Prayer Diary: Nigeria

25-31 October

Sunday 25 October

At time of writing, several local government areas in Benue, Kaduna and Plateau states in central Nigeria are experiencing a surge in attacks, mass killings and abductions by Fulani militia. Pray for a swift end to these attacks, and to all terrorist violence in Nigeria.

Monday 26 October

Surviving villagers abducted from the Ariko and Awon communities in Kachia LGA (Kaduna State) have been held in the forest by Fulani militia since April. Pray for an effective official strategy to end what has been termed ‘the normalisation of prolonged captivity’.

Tuesday 27 October:

International Freedom of Religion or Belief Day

Thank you, God, for the ‘first freedom’ you gave humanity, and for all who work to defend it. 

With sorrow, we remember those who face injustice and persecution because of their beliefs. Yet with hope, we pray for suffering to cease and justice to prevail.

Give us perseverance in our prayers, hope in our campaigning, and determination to keep working for a world where everyone is free to believe. Amen.

Wednesday 28 October

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue State continue to receive inadequate assistance from the state and federal governments. Pray the state’s governor, formerly a priest, would remember to seek justice, defend the oppressed, and take up the cause of the fatherless and widowed (Isaiah 1:17).

Thursday 29 October

Four Christian IDP camps in Maiduguri (Borno State) receive no official assistance. One is being extorted for rent by the new owners of the land it occupies, and all IDPs face pressure from the state government to return to unsafe areas. Pray for justice, compassion and provision.

Friday 30 October

In August, Plateau State-based cleric Sheikh Muhammadu Sani Yahaya Jingir called for ‘infidels’ to be shown ‘their limit’, and falsely claimed that ‘Christians in disguise’ bombed mosques during a 1980s uprising by an extremist Muslim sect. Pray that divisive sectarian and tribalistic narratives would be rejected, especially in Nigeria’s upcoming elections.

Saturday 31 October

Lord God, again we cry out to you for breakthrough in Nigeria, for an end to terrorist violence, for the release of all held in captivity, and for the raising up of righteous leaders and peacemakers who will truly transform the nation. Amen.

Más información en csw.org.uk/nigeria 

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