The Church in Nigeria will be holding a nationwide National Day of Praise, Thanksgiving and Repentance on 1st October 2014.
It is a day for all Churches, in all cities, regions and states in Nigeria to gather together in agreed worship places nearest to them to Pray, Praise and Thank the LORD for Nigeria and to seek for forgiveness and mercy upon our nation.
National Day of Praise, Thanksgiving and Repentance
1 October 2014
Download and Print the Event Flyer / Poster HERE
The AFP report below refers. KANO ( AFP) – Boko Haram’s leader said he has created an Islamic caliphate in a northeast Nigeria town seized by the insurgents earlier this month, in a video obtained by AFP on Sunday.
“Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in (the town of) Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate,” Abubakar Shekau said in the 52-minute video.
He declared that Gwoza, in Borno state, now has “nothing to do with Nigeria”.
- See more
The pasted extract below is from LAMPSTANDLETTERS NO 19, FEBRUARY 2000 and is for understanding the Fulani-Kanuri-Arab Islamic fundamentalist conspiracy and necessary focused spiritual action.
'Great and amazing things happen when the Church prays.' Anonymous
'If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land' ( 2 Chro.7:14).
This is an urgent call to the entire Church to pray. This call for prayer has become necessary in light of the numerous challenges the Church and our Nation is going through. We all recall that in the past, when the Church faced similar challenges and threats, we had resorted to prayers and God answered. So, as we now face what can no doubt be described as 'PERILIOUS TIMES' in our nation, let us arise and pray, knowing that God has always been faithful in responding to our passionate petitions.
Prayer is at the core of the ministry of the Church. The Church was born in prayer and has been sustained all through her history by prayer. Jesus, the head of the Church, exemplified the importance of prayer by the attention He gave to it. He prayed regularly, and taught his disciples how to pray. Once, when He went into the temple, He drove away the money changers who had turned the temple into a business centre and thereafter declared, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a house of thieves.'" Thus, the Church should be a house of prayer, a place where prayer never ceases.
I urge all Christians - Catholics, Protestants, Pentecostals, Charismatics, and all other denominations, including men, women and children - whether in the market places, the offices, in business premises, at homes, in Churches, at street corners, in the eateries, in communities and at football fields to arise and join in this One Year 24/7 prayer initiative. Let us all raise the altar of prayer in twos, in threes, in groups, and families so that the tide of evil facing the nation and the Church may be overturned. Let us persist in prayer until a great awakening is seen in the land.
God bless you all as you respond to this clarion call to prayer.
Rev. Dr. Felix OMOBUDE
President, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN)
A truck has exploded in a huge fireball, killing at least 17 people in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, the latest attack in a city repeatedly hit by Boko Haram fighters. Tuesday's bomb rocked Maiduguri's largest roundabout near the crowded Market where elderly women line the road selling peanuts and kola nuts as snacks to morning commuters. The Defence Ministry said in a tweet that an ’improvised explosive device’ went off in ‘a van loaded with charcoal’ and that the area had been cordoned off. One witness said the bomb went off just after the market opened at 8am before most traders or customers had arrived. Unruly crowds tried to attack fire-fighters deployed to the scene, accusing them of arriving too slowly and hindering their efforts to put out the raging blaze, the AFP news agency reported.
Pray: continuously for God to confuse the hand of the enemy and bring peace. (Ps 140:7-8)
More: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/07/dozens-killed-car-bomb-nigeria-20147195610585272.html
More than 60 women and girls are reported to have escaped from the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, security sources say. They were among 68 abducted last month near the town of Damboa in north-eastern Borno state. But some women who made it home said they feared other escapees had been recaptured, villagers told the BBC. Boko Haram is still holding more than 200 schoolgirls abducted from Borno's Chibok town in April. Initial reports said the women escaped when the militants went to attack a military base near Damboa on Friday. Local vigilante Abbas Gava told journalists he had ‘received an alert from my colleagues that about 63 of the abducted women and girls had made it back home’. ‘They took the bold step when their abductors moved out to carry out an operation,’ he said. But 18 women who have made it back to villages around Damboa over the last three days - and are being treated at a hospital in Lasa village - said the militants were asleep when they escaped, a Lasa resident told the BBC Hausa Service.
Pray: for the safe return of all the abducted women and children; for the terrorists to be brought to justice. (2 Thess 3:3)
Four churches have been attacked and scores of people killed in the latest bout of violence by suspected Boko Haram members. Gunmen fired at worshippers gathered in Kwada village just 6 miles from Chibok in Borno state, where more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped and taken hostage on 14 April. The militants then set fire to the buildings, which included the Protestant Church of Christ in Nigeria and the Pentecostal Deeper Life Bible Church, before heading to nearby Kautikari village where they continued their rampage; shooting local civilians and setting fire to their homes. The death toll is reported to be at least 30 in Kwada, though this figure is expected to climb. President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Muslim-majority Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States in May 2013 and has authorised an increased military presence in an attempt to combat extremism.
Pray: with urgency for the nation of Nigeria experiencing daily attacks by the extremists. (Ps.140:1-2)
Pray4Nigeria would like to commend this prayer guide, 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World 2014 (published by WorldChristian.com) which we are also bringing to you each day through our website here.
Join millions of Christians around the world who participate each year in this largest ongoing international prayer focus on the Muslim world.
Coinciding with Ramadan, Christians worldwide are called to make an intentional effort to learn about, pray for and reach out to Muslim neighbours.. across the street and around the world.
Media sound bites about Islamic extremism can too easily incite anger, fear and even hatred toward Muslims. Instead, pray with the mind and heart of Christ. This full-color prayer guide is a proven tool helping Christians to understand and to persistently pray for Muslim neighbours and nations.
