Lenten Period: A Time To Pray For Nigeria

On March 5, Chris
tians all over the world marked the Ash Wednesday, which ushered in Lent — a period of 40 days’ fasting that culminates in Easter.
Lent is a period of sober reflections when Christians engage in fasting, prayers and repentance from sins, to reflect the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Nevertheless, not all Christian churches observe Lent, as it is mostly marked by the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian and the Eastern Orthodox churches.
However, many observers insist that this year’s Lent aptly presents an ample opportunity for Christians to pray for Nigeria and solicit God’s intervention in efforts to surmount the current challenges facing the country.
In his Lenten message,  the Parish Priest of Christ the King Catholic Church, Kubwa, Rev. Fr. Festus Nwadike, said that the Lenten period offered a veritable opportunity for Christians to pray Nigeria out of  its present tribulations.
He noted that many people underrated the importance and potential of prayers which, in turn, made them vulnerable to all kinds of evil.
Nwadike, however, conceded that insecurity was not peculiar to Nigeria, adding that all the peoples of the world ought to enter into a period of penitence and seek the face of God.
“Nigeria and the rest of the globe are currently in distress. Every day, our ears are filled with news of the needless bloodbath in the north-eastern part of our country.
“Europe is enmeshed in political crisis, Africa is locked in violence and America and its allies are in perpetual economic crisis.
“These, among others, are the indices which signify that the world is in dire need of our prayers during this season,’’ he said.
Pastor Ibe Michael of Reigning King Church, Dutse, said that the Lenten period was a time for Nigerians to repent and revive their faith in God
He said that the current crisis bedevilling the country, especially the Boko Haram insurgence, represented a gauge of Nigerians’ faith in God.
Michael stressed that it was wrong for Nigerians to despair because of the insurgency in the North-East, assuring them that God would fight the battle Himself.
“This is a period to raise our hands up to God, ask for forgiveness and beg for His intervention in stopping the bloodletting.
“A nation that trusts in its guns, tanks and armoury cannot achieve total peace; let us use this period to ask God to take over the fight against Boko Haram because a lot of innocent lives have been wasted,’’ he said.
On his part, the Senate President, Sen. David Mark, called for true dialogue, forgiveness and reconciliation in efforts to tackle the current security challenges facing the country.
“I will not relent in my call that violence must be stamped out of our society. I strongly condemn the senseless killings of our people, especially innocent children and women, by violent groups.
“I find it extremely difficult to understand why these violent groups would invade schools and open fire on innocent and defenceless students. This is unpardonable and clearly unacceptable,’’ Mark said.
The senate president urged Nigerians to eschew the politics of bitterness in the lead-up to the 2015 polls, adding that they should use the period to fast and pray for peace to return to the country.
On its part, the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), the supreme body of all Islamic organisations in Nigeria, said that fasting was a crucial tool in efforts to seek the face of God.
In a letter to  the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the NSCIA urged all Nigerian Christians to use the Lent to pray for the country.
In the letter, signed by NSCIA’s Secretary General, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, the council described fasting as a basic religious duty in Christianity and Islam.
“A period like this offers us another ample opportunity to make supplications to God and seek His divine blessings afresh for ourselves and our country.
“We pray that Almighty Allah accept the religious duty that will be observed during the period and make its impact manifest positively in the lives of Nigerians in general,” it said.
The NSCIA implored Nigerian Christians to use the Lenten period to strengthen the tenets of peaceful co-existence, as both religions promoted harmonious society.
Mr Sixtus Ede, a civil servant, said that self-denial and discipline were needed to observe the fasting and prayers associated with the Lenten period.
He noted, however, that the current security situation in the country, particularly the Boko Haram insurgency and threats of violence ahead of the 2015 elections, had made it imperative for all Christians to participate in this year’s Lent.
“Naturally, we Christians tend to relax in our prayers except when we are faced with dire situations but that didn’t start today.
“In the Biblical times, the Israelites always ignored God until a calamity befell them or if an enemy nation was confronting them.
“However, God always forgave their sins and answered their prayers when they approached Him through fasting and prayers.
“The Nigeria of today seems to have abandoned God through many sinful acts. The continued bloodletting in the North-East a like a thorn in our flesh, which can only be removed by divine intervention.
“Now that the Lent is coming at the peak of the insurgency; let there be serious remorse, fasting and prayers for the nation, and God will surely come to our rescue.’’
Sharing similar sentiments, President Goodluck Jonathan appealed to the church leaders to pray ceaselessly for Nigeria especially during the Lent.
The president, who made the call at a recent Catholic Bishops’ Conference Plenary in Abuja, expressed the optimism that Nigeria would emerge victorious in the face of insurgency with prayers and divine intervention.
“I urge you to continue to pray for our dear country to speedily overcome the current challenges we are facing, especially insurgency, terrorism and the heinous killing of innocent children in schools.
“I believe that with your devout prayers and the strategies we have put in place, we shall surely surmount these challenges.
“I wish you God’s abiding presence, especially at this holy period of Lent, and I assure you that with the guidance of God Almighty, we will continue to do our best in the service of our dear nation.
“I urge you to continue to pray for our dear nation. I am convinced and I have said so on several occasions, that our country remains united today, despite the challenges that we face, because God loves this nation.
“Your prayers have continued to inspire our progress in spite of those challenges. I am totally convinced that God will continue to make a way for us, even where there seems to be no way,’’ Jonathan added.
All in all, there is a consensus of opinion that mortal efforts alone cannot achieve the desired peace in the country; hence the need for an ecclesiastical therapy, particularly during this Lenten season.

Okoronkwo writes for News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

Senate President, David Mark (2nd-r), receiving Ash of Repentance from Rev.Fr. Innocent Jooji at Saint Mulumba Catholic Chaplaincy, Apo Legislative Quarters in Abuja, during the Ash Wednesday Mass to mark the beginning of Lent last Wednesday. With them is, Wife of the Senate President, Helen.

Chijioke Okoronkwo