It’s not a good time to be a Christian in Nigeria. With bomb and gun attacks on churches now the norm in many northern and central states, and the death toll rising all the time, thousands of people live in fear of their lives simply because of the faith they have chosen.

Sadly, this is nothing new. Tens of thousands have been killed in religiously-motivated violence since 1999. And there are concerning developments: in recent years we’ve seen attacks which at first appeared random and spontaneous, but which now bear the hallmarks of being organised by an Islamist militant group called Boko Haram. They have vowed to drive Christians out of Nigeria, saying, “Christians in Nigeria should accept Islam” or they will never have peace.”

As the violence accelerates, Nigeria needs your prayers more than ever.

This week please:

• Ask God to protect Reverend Yunusa of CSW Nigeria, his wife Alice, and other members of CSW Nigeria as they work to help victims;
• Thank God for the opportunities CSW has had to raise awareness at the US Congress and the UN of the situation in Nigeria;
• Pray that these opportunities would encourage the international community to take decisive action;
• Pray that CSW’s regular media reports about Nigeria would shape the international debate on the country;
• Pray that the funders and perpetrators of the violence would be brought to justice;
• Ask God to pour out peace, strength, reconciliation and unity on all people of goodwill in Nigeria;
• Pray that a long-lasting peaceful solution to the problems would be found.