed up by men who loved the crowd, the cars, and the cash, more than they loved Jesus Christ, if they did at all. They were servants of Christ all right, but their affection shifted from their Master to the mundane things of the earth. Today, some of them head denominations and ministries, and they are living in luxury like superstars and celebrities. They are celebrated in the Church and in the world, while Heaven mourns their lifestyle. One day, they will return home to render their account. That angel would be waiting.
The condition of Nigeria today is sufficient to make any servant of God sober and mournful. Unfortunately, many ministers of the gospel are carried away with the adulation of men. Some behave as if the church were their private property, and the people of God were gathered to serve them. In fact, many of them refer to the Church of Jesus Christ as “my church," their billboards and banners blazing with the grandiose photograph of 'the man of God' and his wife, their faces digitally edited to be 'without spot or wrinkles.'
How could there be so many churches in Nigeria with the darkness of corruption, bloodshed, poverty, sexual perversion, and other vices persisting? Jesus Christ described His followers as “the light of the world”. If indeed Christians are the “light of the world”, how come darkness is covering Nigeria? The answer is, the light is not shinning. Jesus warned, “take heed that the light in you be not darkness” (Luke 11: 35). Children of light can be covered with darkness if they are not careful. That is the tragedy of the Nigerian 'revival.'
Fortunately, the Lord does not give up. Another revival shall come upon Nigeria. Then, the leaders of the revival must be ready to practise Christianity according to the command of the Master. The first example that Jesus gave His disciples was the example of servanthood (Jn. 13:15) while the second was that of enduring suffering (1 Pet. 2: 21). The Lord also taught them that in His Kingdom, the leader was the servant of all. He made it clear that there was only one “Father” of His Church, and that Father is in heaven. (Matt. 23: 9). In verse 8 of the same chapter, He stated, “all ye are brethren”. In John 20:17, He included Himself in that structure of brothers and sisters. No one called Jesus Christ “daddy” as a religious honour, or “Brother Jesus.” He was and is still called by his first name, yet He does not mind. Such is the humility of Christ. It is His servants who believe that, unless they are called “Daddy” or "Papa," they have been disrespected.
The practice of calling ministers of the gospel “Daddy” and “Father” is not Christianity but syncretism, the mixture of Christianity and tradition. The oft repeated example of Paul calling himself “father” is not tenable because no one in the New Testament called Paul “father”. Neither did anyone call Peter, James, John, or any other New Testament saints “father”. The Scriptures cannot be broken. The Lord issued a clear command to “call no man on earth your father.”
It is time to return to the simplicity and humility of Christ so that our honour can come from God. In John 5:41, the Lord says, I receive not honour from men. Thus He chided those who sought honour from men:"How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?" (John 5:44). Another revival is coming. The Church must prepare and learn from the mistakes of the last revival polluted by men. It is time to return to the narrow path.
1. Isaiah 42:18, 20
Pray and repent for the blindness and rebellion of ministers of the gospel whose actions polluted the revival which God sent to Nigeria.
2. Rom. 16:17–18
Pray and dissociate the Nigeria Church from the actions and choices of men who place their personal interest above the interest of Jesus Christ in the Church. Declare before God that their actions do not represent the Nigeria Church.
3. Jer. 34:7–12
Pray that the Lord shall seek and regather His people who were offended by the lawlessness in the Church and stopped associating with Christianity.
4. Mal. 3:2–4
Pray that God will purge the Church and uproot all those who pollute the work of the Holy Spirit.
5. Jer. 3:15
Pray that God will give the Nigeria Church pastors after His heart, who will teach and guide the people of God aright.
6. Ps. 85:4–7
Pray for fresh outpouring of the spirit of revival in Nigeria.
7. Hab. 2:14
Pray that Nigeria shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the seas.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
https://zoom.us/j/96806190505?pwd=K2RqcUN3YjRwQzEzRDZaMUt2N1ZsUT09
Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 30th Sept. - Sunday 6th October 2024
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him (Eph. 1:17).
