NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 12th - Sunday 18th May 2025
THE SONS OF ISSACHAR
And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do (1 Chr. 12:32).
On the day of Pentecost, after Peter had delivered his message, the bewildered crowd asked: “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). If there is one question Nigeria Christians should be asking now, it should be, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Any Christian in Nigeria not burdened about the state of the country and the plight of the Church under the present circumstances in the country, should be charged with criminal negligence. Even for people of faith who have the assurance that the situation will turn out for good, there must still be godly concern about the escalating bloodshed and insecurity in the land. Rather than diminish, the bloodletting and kidnapping are assuming epidemic proportions.
The Bible talks about the children of Issachar, who had two qualities indispensable in resolving crucial national issues. They had:
1. An understanding of the times and seasons
2. They knew what should be done in due season
The Nigeria Church in this season needs men and women who understand what is going on in the country, why things are happening that way, and what should be done to return the country to normalcy. The Church has in abundance men and women who understand what is going in Nigeria, but there seems to be a shortage of those who know what to do. It is not enough to understand what is causing the crisis in the land, the proper solutions must also be provided. In this prayer call, we shall focus on what the Nigeria Church ought to do.
To enable us to arrive at the proper solutions to the crisis in Nigeria, we shall refer to an instruction that God gave Prof. Vincent Anigbogu in September 2013. God instructed him to study the factors that were responsible for the collapse of Christianity in Constantinople, which is present-day Istanbul in Turkey. From 330 AD till 1453, (1,123 years) Constantinople was the centre of Christianity in the East, while Rome was the centre of Christianity in the West. Constantinople boasted of having, in that period, the largest and most beautiful cathedral in world, the Haggia Sophia. Today, Haggia Sophia is a mosque. Turkey, at present, is 98% Islam, while Christianity is less than 1% in the country. Officially, Christianity ended in Constantinople in 1453 after a siege mounted by twenty-one-year-old Sultan Mehmed.
The point was made on a previous occasion, that if Islam could eradicate Christianity in Constantinople, after an existence of 1,123 years, the Nigeria Church, which is 183 years old in 2025, counting from 1842 when Methodist Rev. Birch Freeman arrived in Badagry, should not assume that Islam cannot “eradicate it in all its forms and ramifications”, according to the jihadist communique tagged “Abuja Declarations 1989.” These historical facts are shared not to cause panic, but to lay bare the facts of what is confronting the Nigeria Church.
Prof. Anigbogu researched the factors leading to the fall of Constantinople and discovered fourteen mistakes that the Christians then made. Those fourteen mistakes led to the collapse of Christianity and the capture of Haggia Sophia. When God led him to look at the Nigeria Church, he was alarmed to discover that the Nigeria Church was repeating those fourteen mistakes. That was when God told him, on Saturday 14th September 2013, “If care is not taken, in 30 – 40 years, Nigeria will be like Turkey.” By 2025, it has been 12 years since that warning, and Nigeria is already being ruled by a Muslim–Muslim ticket that was facilitated into office by Church leaders. Their Muslim-Muslim candidates have shut the only Christian Chapel in Aso Villa for two years. The Church leaders who facilitated the Muslim-Muslim ticket into office are not saying anything about the Aso Villa Chapel that, for two years, has stopped observing Sunday worship service. Meanwhile, over four mosques operate in the Villa.
In this treatise, there shall be no time to go through the fourteen factors that led to the collapse of Christianity in Constantinople. However, attention shall be focused on what is considered the most crucial factor, and that is the unity of the Church. Amongst those fourteen factors are two factors that should concern us. They are:
1. The leadership of the church within and outside Constantinople was bitterly divided.
2. Racism and tribalism weakened and eventually broke the unity of the Body of Christ.
That was in 1453. Fast forward to 2025, and consider the state of the Church in Nigeria under an intensive attack from jihadists. According to the historical narrative that Prof. Anigbogu enunciated, the Body of Christ in Constantinople remained divided, even under the siege. Eventually, they agreed to a reconciliation meeting on the eve of the capture of Constantinople. By then, it was too late. The following day, Constantinople fell.
Now, to the children of Issachar in Nigeria, who understand the times, what ought the Church to do? Should the Nigeria Church wait until too late, for repentance and reconciliation? To avert the looming disaster, it is imperative that Christian leaders be persuaded to organize a “repentance and reconciliation” meeting: repentance towards God, and reconciliation towards one another.