The prayer is translated into many different languages. To find out which languages are available, please check the 30-Days Prayer Network site.
The booklet contains daily reading pages with prayer points, informative background articles, and resources for further study AND involvement. While it is primarily produced for use during Ramadan, many individuals and churches use it also at other times throughout the year.
Each of the daily prayers for 2014 are being re-produced here on the Pray4Nigeria Website.
At least 91 people – including 60 schoolgirls and young women, plus 31 schoolboys – were kidnapped last week by Boko Haram extremists, two months after the same group kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in northeastern Nigeria, according to the Los Angeles Times. They were also abducted from villages in that part of the country, an area where such attacks have been happening almost daily, while Nigeria’s army appears to be unable to enforce security in most of the country. Many have criticised Nigeria’s government and military for their slow response to the abductions of more than 200 schoolgirls from their school in Chibok on April 15: several dozen of the girls had been able to escape. About 30 people were reported to have been killed by the extremists in the latest attack. Elderly residents fled their homes, trudging 15 miles to get help.
Pray: that the authorities will find ways of stopping Boko Haram’s ongoing attacks and release for all those kidnapped. (Ps.86:14)
More: http://blog.godreports.com/2014/06/sixty-more-nigerian-schoolgirls-and-women-kidnapped-plus-31-boys/
"But thus says the LORD: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible be delivered; for I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children. I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know, that I, the LORD, am your Saviour, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" (Isa.49:25,26).
"Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is His name. He will thoroughly plead their case, that He may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon" (Jere.50:34).
Close to two months now the issue of insecurity in the nation has occupied the headlines especially the kidnap of close to 300 girls at Chibok, and the incessant killings by Boko Haram. The Boko Haram leader has boasted he will sell off the girls, but our God is greater and will stop him. We urge every Watchman to remain steadfast in prayers for the release of these girls. As the above texts states, our God is a Deliverer and our Redeemer. He will redeem these children, and he will defeat Boko Haram for us. Please remain in constant prayer for them.
Assist News further reports that, "Nigeria has the largest population of IDPs in Africa-some 3.3 million people-according to a recent report by the Internal Displaced Monitoring Centre (IDMC). Even more alarming, Nigeria is listed as having the third highest number of displaced people in the world, ranking behind Syria with 6.5 million IDPs and Colombia with 5.7 million IDPs."
Pray: that God will reverse this negative trend.
More: http://www.christianaid.org/News/2014/mir20140529.aspx
There is a deliberate attempt to exterminate the Church in various countries of the world like in Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Somalia, Lebanon, Iran, etc.
In these countries, Christians are killed, their rights denied and their churches burnt. Surprisingly, this intense level of persecution of Christians is coming on the heels of close to two decades of unprecedented global prayer by the Church in the 1980s and 1990s. These persecutions seem to be a backlash and an attempt to reverse all the gains the Church had made in the last two to three decades.
Assist News reports that,"In all countries where Christians are persecuted, researchers recorded 3,641 churches and Christian properties destroyed and 13,120 other forms of violence against Christians such as beatings, abductions, rapes, arrests and forced marriages. Open Doors researchers also released information on the Top 10 Violence List in the category of faith-related killings during the 17-month reporting period. Nigeria was No. 1 with a total of 2,073 Christian martyrs. Nigeria is followed by Syria 1,479, CAR 1,115, Pakistan 228, Egypt 147, Kenya 85, Iraq 84, Myanmar (Burma) and Sudan 33 each and Venezuela 26. Of the overall compilation of 5,479 Christians killed for their faith around the world, Nigeria, Syria and CAR make up 85 percent of the total. The estimated average of Christians killed for their faith per month in the reporting period is 322. Researchers say the total number of martyrs is "a very minimum count and could be significantly higher. The alarming increase of violence against Christians in Nigeria over the past months highlights the lack of religious freedom they have and the daily dangers they face from the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram and other violent Islamic organizations," says Open Doors USA President/CEO Dr. David Curry."
PRAY: for God's intervention in these countries where Christians are being persecuted. Pray that God will strengthen and support his Church from extermination.
The news headlines in the past two weeks have been filled with reports of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram. But many people aren’t aware of the campaign of terror that this group has waged on northern and central Nigeria for the past 10 years.
Nigeria is also witnessing a worrying surge in attacks by increasingly well-armed Fulani herders on Christian villages and individuals in four states, raising fears of linkage between the herders and Boko Haram.
Over 300,000 people have been displaced by violence since May last year. There are also very real fears of another outbreak of deadly religiously-motivated violence as the 2015 elections approach.
Download your resources for the CSW Nigeria Week of Prayer 2014 by clicking through to their website here
Last Wednesday Boko Haram entered a village saying they had come to preach then fired on the crowd that gathered, killing 45. It follows a similar attack on Attagara village the previous day when gunmen in military uniforms convinced residents they had come to provide protection, gathering people in the centre of the village to kill them. A survivor said ‘they fired continuously for a very long time until all that had gathered were dead’. A local MP said it was impossible to count the dead because survivors fled into nearby hills but he estimated 200. (See last week's PA STOP PRESS) These attacks happened near the mountains, close to the border with Cameroon where Boko Haram operates. Also please pray for Christian negotiator Stephen Davis, a former canon at Coventry Cathedral, who has been having talks with a senior commander of the group holding the 200 Chibok girls. See:
Pray: for all hostage negotiations. (Pr.23:9) and pray for Nigeria's government to successfully tackle Boko Haram in remote areas in the north-east. (Pr.23:10-11)
Download an e-copy of our 30 Day Prayer Guide
Website Images for promoting your participation in Pray4Nigeria
