he NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR

MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 19th - Sunday 25th August 2024

AT THE BORDER OF THE PROMISED LAND

“… ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. (Isa. 62:6–7).

Two seemingly contradictory revelations from heaven were shared last week at the National Prayer Altar. While they appeared to be conflicting, to the discerning, both revelations were saying the same thing: a new Nigeria is going to be birthed.

In one revelation, a sister saw two Cherubim in a prayer posture, in-between them the Ark of the Covenant. From the mercy seat came forth the coat of arms of Nigeria. In her dream and in her flesh, the sister started screaming for joy, until her husband woke her up, wondering what 'nightmare' was making her to scream in her sleep. The import of the revelation is clear: a new covenant-country is about to emerge.

In the other revelation, a 15-year-old girl who has demonstrated prophetic integrity said she was shown that the military took over power, and great calamity came upon the country. She reported that the Lord said to her that "the Church should rise up and pray immediately against the military takeover and the calamity prepared to befall our nation Nigeria."

Both revelations are saying the same thing, that there is a plan of goodness for Nigeria from God, but Satan has not retired from from his evil plots. It is left for the Church to decide on which side the pendulum should swing. 

In the wake of some protesters in northern Nigeria carrying the Russian flag during the just concluded national protest against hunger, the signal of a military takeover should not be taken lightly by intercessors. It would be a great setback for Nigeria if the military should return to power. If there should be another military incursion into power, it is not difficult to predict from which section of the geographical and religious divide in the country the coup plotters would come from. Of greater apprehension would be their allegiance to the oppressive forces seeking to dominate Nigeria. The implication of such a takeover is that all the obnoxious attempts to appropriate the lands of indigenous ethnic nationalities, which have been resisted through the instrumentality of the Constitution, would be done without any hinderance. The military rules by decrees, not by a constitution. RUGA can be imposed by a decree, and the water ways can be appropriated by a decree. 

The issue now is no longer whether one approves of the APC or not. There is a greater danger looming over the horizon, and the Church must intensify prayers for God’s divine intervention. Some apparent compatriots have shown that they are determined to persist in evil, irrespective of its cost to the country. They are forces that kept mute in the eight years of Buhari’s misadventure with power. 

As mentioned in the prayer call entitled “When Will the Church Save Nigeria?”, Christians must accept responsibility for birthing a new nation, and ensure that their words and conducts match their utterances in prayer. It is not enough that Christians travail in prayers for the country. They must, in addition, ensure that they live exemplary lives that will promote righteousness in the land.

The season calls for greater circumspection by Christians about the role of Church leadership in national affairs. On multiple occasions, the spiritual authority of the Church was misused by some Church leaders who were merchants in the sanctuary, to endorse evil leaders in the country. The pursuit of selfish interest in the Church is what brought Nigeria to its knees. Christians must be on the alert to demand accountability from such transactional leaders. It is not rebellion to resist Church leaders whose actions threaten the corporate interest of the Church. The often repeated intimidation is that only God can correct His servant. That has no basis in the Scriptures. 

Nigeria is at the brink of destiny. Heaven has shown that a new country could either arise out of the Holy of Holies or the country could suffer a setback and begin afresh. The Church has the responsibility of ensuring that a covenant country emerges. 

Let no one be in doubt about the future of Nigeria. A new country shall emerge. God has spoken it. When God speaks, it comes to pass. What we do not know is how quickly we would cooperate with Him to bring His will to a pass in the country. The children of Israel reached the border of the Promised Land two years after they left Egypt. There at the border, they rebelled and returned into the wilderness for an extra thirty-eight years, until that generation of rebels perished. 

This generation of Christians in Nigeria must be careful. Upon them lies the responsibility for the emergence of a new Nigeria. The weak link in the Church has been its leadership. The transactional spirit that many Christian leaders have exhibited has done great harm to the Body of Christ and to the country. They have been able to get away with it because their Christian brethren do not demand accountability from them, under the guise of respecting spiritual leaders. Transactional leadership in the Church must cease. The Church of Jesus Christ is not a commodity to be put up for sale to any politician.

In this season, “watch and pray” is indispensable. All Christians must be on the alert, physically and spiritually, all over the country. Satan must not be permitted to set the country back tragically at the border of the Promised Land.

PRAYER POINTS

1).    Isaiah 43:18–19
 Thank God for the vision of a new Nigeria. Thank God that it shall come, and it shall not fail.

2).    Isaiah 14: 27
Decree that no conspiracy by the kingdom of darkness will frustrate the emergence of a new Nigeria.

3).    Isaiah 46: 9 -10
 Decree again that, concerning Nigeria, the counsel of the Almighty God shall stand. The new Nigeria shall come forth.

4).    Zech. 1:18–21
Pray for the release of the four carpenters of heaven, to scatter all the forces that are working against God’s purpose for Nigeria. Take authority over the forces of darkness that are oppressing Nigerians.

5).    Isaiah 29:5–8 Pronounce judgment upon all the forces threatening a military takeover in Nigeria, to promote sectional ethnic and religious interests. Cancel all their plans. Decree that they shall be like chaff before the wind.

6).    1 Pet. 4:17
Pray that God will arise and judge all Christian leaders who collaborate with the enemies of God and the foes of Nigeria,  for their selfish interests. 

7).    2 Cor. 12:9
Pray mercy and grace for Nigeria, that the country shall not fail at the border of the Promised Land.