The NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 5th – Sunday 11th Jan. 2026
JOY COMETH
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure (Isaiah 46:9-10).
When God speaks, it comes to pass. No word of the Most High returns to Him void (Isa. 55:11). Neither man nor Satan can stop or hinder what the Almighty God has purposed to do. However, due to the free will that God has given to man, and the dominion which God has entrusted to man on earth (Ps. 115:16), there are instances in which man has refused to cooperate with God’s purpose. Such refusals do not nullify the purpose of God; they merely delay it. If a generation will not cooperate with God to enter the Promised Land two years after leaving Egypt, God will wait for an additional thirty-eight years for a generation that would cooperate. Israel must enter the Promised Land. Amen.
Nigeria is at the threshold of its Promised Land. By the prophetic unction of Pastor Elton in April 1986, Nigeria was programmed by God to go through two phases: a first phase of corruption in which Nigeria would stink all over the world, and the second phase of righteousness when Nigeria would be a praise in all the earth. If God made two declarations in the same prophecy, and one has been fulfilled, the other declaration shall also come to pass. Nigeria shall be righteous.
The challenge for intercessors over the years has been to determine when the phase of corruption would end and when the phase of righteousness would commence. That was resolved in 2023 by the word that forty years after the prophecy of Pastor Elton, Nigeria would transit to the phase of righteousness. Forty years after the prophecy of Pastor Elton is 2026. That revelation of 2023 was followed by another prophecy in 2024, that fifty years after FESTAC ’77, Nigeria would be forgiven the sin of idolatry which it committed through that celebration of culture. Fifty years after FESTAC is 2027. As 2026 commences, the calendar of God to restore Nigeria to righteousness begins to tick.
As beautiful as these promises are, it should not be forgotten that man’s will is also a factor to be reckoned with. In His dealings with man, God permits man to express his free will to either cooperate with God or align with God’s adversary. Often, the wrong choices have delayed a lot of blessings that would have been received. That is true not only of nations but also of families and individuals.
Most blessings and promises of God are prefixed with “if”. “If” God’s conditions are met, His promises are fulfilled. “If” the conditions are not met, the blessing are either delayed or transferred to a next generation.
In this season, two contrasting words are hanging over Nigeria. Both are from God. We shall highlight the two promises as “positive” and “negative” promises.
Positive promises:
1). Forty years after the prophecy of Pastor Elton in 1986, Nigeria will transit to the phase of righteousness.
2). Fifty years after FESTAC “77, Nigeria shall be forgiven the sin of idolatry.
Negative promises:
1). If care is not taken, in 30 – 40 years, Nigeria would be like Turkey (14th September 2013).
2). On 1st July 2016, the spirit of Nebuchadnezzar was released into Nigeria because of the sins of the Church. Jeremiah 27:7 says, "And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him." In a previous prayer call, it was explained that Nigeria is in the era of Nebuchadnezzar's "son". Buhari was the Nebuchadnezzar.
The two contrasting prophecies are from God. Would God contradict Himself? No. The explanation for the seemingly conflicting words is found in Deut. 30:19 which says, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live".
Nigeria is standing at the threshold of a mighty divine deliverance. The Church, being the agent of God in the land, must be careful how it handles this season. While many Christians are fervently praying for the deliverance and restoration of the land, Church leaders, representing the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), visited President Tinubu in Lagos. According to the reports after the meeting, President Tinubu informed them that he was going to invite Turkey to offer military assistance to Nigeria. A commentator who wrote a concerned article about the meeting of CAN officials with President Tinubu reported that CAN “nodded in approval”. So far, there has been no official statement from CAN objecting to the plan of the President to invite Turkey to 'help' Nigeria fight terrorism. That is the same Turkey of which God had warned Nigeria Christians on 14th September 2013 in the prophecy highlighted above. Church leaders were aware that the United States of America has commenced effective engagement of terrorist locations in Nigeria, resulting in a relatively peaceful Christmas celebration in the country. President Trump should be credited with a peaceful Christmas in Nigeria. What would Turkey, a country globally acknowledged as a sponsor of Islamic terror, come to do in Nigeria? Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) carried a news report that Turkey was supplying arms and ammunitions to Boko Haram. CBN quoted an Egyptian news channel as the source of the information.
