Second Day’s Prayer

Lord I pray for the Nigerian people.

Lord I pray for the consequences of living with endemic insecurity, when military checkpoint snarl traffic around hotel entrances for literally hours at a time. When churches must have guards every time their doors are open, oh God protect Your people!

Lord how to motivate a system that only seems interested in quelling the violence after bodies are lying on the ground, and does not move to prevent before or prosecute afterward.

Lord I pray that You would raise up in Nigeria men like Job, who delivered the poor and the fatherless, who broke the fangs of the wicked and plucked the victims from their teeth. Lord I pray that you would encourage those men who have that caliber of soul but are disheartened and sabotaged by the system.

Lord I pray for strength for those men who have every human reason to give themselves over to hate, who have lost homes and land, friends and family. I thank you that if there are any cowards in Nigeria, that you have not sent them my way. But Lord for men who are not cowards to endure such things! Lord I do not have the strength or the wisdom for such a thing, but I believe that you do and I am amazed at the way that your Spirit shows itself, more and more true in the lives of these men.

I thank You for the Nigerian pastors that You have guided me to. I thank You for the unity of the Spirit that is possible between Christians across nations and cultures. It is marvelous beyond words to travel half-way around the world, and feel the same presence of God in people and be able to find unity with them instantly.

I thank you for the reminder that even under all the violence the work of the Gospel goes on, and You are bringing many to Your Name. Lord I praise You for the courage of those who see the light of Christ and return to preach to their families, even when those families come against them with hatred.

Lord lest I forget, I pray for Muslims who have been killed by Boko Haram, I pray that you will open their eyes to see that no one is safe when people use their faith as an excuse to indulge their bloodlust.

Lord I pray that Nigerians will remember the duty that they have to one another as part of the same community, the same nation, the same world. For you created us all equal and certain things are owed to one another simply because we were all made by God, and He demands that we respect what He has made.

Lord I pray for my work here. I thank you for all the little ways that You show me that You have laid the groundwork, in preparation for divine appointments which work out to Your design. I pray that this trip would be another step in a mighty work that would see peace come to Nigeria.

Lord keep me safe as I travel, give me rest when I sleep.

Amen