PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH IN NIGERIA

PRAYER FOCUS FOR WEEK 4

The Church is God’s body on earth for carrying out his will and purpose. It is the body through which God’s kingdom is expanded on earth. It is God’s hope on the earth for fulfilling God’s mandate.
Jesus says he will build his Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Pray that God will continue to build, strengthen and empower his Church in Nigeria.

PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH IN NIGERIA AND ITS LEADERSHIP
Pray for the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and its leadership. Pray for the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and its leadership. Pray for the leadership of the Church in Nigeria for wisdom, courage and strength to do the will of God.

Jesus prayed for the unity of the Church. Pray and ask God to fulfill the prayers of Jesus.
When one member of the body is sick others are affected. Many members of the body are seriously sick, others are in pain and sorrow. Pray for the members of the body who are sick for God’s healing. Pray for the Church in Northern Nigeria who face the threat of extinction that God will sustain, comfort and keep his Church.

Pray for the various families that make up the Church.

The Church is sustained by the Holy Spirit. Pray for the outpouring of God’s Spirit upon his Church. Ask God to renew the power and vision of the Church.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will awaken the interest of the leadership and members of the Church to evangelism, missions, acts of mercy, holiness and the importance of unity and love for one another.

PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH
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. Pray that God will strengthen and support his Church from extermination. Pray for the Church in these nations. 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.

“Open Doors researchers have 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…Open Doors USA President/CEO Dr. David Curry says, “Going to school, attending church or identifying yourself as a Christian is a very brave decision in Nigeria. It is turning into a bloodbath. Christians in the West must stand in the gap with our prayers and support.”

PRAY FOR INTERNAL DISPLACED PERSONS (IDPs)
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.