Repentance of Church leaders is indispensable because there is overwhelming evidence that some Christian leaders facilitated the emergence of the jihadist party into power. Ordinarily, that is a grievous sin. Some Church leaders made it worse, because they committed that transgression after God had specifically warned that the jihadist party should not be permitted to form a government. To confirm that they received the warning, they wrote a letter to denounce and reject the warning. Theirs was an act of wilful rebellion the consequences of which the entire country is now suffering. Before God, it cannot be ignored.
The truth of the matter is that, if there is no open acknowledgement and repentance of the complicity of the Church in the calamity that has befallen Nigeria, divine intervention may continue to be delayed, and judgment could fall heavier. God has sent signals that He is willing to forgive, but His conditions must be met. God in His righteous judgment will not overlook an act of wilful rebellion that has resulted in massive bloodshed. It is this rebellion that has brought blood guiltiness upon Nigeria, not just the vicious murders committed by the jihadists. God charged David with killing Uriah with the sword of the Ammonites. In like manner, the Nigeria Church is charged with the murder of Nigerians with the AK47 of the jihadists. This is the fundamental sin that must be confessed and atoned for, before heaven will respond with intervention.
The Church leaders who participated in that act of rebellion must come out and accept responsibility for their actions. Just as their actions brought calamity upon Nigeria, their repentance would bring restoration.
If the Church leaders are unwilling to organize the meeting, lay leaders should organize the “repentance and reconciliation” meeting and repent on their behalf. At this point, it is still easy to roll back, with minimal loss, the aggressive advance of the jihadists. The jihadists could not have come this far if the Most High had not nodded His head for them to advance. The Scriptures say that the "Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria" (Isaiah 7:18). There is an international conspiracy of many Islamic nations to turn Nigeria into an Islamic country as a prelude to transforming Africa into an Islamic continent. The sheer audacity that they can displace over 200 million people is an indication that what is going in Nigeria is not human. God has a hand in this.
Shockingly, instead of retracing their steps and desisting from collaborating with Islamists, some Church leaders are still working to ensure that, in the next elections, the Islamists remain in power. Some of the most vocal propagandists for the Islamists are Christian elites. The promotion of personal selfish interest has eaten deeply into the fabric of the Church to the extent that the suffering of the average citizen is of no concern to some Christian leaders, so long as their nest is feathered.
We are not unaware that there was a repentance meeting by some Church leaders, at the National Christian Centre in Abuja. However, those that needed to be there did not attend, nor were the real issues stated. In approaching this matter, the Church cannot afford to be politically correct. These are serious issues that require brokenness and godly sorrow for sin.
This is a call for brokenness and godly sorrow over the sins and transgressions of the Church. Only genuine repentance will move the hands of God and open His ears to the plight and cries of Nigerian Christians in this season. That genuine repentance must come from the leaders who incurred the wrath of God upon the land.
God bless Nigeria.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Isaiah 59:1-2
Confess the sins of the Church leaders who acted against God’s revealed will and endorsed jihadists to rule Nigeria. Pray that the blood of Jesus shall cleanse and deliver Nigeria from the consequence of their sins and transgressions.
2. Ez. 18:1-4
Pray that every Christian leader that heaven holds complicit in bringing blood guiltiness upon Nigeria shall alone face the consequence of their actions.
3. Ez. 18:20
Plead with the Almighty God that Nigeria would not be held responsible for the transgressions of some of the Church leaders. ”The soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
4. 2 Cor. 7:10
Pray that godly sorrow for sins shall overwhelm Nigeria Christians, and there shall be genuine repentance at all levels in the Church.
5. Jn. 17:20-23
Pray that the prayer of Jesus for the unity of His followers shall be answered in the Nigeria Church. Pray for unity and Godly reconciliation in the Body of Christ in Nigeria.
6. Is. 29:6-8
Pray that all the nations attacking Nigeria shall be scattered, according to the word of God.
7. Jam. 2:13
Pray that mercy shall prevail over judgment in Nigeria.
JOIN US AT THE NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
DAILY INTERDENOMINATIONAL PRAYERS FOR 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
LINK TO MARATHON PRAYERS ZOOM ROOM
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Meeting ID: 940 6425 9957
Passcode: Altar