The NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 11th – Sunday 17th March 2024
THE DAY OF VISITATION
“For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation” (Luke 19:43–44).
In the prayer call of last week, we considered a 1995 prophecy and the consequence of an indifferent response from the Church. In this week’s prayer call, we shall consider another prophecy given to the Church in 2013. Already, the consequences of the Church's lukewarm response are being felt, but there is hope that the situation could be remedied if appropriate caution is taken. As it is usual with God, He makes a way of escape for His people whenever He sends warnings to them.
In 2013, two years before the 2015 elections, God sent the Church the warnings in Luke 19:42–44. With the benefit of hindsight, it is now clear that God was not only looking at the 2015 elections but also farther down the road to the 2019 elections. That election was the crucial one, but the unfortunate choices made in 2015 were to impact unfavourably on the outcome of the 2019 elections.
In Matthew 1:17, the Bible records that God dealt with Israel in a cycle of 14 generations, representing 420 years. Israel spent 430 years in Egypt; the period of the monarchy from king Saul to the Assyrian captivity was 410 years; the judges ruled for a little over 400 years; and the period between Malachi and Matthew is regarded as the 400 Silent Years, which silence was broken by the arrival of Archangel Gabriel to deliver a message to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.
While Nigeria is not old enough to experience a cycle of 420 years, it nevertheless has shown a cycle of divine dealings every 20 years. That cycle started in 1939, and may be highlighted as follows:
▪️1939 – Southern Nigeria was divided into East and West, which hastened development in the South.
▪️1959 – Constitutional Conference and preparations for Independence in 1960. God delayed the Independence till 1960 because Nigeria had to receive Independence on the Day of Atonement which, that year, fell on 1st October 1960.
▪️1979 – The 1979 Constitution and return to Civil Rule.
▪️1999 – The 1999 Constitution and another return to civil rule.
▪️2019 – The next cycle for political configuration of Nigeria - the elections.
Due to misplaced priorities by some Christian leaders, Islamists took over political power in Nigeria in 2015 and began to afflict the land and the people. God was prepared to re-organize Nigeria at the next cycle of political configurations. As the 2019 elections approached, signals came from Heaven, that God was set to return power to the people. A lot of people caught the signal even though many did not fully understand what they were responding to. It would be recalled that Nigeria had the largest turn out of Christians contesting for presidency in 2019. There were over 50 Christian presidential candidates.
Those who understood what was about to happen started planning for a Christian political consensus. That was imperative, so that one Christian presidential candidate could contest against the two Muslim candidates who had taken the tickets of the two major political parties.
Armed with the knowledge of the 20-year cycle and the prophecy of 2013 that Nigeria must not miss divine visitation, arrangements commenced under the Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN) and the National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF), to harmonize and mobilize Christians to prepare for divine visitation.
A press conference was held on 23rd November 2018 in Lagos, followed by a meeting with 13 Christian presidential candidates on 30th November 2018. The Christians presidential candidates unanimously gave NCEF the mandate to endorse one of them while the other candidates would support. It was clear to everyone that there could only be one president. The selection process was to commence on 10th December 2018.
Without prior involvement in the Christian political consensus project, the apex body of Christianity in Nigeria suddenly issued a press statement, that it would “interview” presidential candidates on 10th December 2018. The NCEF had convened in Abuja to commence their process on that same day. The Christian Elders reviewed the development and opted to step down their process and await the Christian presidential candidate to be announced by the Association. That “interview” never was. The announcement of it seemed to have been a strategy to dismantle the Christian Political Consensus Project of the NCEF
The apex body eventually interviewed 10 presidential candidates made up of 8 Christians and 2 Muslims, at the National Christian Centre, Abuja. It followed up with an advertorial on 21st December 2018 which said nothing about a Christian political consensus.
As if to truncate the CSMN/NCEF Christian Political Consensus Project, the apex body did an advertorial in PUNCH newspaper of 14th December 2018, asserting that it had dissolved the NCEF which is has no constitutional power to do. It was a political mischief, frustrating the Christian Political Consensus Project and making easy way for a jihadist to return to power. The Christian Political Consensus Project collapsed, and the Church lost in 2019. The consequence is what everyone is suffering today.
Soon as Buhari was “re-elected”, officials of the Association were one of the first to visit the presidential Villa to publicly congratulate him, even though that election was still being contested in the court. The jihadist would seem to have been their cherished candidate notwithstanding that in his first term, he had pursued an agenda of blood against Christians.
All that is now history. What should concern Christians at the moment is the next cycle in 2039. At the rate of attacks on the Church and mismanagement of the country, no one needs to be told what lies ahead if God does not intervene.
Fortunately, we serve a merciful God Who hears and answers prayers. A lot of prayers have been made, that God would break into that 20-year cycle and reconfigure Nigeria. The signals from Heaven are positive. As carried in the prayer call of last week, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit is imminent upon Nigeria.
The story of the 20-year cycle is being narrated because of the expectation of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, so that Christians would take care not to miss another divine visitation. God will intervene, but Nigeria Christians must be prepared to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
It shall be well. Amen.
PRAYER POINTS
1). Dan. 9:8–10
Pray in repentance for God’s mercy upon Nigeria even though the Church missed divine visitation in 2019. Confess careless missing of that visitation, which has placed mammon above God.
2). Eccl. 8:11
Pray God’s judgment upon everyone who willfully frustrated the deliverance that God had purposed for Nigeria. If God does not judge those, others will join them for selfish gain.
3). Dan. 4:34–35
Plead with God to exercise His sovereignty in Nigeria by breaking into the 20-year cycle before the next due date in the divine calendar. Pray that God would re-organize Nigeria and deliver the land from oppressors.
4(. Eph. 6:12
Following the access given to Hamas to enter Nigeria, there has been an escalation of terrorist activities in the country. It is reported that 113 females were abducted by Boko Haram in Borno State last week, and over 280 school children abducted in broad daylight in Kaduna State, while the killing of Christians has increased in Benue State.
Take authority over the forces of darkness behind all these terrorist attacks.
5). 2 Thes. 1:6
Pray divine judgment upon all human collaborators of these forces of darkness. Pray that God would judge the sponsors of terrorists in Nigeria: their sorcerers and diviners, the religious and political leaders protecting them, as well as the terrorist foot soldiers themselves.
6). Isaiah 52:1-3
Pray spiritual alertness upon the Church in Nigeria, that Christians would not miss another divine visitation.
7). Isaiah 44:3-5
Pray for an early outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Nigeria, so that the land would have rest.