Several incredulous things have happened in the Church, that make the discerning person wonder if some Christians were not hypnotized. A sister fasted for ten straight years because a “pastor” gave her a prophecy that God would use her mightily in Nigeria, but before she would be thus used, she needed to fast and pray daily for ten years. She completed the fast a few years ago. (We are still awaiting the manifestation of what the "pastor" prophesied.) There was a church vigil where members came with machetes to fight the devil. There was another video clip recently, of church members with pestle at a prayer meeting, furiously pounding the life out of Satan.
Are some congregations under a spell? No, they lack a personal revelation of Christ. In the Spirit-anointed prayer of Eph. 1:17, it is said that God would grant us the “spirit of wisdom and revelation”. Without divine “wisdom and revelation,” the average Christian would become a prey to spiritual predators pretending to be servants of Christ. Each Christian must know Christ for themselves.
The spirit of wisdom and revelation, according to Eph 2:18-19, would enable the believer to know three things:
1. The hope of his calling – the purpose of God for each Christian.
2. The riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints – the reward awaiting each Christian after successfully fulfilling the purpose of God.
3. The exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe – the enormous power of God available to each Christian to do the will of God.
Any Christian who does not know these three things is at risk of spiritual manipulation by many predators prowling the sanctuary of God. Many lives and destinies have been truncated by false teachers and false prophets who speak lofty words beguiling unstable souls.
One major problem, particularly in the Church in Nigeria, is that many Christian assemblies no longer teach New Testament doctrines. What is becoming common in the Church is the practice of “syncretism”: the combination of Christianity and tradition. It is a deviation from the Commission of Christ: “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28: 20). The Christian is manipulated and kept in spiritual bondage while he assumes he is serving Christ.
Without seeming to target some churches by citing instances of the manipulations, let it be said that the problem is pervasive, no longer restricted to the 'new generation churches.' Even older denominations have joined, because the practice of syncretism is the easiest method of gathering a crowd and receiving hefty offerings. The churches that insists on the pure and unadulterated New Testament doctrine sometimes do not witness overflowing crowds.
With syncretism comes the obnoxious practice of “hero worship” in the Church. Christ made it clear that the head must be the servant of all in His Church. Presently, we see Christian leaders acting like royalties, in some cases, as emperors over the Lord’s people. Church members submit to such unchristian leadership patterns because both they and their leaders have the same cultural DNA.
In traditional African society, most of the idols used to be men of renown in ancient times, whom the people deified as objects of worship. For example, amongst the Yoruba people, nearly all the gods were men/women who distinguished themselves in their lifetime. Examples are Ogun, Sango, Oya, Osun, Orunmila, Obatala, and so on. The worship of heroes comes naturally to the people. It is their culture, but it is not Christianity. Unfortunately, the attitude has been brought into the Church. It is thriving because some Christians do not have a personal experience of Christ. Consequently, they depend on their “church leader” to define Christ to them.
When God anointed some men to lead the new wave of in-grown revival in Nigeria, the people accorded them the status of gods. Regrettably, instead of correcting the people (like Paul and Barnabas did in Acts 14:11–18) and pointing them to Christ, some of the Church leaders received the “worship” from their brethren. In some Christian assemblies, if Jesus should tell a Christian to go somewhere, and the church leader should tell the same Christian to stay back, they are more likely to obey the church leader.
The lack of a personal knowledge of Christ is traceable to the failure of many pastors to comply with Eph. 4:11–15.
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
This is the purpose of the five-fold ministry in the Church. It is to build up each believer ”unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” that Christians should ”henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, …” The opposite of that is what is going on in the Church.
If the problems of spiritual immaturity, disunity, and carnality are going to be solved in the Church, individual Christians must know Christ for themselves. The person most Christians know is the church leader. Since many pastors no longer teach what Jesus commanded His disciples to observe, the only recourse is to intercede for the believers. Intercession must commence for Christians to be filled with the “spirit of wisdom and revelation” in the knowledge of God.
At present, many Christians are in bondage and servitude to their church leader. Those syncretic Church leaders run the Church like the “rulers of the Gentiles”. It is time to proclaim Galatians 5:1 to all Christians: ”Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Christianity is equal brotherhood in which the Master gave us an example, that the leader must be the servant of all (John 13:15). Christ did not call men to be superstars in His Church. He called them to be servants.
