MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 4th – Sunday 10th March 2024

"TOHU VA BOHU"
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Gen. 1:1–4).

The condition of planet earth before God decided to renovate it for habitation was a state of indescribable desolation and emptiness. The Hebrew language described the earth as tohu va bohu, without form, and void. An expanded description of the situation could be rendered, “formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness.” There was no order; there was only chaos.

That situation could be likened to present day Nigeria. It would be in alignment with prophecy to describe the country in a state of tohu va bohu, irrespective of our positive confession or patriotism. Nigeria presently is in a state of confusion, without order, politically, economically, and socially.

In June 1995, God spoke from Isaiah 32:9–18 to a group of gospel ministers concerning Nigeria.  The message was treated with the urgency that it deserved, which led to a series of high-level meetings of Church leaders that eventually culminated in the National Prayer for Repentance and Reconciliation, which held in September 1995. The repentance program held nationwide, and Nigeria appeared to have escaped the prophetic judgment outlined in Isaiah 32:9–14.  Unfortunately, that was not the case. The repentance prayer of September 1995 was not complemented with a penitent attitude.  By November 2016, Heaven lamented: “Nigeria Christians are praying and fasting, but they are not repenting.”

A cursory look at Isaiah 32: 9–14 shows that God keeps mentioning the cause of the problem: “carelessness.”  Thrice in that short passage, God addressed carelessness. Rather than solve the problem of carelessness in the Church, the situation worsened, and by September 2013, another word came from Heaven, describing the Nigeria Church as “irresponsible”; that the “Nigeria Church is guilty of the sin of irresponsibility.”

An honest appraisal of the condition of the Nigeria Church will reveal that those two reports from Heaven well characterize it – “careless and irresponsible”. Time and space will not permit the list of the various acts of omission by the Church, spiritually, morally, ethically, and socially.  The Church went into a freefall.  Every attempt thereafter to call the Church to order was resisted, especially by the leadership. Today, scandal upon scandal rocks the Church, and some Christians who can no longer cope have opted to sit at home on Sunday mornings. Unfortunately, their number is increasing.

As the Church stumbled and staggered, its condition spilled over into the country. A Church without moral compass will ultimately throw the country into a spin. The consequence is a country in a state of tohu va bohu.  It will be superfluous at this stage to mention the distressing conditions of Nigeria. Even if one attempts to list only the key problems of Nigeria, from where would one begin?

Fortunately, God does not give up in the face of tohu va bohu. In Genesis 1, as tohu va bohu reigned upon earth, the Spirit of God appeared, followed by the Word of God, and light dispelled the darkness; order replaced chaos, restoration commenced, and fruitfulness took the place of emptiness. When the Spirit of God appeared, the earth was renovated and restored.

This same pattern of deliverance is what God has promised Nigeria. It is undeniable that according to Isaiah 32:10  “many days and years shall ye be troubled,” and “Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers”  (v. 13).  That verse has been fulfilled yet, there remains the glorious promise in verse 15, that those distressing conditions would persist “Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high”.

As the Spirit of God reversed the chaos and emptiness “in the beginning”, so shall the outpouring of the Spirit of God reverse the present reproachful condition of Nigeria. What Nigeria is waiting for is the promise of the Holy Spirit.  Nigeria is not waiting for restructuring, innovative as that might sound.  Nigeria is not waiting for State Police to enhance national security.  Nigeria is waiting for the promised gift of Holy Spirit outpouring. If God promised two things and one has come to pass, then the second shall unfailingly be fulfilled. The prophecy that foretold “many days and years [to] … be troubled” is the same prophecy that assures us that the situation shall persist only “Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.” (v. 15).  

With this understanding of prophecy, Christians should focus prayers on the fulfilment of God’s promise of Holy Ghost outpouring upon Nigeria. All the problems of injustice, unrighteousness, immorality, perversion, corruption, and insecurity in the country shall be addressed when the Spirit of God is poured upon Nigeria.  There is no reason for Christians to be despondent, depressed, or fearful. It is time to exercise faith in the word of God and prayerfully remind Him of His promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, we have experienced tohu va bohu, but according to prophecy, we shall “arise and shine, for [our] light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon [us].” (Isaiah 60:1).  In Nigeria, darkness shall give way to light, and order shall replace chaos.  It is time to pray fervently for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER POINTS

1.    Lam. 3:21–23 
Thank God for His faithfulness and mercy upon us in Nigeria. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we have not been consumed.

2.    Num. 23:19 
Thank God that He is faithful to keep His word. He has promised Nigeria an outpouring of His Spirit, and it shall not fail.

3.    2 Cor. 6:2
Pray that God will hasten His word to perform it in Nigeria. Pray that the Spirit shall be poured out upon Nigeria today.

4.    Acts 1:8 
Pray for divine empowerment for the saints. Pray that a powerless Church shall be made powerful again by the Holy Spirit; powerful to exercise dominion over the land.

5.    Joel 2:28–29 
Pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Nigeria’s youths.

6.    Ps. 85:4–7 
Pray for Holy Ghost revival all over Nigeria.

7.    Isaiah 32:9–17 
Pray that as Nigeria has seen the days and years of trouble, Nigeria shall also witness the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.