The CBN report stated: “Today’s leak confirms without doubt that Erdogan, his state, his government, and his party are transferring weapons from Turkey to – this is a shock, to where, you may ask - to Nigeria; and to whom? – to the Boko Haram organization.” The country that is supplying arms to terrorists in Nigeria is the same country that President Tinubu has reached out to, to enter Nigeria and “help” Nigerian military in the fight against Islamic terrorists.
After the meeting of CAN officials with Tinubu, Basil Okoh wrote an article entitled, “Tinubu’s Gambit to turn Nigeria into a Theatre of Religious War”. In it, he stated that “the Christian leaders, obviously without knowledge and no sense of history themselves, nodded in approval and ended the meeting, carrying gifts home. What they did not know is that Bola Tinubu, out of his own mischief, is moving to take Nigeria into a vortex of religious conflict that sees no end in a thousand years.” It is not rocket science for anyone to figure out that if Islamic terrorists are disturbing Nigeria, another Islamic state is never an option to drive them out. To worsen matters, Turkey was specifically mentioned by God in a prophetic warning to the Nigeria Church in 2013.
Having secured the “endorsement” of CAN officials, Tinubu has the legal ground, spiritually, to bring in Turkey. Would Turkey do what America is doing and bomb terrorist locations and neutralize their operations? Would Turkey work to disarm the Islamic terrorists after supplying them the arms and the ammunitions? The invitation to Turkey is more worrisome when one remembers that the first person to moot the idea of inviting Turkey was Sheik Ahmad Gumi. Are Church leaders now on the same page with Gumi?
A few weeks ago, this prayer call published a word from God, entitled “ISHMAEL UNLEASHED?” Is that word coming to pass? Has the Nigeria Church unwittingly unleashed Ishmael?
That is the why this prayer call states that Nigeria is at the threshold of the Promised Land. As in the wilderness, not all Israel gave the evil report about the land of Canaan. Only ten men did. However, those ten men were amongst the twelve men chosen to represent the entire nation. The entire nation did not need to commit the crime, their representatives did. The question now is, how would Nigeria Christians reverse any tacit or actual endorsement of the invitation to Turkey by the Church? Some people might say that the Church is not liable. However, in the spirit realm, words rule. A word spoken carelessly or left unchecked can become a spiritual stronghold. The matter of Turkey is of concern because God had warned in 2013 that “if care is not taken, in 30 – 40 years, Nigeria will be like Turkey”? How would the Christians explain to God that it was the Church that endorsed the invitation to Turkey?
The only recourse is for more intercession and supplication to the Almighty God, that the Body of Christ does not endorse the invitation to any Islamic state to officially enter Nigeria, presumably, to dismantle another Islamic state in Nigeria. Turkey will never work against the operations of terrorists. Turkey will only work to counter America and shield the terrorists from the US military engagement. That is the reason Gumi proposed an invitation to Turkey, and CAN officials allowed it to pass without objecting.
When God speaks, it comes to pass. The choice of which word that will come to pass is now left for the Nigeria Christians. Nigeria has been offered life and death, blessings and curses (Deut. 30:19). We can say confidently that “joy cometh”. “Joy” has arrived and it is at the door in 2026. Will Nigeria Christians open the door for it, or will they permit their gate keepers to shut the door and turn “joy” back? God forbid. It is time to pray.
God bless Nigeria.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Is. 46:9-10
Thank God that His purpose for Nigeria shall stand in this generation. Pray that no one shall delay or frustrate his purpose for Nigeria.
2. Lam. 3:37
Nullify every invitation to Turkey to enter Nigeria. Release the Nigeria Church from any complicity or collaboration in the invitation.
3. Is. 37:3
Pray that the deliverance of God for Nigeria shall not be aborted. Nigeria shall not turn back at the border of the Promised Land.
4. Job 5:12-14
Pray that every manipulation of Islamists to protect terrorists and frustrate the intervention of US, shall backfire on them.
5. Ps. 7:9 Declare that the wicked and their wickedness shall be destroyed in Nigeria.
6. Is. 41:10-13
Pray that in addition to the US, God will raise more help for Nigeria in heaven and on the earth.
7. Is. 60:1-2
Make declarations that Nigeria shall enter righteousness in 2026. Seal the word of prophecy with the Blood of Jesus Christ.
AMEN