It is time to return to the simplicity and humility of Christ. It is time for each Christian to pray for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.
1). Eph. 1:17–19
Pray that God would fill you with the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
2). Eph. 1:17
Intercede for all saints, that God would fill them with the spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Christ personally.
3). Gal. 5:1
Pray that Christians would be set free from spiritual and emotional manipulation by false teachers in the Church.
4). Mal. 3:2-5
Pray that God would purify His sanctuary in Nigeria and judge all false teachers and false prophets who have been defiling the Church with lies and greed.
5). Heb. 12:5-8
Pray that God would chastise ministers of the gospel who have strayed from the narrow path to the broad road that leads to eternal destruction.
6). Gal. 1:6-9
Pray that God would uproot every ministry or denomination practising syncretism while claiming to be serving Christ.
7). Col. 2:6–7
Pray that the saints shall be deeply rooted in Christ and in sound doctrine in the Church.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
https://zoom.us/j/96806190505?pwd=K2RqcUN3YjRwQzEzRDZaMUt2N1ZsUT09
Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 23rd - Sunday 29th September 2024
”When purpose is not known, abuse becomes inevitable” Myles Munroe.
In the prayer call for last week’s Marathon Prayers, we asked, “Where did the prosperity message come from?” Not surprisingly, some pastors expressed contrary views as they sought to prove that prosperity, as a doctrine, is part of the assignment of the Church. Such views provide us with an opportunity to delve further into a salient question that few Christians ponder about: What is the purpose of the New Testament Church?
Understanding the purpose of any institution, object, or individual, is a prerequisite to the careful and profitable handling of it. Whenever purpose is not known, abuse of the object becomes inevitable. For example, a screwdriver was made to loosen or tighten screws. However, in the hands of a one-year-old child, it can become a drumstick. The same treatment will befall a TV remote controller, and the latest iPhone 16 Pro. They can all be drumsticks in the hand of a one-year-old baby. Is the baby mischievous? No. Unfortunately, the baby does not understand the purpose of those items.
To avoid putting the Church of Jesus Christ into improper use, it is good to look at the purpose of the Church. After that brief discourse, we can consider whether God instituted the Church merely to make people wealthy.
Our study shall commence from Daniel 9:22–24 which says, ”Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”
The “seventy weeks” are prophetic weeks in which a day represents a year; hence, the prophetic duration is referred to as “seventy-week-years.” The total number of years for the program of God for Israel, starting from the end of the Babylonian captivity, is 490 years. Verse 24 lists what would be accomplished by God at the end of the 490-year period. Verse 26 prophesied that ”after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off”. That refers to the crucifixion of Christ at the 483th year of God’s program for Israel, or in the 69th week. That leaves one week (seven years) as Dan. 9:27 prophesied that ”he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” Most Christians are familiar with the seven-year reign of the Antichrist.
Looking back, there has been a space of about 2,000 years between the resurrection of Christ and today. After the Resurrection, the disciples of Jesus, knowing the prophecy, were certain that it remained only seven years for Israel to be out of all bondage and for God’s Kingdom to be established. That was why, in Acts 1:6, the disciples asked Jesus, ”…Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” The answer of Jesus introduced a new dispensation that none of the prophets of old had foreseen. Apostle Paul, by revelation, explained it in Ephesians 3:3–6 thus,
”How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:”
In Ephesians 3:9, Paul describes the Church as a ”…mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God."
The mystery is that Jews and Gentiles shall be fellow heirs of the promises that God made to Abraham and to the partakers of divine inheritance. Till date, conservative Jews refuse to accept that purpose of God. They were mad at Paul when, in Acts 22:21, he narrated how God said to him, ”Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.”
The purpose of the Church is to bring in both Jews and Gentiles into the Kingdom of God. When Jesus was leaving, He handed the Great Commission to His disciples. The global harvest of souls into the Kingdom is the purpose of the Church. The Church is the divine Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to gather souls from all over the world into the Kingdom of God. The prosperity services, breakthrough services, grandiose construction projects, and all the paraphernalia of the modern-day Church are the distractions from Satan. Any pastor that wishes to fulfill the purpose of God in life and ministry must identify and comply with the Great Commission.
