'Great and amazing things happen when the Church prays.'  Anonymous

'If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land' ( 2 Chro.7:14).

This is an urgent call to the entire Church to pray. This call for prayer has become necessary in light of the numerous challenges the Church and our Nation is going through. We all recall that in the past, when the Church faced similar challenges and threats, we had resorted to prayers and God answered. So, as we now face what can no doubt be described as 'PERILIOUS TIMES' in our nation, let us arise and pray, knowing that God has always been faithful in responding to our passionate petitions.

Prayer is at the core of the ministry of the Church. The Church was born in prayer and has been sustained all through her history by prayer. Jesus, the head of the Church, exemplified the importance of prayer by the attention He gave to it. He prayed regularly, and taught his disciples how to pray. Once, when He went into the temple, He drove away the money changers who had turned the temple into a business centre and thereafter declared, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a house of thieves.'" Thus, the Church should be a house of prayer, a place where prayer never ceases.

I urge all Christians - Catholics, Protestants, Pentecostals, Charismatics, and all other denominations, including men, women and children - whether in the market places, the offices, in business premises, at homes, in Churches, at street corners, in the eateries, in communities and at football fields to arise and join in this One Year 24/7 prayer initiative. Let us all raise the altar of prayer in twos, in threes, in groups, and families so that the tide of evil facing the nation and the Church may be overturned. Let us persist in prayer until a great awakening is seen in the land.

God bless you all as you respond to this clarion call to prayer.

Rev. Dr. Felix OMOBUDE
President, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN)

A truck has exploded in a huge fireball, killing at least 17 people in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, the latest attack in a city repeatedly hit by Boko Haram fighters. Tuesday's bomb rocked Maiduguri's largest roundabout near the crowded Market where elderly women line the road selling peanuts and kola nuts as snacks to morning commuters. The Defence Ministry said in a tweet that an ’improvised explosive device’ went off in ‘a van loaded with charcoal’ and that the area had been cordoned off. One witness said the bomb went off just after the market opened at 8am before most traders or customers had arrived. Unruly crowds tried to attack fire-fighters deployed to the scene, accusing them of arriving too slowly and hindering their efforts to put out the raging blaze, the AFP news agency reported.

Pray: continuously for God to confuse the hand of the enemy and bring peace. (Ps 140:7-8)

More: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/07/dozens-killed-car-bomb-nigeria-20147195610585272.html

Four churches have been attacked and scores of people killed in the latest bout of violence by suspected Boko Haram members. Gunmen fired at worshippers gathered in Kwada village just 6 miles from Chibok in Borno state, where more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped and taken hostage on 14 April. The militants then set fire to the buildings, which included the Protestant Church of Christ in Nigeria and the Pentecostal Deeper Life Bible Church, before heading to nearby Kautikari village where they continued their rampage; shooting local civilians and setting fire to their homes. The death toll is reported to be at least 30 in Kwada, though this figure is expected to climb. President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Muslim-majority Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States in May 2013 and has authorised an increased military presence in an attempt to combat extremism.

Pray: with urgency for the nation of Nigeria experiencing daily attacks by the extremists. (Ps.140:1-2)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/nigeria.dozens.of.church.goers.killed.in.boko.haram.attacks/38508.htm

More than 60 women and girls are reported to have escaped from the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, security sources say. They were among 68 abducted last month near the town of Damboa in north-eastern Borno state. But some women who made it home said they feared other escapees had been recaptured, villagers told the BBC. Boko Haram is still holding more than 200 schoolgirls abducted from Borno's Chibok town in April. Initial reports said the women escaped when the militants went to attack a military base near Damboa on Friday. Local vigilante Abbas Gava told journalists he had ‘received an alert from my colleagues that about 63 of the abducted women and girls had made it back home’. ‘They took the bold step when their abductors moved out to carry out an operation,’ he said. But 18 women who have made it back to villages around Damboa over the last three days - and are being treated at a hospital in Lasa village - said the militants were asleep when they escaped, a Lasa resident told the BBC Hausa Service.

Pray: for the safe return of all the abducted women and children; for the terrorists to be brought to justice. (2 Thess 3:3)

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28189035

Pray4Nigeria would like to commend this prayer guide, 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World 2014 (published by WorldChristian.com) which we are also bringing to you each day through our website here.

Join millions of Christians around the world who participate each year in this largest ongoing international prayer focus on the Muslim world.

Coinciding with Ramadan, Christians worldwide are called to make an intentional effort to learn about, pray for and reach out to Muslim neighbours.. across the street and around the world.

Media sound bites about Islamic extremism can too easily incite anger, fear and even hatred toward Muslims. Instead, pray with the mind and heart of Christ. This full-color prayer guide is a proven tool helping Christians to understand and to persistently pray for Muslim neighbours and nations.

The prayer is translated into many different languages. To find out which languages are available, please check the 30-Days Prayer Network site. 

The booklet contains daily reading pages with prayer points, informative background articles, and resources for further study AND involvement. While it is primarily produced for use during Ramadan, many individuals and churches use it also at other times throughout the year. 

Each of the daily prayers for 2014 are being re-produced here on the Pray4Nigeria Website.

  1. Nigeria: Sixty more schoolgirls and women kidnapped, plus 31 boys
  2. Our Redeemer is Strong
  3. CSW Week of Prayer for Nigeria
  4. Nigeria: Boko Haram crisis

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