I was almost a Christian martyr. It was the year 2002, in Kaduna, a state in Northern Nigeria. There I was, caught in the cross fires of a Muslim/Christian conflict. In this Muslim-dominated area, there was fighting everywhere with every fight aimed at killing Christians. I, a young local preacher, known to be a Christian, was easily identified because that day I was wearing my clergy collar. As I walked the streets on what I thought would be a normal uneventful day, I found myself engulfed in a fray of confusion and the target of hungry lions looking for Christian meat. I looked behind me and hoards of savage Muslim extremists were running in my direction. I thought I had surely seen my last day on earth. Then, miraculously, I was lost in the crowd. My suitors lost tract of me as I ran through the maze of mayhem. The massive confusion made my identification and capture near impossible. I, like Jesus, in John 8:59, hid myself and went out through the midst of them. By the grace of God, I escaped. God literally spared my life and gave me a chance to tell of His goodness.
It is for this reason that I look at some American Christians in amazement when they categorize mere annoyances as persecution. The fact that the Minister of Music did not let you lead a song or that a fellow church member did not speak to you or even that the popular preachers will not let you in their circle of ministry associates, is not the fire brand of scathing persecution I have experienced and seen first hand.
During my pastorate in Kaduna (where I was almost killed), I witnessed two major religious uprisings targeted at wiping out Christianity in Kaduna. Some of my pastor friends were killed. I can still remember Pastor Samuel, an Idoma Pastor whose body was found – headless. We learned in this seedbed of religious persecution that any Muslim youth who killed a pastor and cut of his head was handsomely rewarded.
It may be comfortable, safe and prosperous where you are. But, believe it or not, persecution against Christians is increasing. A January 2014 study by the Pew Research Center indicated that the number of countries with a high or very high level of social hostilities involving religion reached a six year peak in 2012. In the previous report published by the Pew Research Center, 74% of the world’s population lived in countries where there were high levels of restrictions on religious freedoms.
Persecution against Christians is real in Nigeria where I was born. It is especially prevalent in the northern part of Nigeria. Despite the persecution, I pray that no man or woman of God will ever lose the passion and will to follow the will of God for his life. We must preach the Gospel, in and out of season. Romans 10:14 asked the question, “And how shall they hear without a preacher?”
In the words of Donald Lawrence, American Gospel Singer:
Beautiful are the feet of those which carry this gospel (Romans 10:15)
They go where they are sent without a compliment
Yet they still smile sometimes crying inside
Beautiful they have beautiful feet.
So don’t give up on this gospel
Don’t let life destroy your faith
Don’t give up on this message
Oh beautiful they have beautiful feet
Beautiful are the feet, of those who carry this gospel
Oh if you only knew, the things that they go through
Yet they still care
Today, across the northern states of Nigeria, I know pastors wives and children that are in distress and pain due to the murder of a husband or father who gave his life for the sake of Christ. The widows and the fatherless need your prayers. Please join me in praying for the pastors in peril and families who have lost a loved one in the throes of religious persecution.
Prayer Points
- Pray for the protection of pastors serving in the northern part of Nigeria
- Pray for the spouses and children of pastors that were, and are killed in Northern Nigeria
- Pray for pastors and their families that are persecuted all over the world
Prayer for Persecuted Pastors
Father, in Jesus name, I stand in the gap before you Lord on the behalf of pastors persecuted in Northern Nigeria and all over the world (Ezekiel 22:30)
I pray a hedge of protection around pastors in Northern Nigeria (Ezekiel 22:30)
God, I ask you to be, and thank you that you are, a wall of fire round about pastors in Northern Nigeria (Zechariah 2:5)
Lord let the angel of the Lord encamp round about the pastors of Northern Nigeria and deliver them from any evil plot or scheme of the enemy (Psalm 34:7)
Father I pray, in Jesus name, that you cover every pastor with your feathers, and under your wings shalt he trust (Psalm 91:4)
Lord your truth shall be his shield and buckler and he shalt not be afraid of the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day. (Psalm 91:4-5)
Let every pastor stand on God’s promise that He will never leave nor forsake him. (Hebrews 13:5)
I degree concerning every Pastor in Northern Nigeria, there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh your dwelling, for the Lord shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (Psalm 91:10-11)
Father, I thank you that he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under your shadow and shall take comfort in knowing that you are his refuge and his fortress and that in you he can trust. (Psalm 91:1-2)
Father, because these pastors have set their love upon you, I ask that you be with them in trouble, deliver them from any peril, set them on high and honor them. (Psalm 91:14-15)
Though a thousand fall at their side, though ten thousand are dying around them, these evils will not touch the pastors in Northern Nigeria. (Psalm 91:2, 5-7)
In Jesus name, I invoke the word that there shall not an hair of the pastor’s head perish. (Luke 21:18)
I thank you Lord that with long life will you satisfy the pastors and show them your salvation. (Psalm 91:16) In Jesus name. Amen.
Prayer for the Families Who Lost a Loved One as a Result of Christian Persecution
Father, I thank you that you have been touched with the feeling of our infirmities. You understand us and the things we go through – even our grief. (Hebrews 4:15)
I come boldly before your throne that I may find grace and help in the time of need. (Hebrew 4:16)
Father, there are many who have experienced the death of a loved one due to persecution. Let them not experience sorrow as one who has no hope. But let them take comfort in knowing they will see their loved one again. (I Thessalonians 4:13, 13)
Father, your word says, Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4)
In Jesus name, comfort those who mourn. Let your unfailing love comfort them as you promised. (Psalm 119:76) Let them not be guilty or tormented over what they did or did not do for the loved one during their life time.
But instead of grief and regret, let every mourner consider his own mortality and the brevity of life so that he may wisely spend the balance of his days here on earth (Psalm 90:12)
Lord, do a new thing in every mourner’s life. Father, let them know it’s a new season and that there are new mercies waiting for them every day. (Lamentations 3:22-23)
Father, thank you for giving every mourner beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. (Isaiah 61:3)
And for the mending of broken hearts, we say blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. (I Corinthians 1:3-4)
Thank you Lord for giving us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace. (II Thessalonians 2:16)
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Beautiful Feet. . . . . .by Donald Lawrence