The Great Commission in Matt. 28:19 is the mandate of God to every Christian. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The Great Commission involves soul-winning, discipleship, and the deployment of saints into the harvest field. The harvest field might be in the neighborhood, within the city, or in unreached cross-cultural locations. The most important thing is that, every Christian must be involved in fulfilling the purpose of the Church.
We are at present living in the Church Age. The Church was born on the day of Pentecost, and it will depart on the day of the Rapture. It is after the rapture of the Church that the remaining one-week, in the program of God for Israel, shall resume. It is currently suspended. That is why the Antichrist will reign for seven years after which Jesus shall return to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
One of Satan’s responses to the purpose of God is the 'prosperity message.' Saints of God who are supposed to be in the harvest field are preoccupied with how they will 'breakthrough' into earthly wealth. The resources of heaven for the global harvest of souls are hoarded and squandered prodigally on projects that do not advance the Kingdom of God. The worship of mammon has eclipsed most believers’ commitment to Christ. Consequently, all manners of abominations and misconducts take place in the Church as many Christians jostle to acquire earthly wealth.
If a global harvest of souls is the purpose of the Church, how can that be consistent with the doctrine of earthly wealth and comfort? Would Jesus command, “go ye into all the earth” and at the same time, ordain pastors who would keep the people locked up behind invisible church walls? Would Jesus command “lay not up for yourselves treasurers upon the earth” and at the same time encourage the hoarding of church funds to the exclusion of missions, soul winning, and unreached people groups? Should souls be perishing while some churches are swimming in worldly affluence and luxury? Should the pursuit of wealth be the goal of any pastor? Several ministries are built upon that doctrine of prosperity. To get pastors to make a turn-around to the purpose of God has become a problem.
Christians should understand that salvation is an individual race. If some pastors are determined that it is prosperity or nothing else, heaven-minded Christians are free to pick their salvation and run on. The only promise Jesus made is eternal life (1 John 2: 25). The purpose of the Church is to bring in the harvest of souls; it is not to make men wealthy. May God help His people to understand. Does this mean that God wants His people poor? No. But making people wealthy to the exclusion of the wealth and health of their soul is not THE Gospel; it is not the Great Commission.
1). Luke 19:10
Repent on behalf of the Church for deviating from the purpose of Christ.
2). John 20:21
Pray for grace for Christians to return to the simplicity and obedience of Christ, starting with yourself.
3). 2 Pet. 2:18–21
Intercede for ministers of the gospel who started well, doing the will of the Lord, but have turned after filthy lucre. Pray that they will receive grace to repent before judgment comes.
4). 2 Cor. 11:12–15
Pray for the swift judgment of God upon people who claim to be servants of Christ but are covenanted to Satan in exchange for wealth and fame.
5). Eph. 1:17–20
Pray that every Christian shall receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation to know what Christ has promised, and to shun the worship of mammon in the Church.
6). John 8:31-32
Pray that all the doctrines of errors currently plaguing the Church shall die a natural death; that the truth of God in Christ Jesus shall set Christians free from false teachers.
7). 1 Pet. 1:3-4
Pray that Christians shall set their eyes on their heavenly inheritance and be committed to make heaven.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
https://zoom.us/j/96806190505?pwd=K2RqcUN3YjRwQzEzRDZaMUt2N1ZsUT09
Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 16th - Sunday 22nd September 2024
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matt. 6: 24).
Dr Cathy Burns produced a scholarly 778-page book on religious manipulation, of which over 554 pages are filled with facts and 204 pages are references verifying sources of information. That book, entitled Billy Graham and his Friends, is another confirmation of the statement of Jesus Christ that, “… that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16: 15).
An excerpt from page 145 forms the basis of the prayer call for this week:
“Dr Ward visited Stalin in Moscow in 1920, and they worked together to form the basis of the Social Gospel, now openly proclaimed by the NCC (National Council of Churches). This gospel was to increase emphasis on the materialistic side and decrease emphasis on theology so that in due time, Marxism and the Social Gospel may become one and the same.”
