LETS PRAY FOR OUR NATION NIGERIA

Interceding for Our Nation Nigeria

 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” —1 Timothy 2:1–2

We are instructed to pray “for kings, and for all that are in authority.” Have you ever wondered why God would want us to pray for kings? When studying
history, we very seldom find a king who was saved. Someone may ask, “Do you mean God would bless those leaders even though they weren’t Christians?”
Emphatically, yes! When we pray for those in authority, we are promised “a quiet and peaceable life.”

The passage from First Timothy continues:
1 TIMOTHY 2:3–4
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. This is the ultimate reason God wants us to pray for the leaders of the nation we live in. God wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

As Christians, we should be concerned about our nation, but we shouldn’t put politics before Christ. We should be interested, and we should vote and do all we can to have good government. But the main thing we should do is pray.

Some people say that Christians shouldn’t be involved in politics. Well, let’s not let the devil take over everything! We’re just not to put politics first to the point
that we neglect Christ and the Church.

It’s so easy to criticize, but the Bible never tells us to do that. I’ve found that it’s hard to criticize someone you’re praying for.

And the same is true when we’re praying for our government leaders. Christians have the authority, power, and know-how to turn things around in government if we’ll take advantage of it. But we’ll not change things by criticizing; we’ll change them by getting on our knees and interceding.

Prayer Points Make it a point this year to pray for those in authority in our nation. Pray for these people and events: » President » National Assembly » Supreme Court » State & local Governments » Military » Intelligence Agencies » Presidential Primaries & Conventions » Upcoming Presidential Election

One example of intercessory prayer in the Bible is found in Genesis 18:20–32. This passage of scripture records the story of how God wanted to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because their sin was so great. But Abraham kept interceding for the cities until God said, “I will not destroy it for ten’s sake” (v. 32

What a tremendous statement! God said He would spare those wicked cities for the sake of 10 righteous people! Sodom and Gomorrah were so sexually impure that their sin gave us the term “sodomy.” (See Gen. 19:1–11.) Yet because Abraham interceded on their behalf, God said He would spare those cities if He found in them 10 righteous men.

If God was willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah because a righteous man interceded, will He not honor our petitions when we intercede for our cities and nations? I believe there are more than 10 righteous men in America today, don’t you? I believe there are people who will take their place in intercession
just as Abraham did. As we do, the will of God will be consummated, we will lead quiet and peaceable lives, and the Gospel will go to the ends of the earth.

WHAT IS INTERCESSION?

In his letter to Timothy, a young pastor and leader of a congregation, Paul mentions the importance of intercession. He said supplications, prayers and intercessions should be made for all men. Supplications and intercessions are prayers that we make on behalf of others. He encourages us to pray particularly for the leaders of our nations, who are not necessarily Christian. In Paul's day, the kings and those in authority were not believers. The prayer of intercession is a prayer that is used to pray for others so God's mercy and power would be released on their behalf. This is a prayer where we "stand in the gap" for a person who has no relationship with God. We can also pray this prayer for a person who once knew God but has walked away from God.

When it comes to prayer, people often put their own needs first instead of doing what the Bible says, which is to pray for others first! Paul said in the above scripture to pray "for kings and for all that are in authority." In Paul's day, kings ruled nations. Today, we are called to pray for government leaders and all others that lead our nation. Considering the current state of problems in nations today, we can see the great need to pray for our leaders. Leaders must make critical decisions where there is much at stake. There are many pressures in making decisions and wrong decisions can be hurtful and costly. There are many voices and many ways a leader can be swayed. Leaders can be influenced by negative spiritual forces or by people with wrong motives. Cruel and inhumane leaders can cause a whole nation to suffer, as we have seen throughout recent history.

WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

Many are blaming God for the calamity that's happening throughout our Nation Nigeria. God is not the one terrorizing and killing people! It's the devil that's behind this kind of activity. Jesus himself said the devil came to "kill, steal and destroy," but that Jesus himself came to "give life and give it more abundantly." (John 10:10 KJV) In the beginning when God created the world and gave charge of His creation to Adam, God told Adam to rule and reign over the earth,  or in other words "to have dominion." (See Genesis 1:27-28) When Adam sinned he handed that power over to Satan. By default, Satan became the "god of this world," as Paul calls him in 1 Corinthians 4:4. In Ephesians 2:2, he is named "the prince and power of the air." In John 16:11, Jesus called him "the ruler, evil genius, prince of this world" (Amplified Version). With Satan in charge of the earth, no wonder there's havoc and calamity!

 WHY MUST WE PRAY?

It is God's plan that His people take responsibility to pray for leaders, not criticize or berate them. Whether we like the leader or agree with their political agenda is not the issue. We as believers have something to do with the direction of our nation. Jesus calls us the "salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13). Like salt, we act as a preserving force in the earth and help manifest God's plan and purpose. First, Paul said we should pray for leaders so that nations would be at peace. Peace is important so that the Gospel can go forward unhindered by war and turmoil. Wars and conflicts bring limits and restrictions. This is why Paul said the result of our prayer would be the ability to "lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty" (1 Timothy 2:2). Second, Paul said our prayer would enable the preaching of the gospel in places where the gospel has not yet been revealed, giving everyone the opportunity to hear the good news. Paul goes on to say "for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

You can see why it is so important that we pray! The church needs to take responsibility for the spiritual climate of our nation. We are responsible to intercede and pray for all leaders, not just the Prime Minister. There are many leaders who need our prayers. Let's do our part to make change happen and cause God to move upon our nation. Let's pray for direction, protection and freedom for the gospel to go to places where it has not been before. The ultimate purpose through our prayer is that the good news goes forth unhindered and that people are saved.