In a previous prayer call entitled “The Hypocrisy of a Father,” we narrated how Karl Marx started the obnoxious Communist ideology because of his father’s hypocrisy. Communism is an ideology that denies the existence of God and terribly persecutes Christians. It has taken millions of souls to hell. The ungodly ideology was dismantled in Soviet Union, but it still thrives in China and North Korea, including some other countries.
Joseph Stalin led the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953. He was infamous for the murder of over 20 million people, which was worse than Adolf Hitler. According to Dr Cathy Burns, Stalin, and Rev. Dr Ward laid the foundation for the prosperity gospel, which today has become the central doctrine of many pastors. After developing the framework for a social gospel that would “decrease emphasis on theology” and “increase emphasis on the materialistic side,” Rev. Dr. Harry Ward returned to Union Theological Seminary in the U.S.A. and started training a new generation of pastors to teach it.
Ward was identified under oath as a member of the Communist Party. According to Manning Johnson, an ex-Communist, Harry Ward was “the chief architect for Communist infiltration and subversion in the religious field” (Billy Graham and his Friends, Page 142).
“Ward’s job was to teach bright young men to become, so-called, ministers of Christ and to place them as pastors of churches. While teaching them to become ministers, the Reverend Ward also taught them how to subtly and craftily preach to their congregations that the entire story of Christ was a myth to cast doubts on the divinity of Christ, to cast doubts about the virgin Mary, in short, to cast doubts on Christianity as a whole. It was not to be a direct attack, but much of it to be done by crafty insinuation that was to be applied, in particular, to the youth in the Sunday schools” (p. 145). When one considers that this was in the 1920s, it can be easily understood how generations of “adult Christians” are more interested in wealth than in Christ.
Today, after adopting the prosperity message from America, the social gospel blossomed from the ‘90s in Nigeria and has lasted for over thirty years. That is a generation. After prosperity preachers spent a generation promising many churchgoers million and billions in miracle blessings, Nigeria got acclaimed as the "poverty capital of the world." In 2023, an estimated 38.9% of Nigerians, representing over 87 million people, lived below the poverty line. The figure rose to 40.7% in 2024. This is a spiritual contradiction. It is God from heaven dissociating Himself from all the promises made in His name and on His behalf by the prosperity preachers.
The question that might be asked is, “Didn't God promise to bless His children?” That would be answered by referring to the Bible and finding out what God says. The Bible is divided into two sections, the Old Testament and the New. To avoid the danger of falling into error and misappropriating the commands and blessings of God, the New Testament instructed the pastor to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
The greatest problem in the Church is the inability of many pastors to rightly divide the word of truth and discover what God promised the Old Testament saint and what God promised the New Testament saint. Much of the prosperity message is appropriating the blessings of the Old Testament saint and applying it to the New Testament saint. If earthly wealth was God’s reward for serving Him in the New Testament, the likes of Paul, Peter, James, and John would have been the wealthiest in their generation.
A casual study of the Bible will reveal that earthly prosperity is not the focus of the New Testament. Jesus did not promise it, and neither did the early apostles teach it. How thousands of pastors could have been deceived into adopting it as a major doctrine while they in turn misled millions of Christians remains one of the mysteries of this dispensation.
In Deut. 8:18, God promised Israel power to get wealth. Which power did God promise the New Testament saint? In Acts 1:8, God promised the New Testament saint power to witness. The problem is that many New Testament saints do not want to witness. They want to be millionaires. This is one reason neighbourhood evangelism in many churches does not record a huge turnout, while a miracle service featuring “an anointed” man of God would be filled to overflow.
Today, the Church has nearly lost much credibility and integrity due to the obsession of many pastors with mammon. All manners of misconduct that should not be mentioned amongst the saints of God are now common incidents in the Church. The Church has been commercialized in many assemblies, and the principles of the New Testament no longer guide many ministries. Innumerable false teachers have filled the sanctuary, committing unprintable atrocities in the name of the Lord. It is as 2 Pet. 2: 1–3 says,
”But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”
It is time to return to the narrow path. It is time to shun the error planted into the Church by Satan, using the Communists. Jesus Christ made only one promise to His followers: ”And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even ETERNAL LIFE" (1 John 2:25). The Father sent His Son for only one purpose, as stated in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE.” Christianity is all about eternal life.
When the Church returns to the message of eternal life, holiness, sanctification, contentment, moderation, integrity, and other Godly virtues, then it has begun to reclaim character. The recurring problems with sin, immorality, and insincerity in the Church will naturally dwindle. One is not saying that Christians will not prosper. Wherever one combines diligence with integrity, whether a Christian or not, success and wealth would follow. Therefore, making earthly wealth the focus of the gospel of Jesus Christ is a disservice to the Son of God. He came to save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21).
Pastors should stop promising Christians what God did not promise them. What Jesus promised is eternal life. People should not be invited to churches with the promise of 'blessings.' Jesus did not make such a promise. When He invited people to follow Him, He said He would make them fishers of men, not rich men. If there is going to be a revival in the land, we must prepare the grounds by returning to sound doctrine. It is time to stop all the greed and covetousness flowing from the pulpit. It is time to return to the narrow path.
1). Matt. 6: 24
Confess and repent on behalf of the Nigeria Church for giving mammon prominence in the Church.
2). 1 Kings 18: 21
Pray for Christians to be focused on Christ alone in the Church and not on Christ and Mammon.
3). 2 Cor. 4:3-4
Pray that every veil of false teachings that Satan has used to cover the minds of Christians, making them exalt earthly prosperity above eternal life, shall be destroyed in the name of Jesus.
4). 2 Pet. 2:1–3
Pray that all false teachers who make merchandise of Christians shall be dismissed by God and all their structures removed.
5). Heb. 13:5–6
Pray for the spirit of contentment in the Church. Pray that greed and covetousness shall no longer plague the Nigeria Church.
6). 2 Cor. 5: 15
Pray that Christ shall remain the centre of the Church, and commitment to Christ shall be the goal of every Christian.
7). 2 Cor. 2:17
Pray that God would raise faithful and sincere ministers of the gospel in the Nigeria Church, who would not corrupt the word of God for personal gain. Amen.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
https://zoom.us/j/96806190505?pwd=K2RqcUN3YjRwQzEzRDZaMUt2N1ZsUT09
Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 9th - Sunday 15th September 2024
When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built (1 Kings 6:7).
This is an amazing account of the construction of the Old Testament temple. In the entire seven years that it took to construct that temple, which at the financial value in 1997 would have cost over $985 billion dollars, (according to Finis Dake), there was no noise. For seven years, the entire construction site was quiet! That was a feat, unmatched by today’s construction companies with all their technological breakthroughs.
“The LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him” (Hab. 2:20).
What accounted for this feat? All the stones used for the construction were pre-cut, pre-sized and prepared at the quarry, far away from the construction site. As each stone arrived at the temple site, it knew its place, accepted it without any struggle, and quietly fitted in. The construction supervisors and workers did not attempt to change any decision made at the quarry.
There was no nepotism, no favouritism, no racism, and no partiality. The stones were not self-seeking or self-willed. The stone cut to be part of the floor did not suddenly desire to be the capstone. The stone cut for the back of the temple did not covet the position in the front. Each stone accepted the decision of the stone cutters.
What was the result of the meek submission? A spiritual house was built without commotion. No wonder the LORD was pleased to come down in glory to inhabit His temple.
Unfortunately, the exact opposite is the case in the construction of the New Testament temple. There is so much noise! Jostling, pushing, shouting, including smiting with tongues of wickedness. Some New Testament stones have turned the spiritual construction site into a street fight, to the ridicule and embarrassment of Heaven.
Who are the stones? “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house …” (1 Pet. 2:5). Ye also…
Some New Testament stones refuse to be broken, cut to size and smoothened, yet they show up at the construction site, desiring to be the capstone. Christ gave His Church the example of servanthood. Many church members and ministers desire to be executives in the Church of Christ. The magnitude of disagreement, indiscipline, and division in the Church of today is scarcely found in any other institution on the face of the earth.
“Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?” (Mal. 2:10).
What is the result of the commotions in the modern temple? It has resulted in loss of credibility and loss of respect for the only institution on earth that God gave His own Son to redeem. In an Evangelical Synod in January 2003 in Germany, the chief speaker lamented that a recent opinion poll revealed that the Church is the least trusted of all the institutions in Germany. If a similar opinion poll should be conducted in Nigeria, the result would most likely be the same. The Body of Christ referred to in 1 Tim. 3:15 as “the pillar and ground of the truth,” has credibility crisis in our generation. (Culled from: Return to the Narrow Path)
Developed and well-organized human societies operate on the basis that humans are inherently rebellious and chaotic, if not restrained. Therefore, they build critical institutions to maintain law and order, and ensure that those institutions work without interference. In those organized societies, the same ruler is used to measure the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless. The result is a relatively peaceful society in which everyone calls themselves to order and restrain the promptings of their adamic nature.
Unfortunately in Nigeria and many other African countries, although there are established institutions of law and order, they fail to adopt non-interference. The managers of the institutions apparently do not like the idea of accountability and self-restraint. Consequently, law and order break down frequently in those societies.
There remains yet a critical institution that could have set a good example for the country and its leaders: the Church. Tragically, the managers of the Church appear to be of the same stock as the managers of the country.
In 2015, the National Christian Elders Forum submitted a Strategy Document to the apex body of Christianity in Nigeria, detailing some critical institutions that the Church should establish. The Document outlined action points to prevent wholesale takeover of the country by the jihadists/terrorists, as well as restrain lawlessness in the Body of Christ, whilst making Christians focused on the goals of the Church. After the expiration of the tenure of Pastor Oritsejafor, his successors did not implement the Document. The consequence of a Church fighting an existential battle, without any plan of action, is starring all Christians in the face.
The lack of restraining structures within the Church has now turned Christianity in Nigeria into comedy, as on the social media. The comedians are the church leaders as the world laughs while those who claim to be custodians of righteousness bring ridicule to their God.
In the past few weeks, the social media has been awash with the raging controversy stirred by a pastor in Akwa Ibom State. He has managed to drag another well-known pastor in Abuja into a needless controversy about who established which ministry. It all suggests stones that did not stay at the quarry for proper cutting to size. They have shown up in the temple, demanding to be accorded the position of “fathers of the faith”.
To worsen matters, some other unbroken stones have joined in the cacophony of confusion in the temple, to the embarrassment of Heaven. Any man may claim to be whatever he wants. What matters is what the Lord says. If a man claims to be the “father” of a ministry, let him be. On the day he faces the Lord, he will provide evidence for his claims.
The noise going on in the Nigeria Church is not needful. The controversy over doctrines and methods are uncalled for. The Church faces sufficient challenges in trying to curb corrupt and occult religious leaders. This is no time for needless arguments in the Body of Christ. What should be paramount now is to build structures that will maintain order and decorum in the Church. Fortunately, the Lord has rejuvenated a body determined to restore order and decency to the Church. We can only pray that it succeeds.
1. Mal. 2:10
Confess before God the needless strife and discord in the Church. Pray for forgiveness and mercy for the Nigeria Church.
2. Matt. 15:13
Pray that those whom God has not called as pastors and ministers of the gospel shall be uprooted by Him from the Nigeria Church.
3. John 10:12–13
Pray that God shall, by His power, dismiss the hirelings in the Church who pretend to be under-shepherds of Jesus Christ, but their god is their belly.
4. Mal. 3:2–3
Pray that God shall purge and purify every altar in the Nigeria Church.
5. John 10:11
Pray that good shepherds like Jesus Christ shall be promoted by God into positions of leadership in the Church.
6. John 17:21–23
Pray for the unity of the saints of God in the Nigeria Church.
7. 1 Cor. 6:2–6
Pray for grace for the Church to build structures that will maintain order and decorum in the Body of Christ.
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
https://zoom.us/j/96806190505?pwd=K2RqcUN3YjRwQzEzRDZaMUt2N1ZsUT09
Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
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