NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 4th – Sunday 10th August 2025
A CHURCH IN NEED OF DISCERNMENT
His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter (Isa. 56:10-11).
There are two categories of ministers of God in the sanctuary. They are highlighted in Ezekiel 44 as follows:
1. Those who minister to the house
2. Those who minister to the Lord
Both categories are in the sanctuary and are recognized by God. However, while those who minister to the “house” are restricted to the outer court, only those who minister to the Lord are permitted to enter the Holy of Holies and come near to God.
Ez. 44:11 says, "Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house." Why would God restrict some ministers in the sanctuary to the outer court? Ezekiel 44:12-13 provides the answer: "Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; ... And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed."
The other category of ministers in the sanctuary has a different assignment. Ez. 44:15-16 describes them as follows: "But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge."
The difference between both is how they handled ministry when the people of God went astray. One category pleased the people, the other only did what pleased the Lord, but neither of them realized that the Lord was watching them. Those that pleased the people ministered to them before their idols, and they enjoyed the patronage of the people, while the other group suffered lack of human attention. The crux of the matter was, commitment to the Lord. The frightening thing, even today, is that both are in the sanctuary.
At this point, it may be necessary to ask, What is the idol of the people of God in this generation? Eph. 5:5 says, "For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." The Bible adds in Col. 3:5, "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry." In the New Testament, covetousness is idolatry.
Covetousness is the opposite of the contentment and self-denial that Jesus called His disciples to adopt. Much of the crave of some Christians for "prosperity" is fuelled by covetousness. That is the “idol” that many prosperity preachers join the backslidden believers to worship. The command of God for the New Testament saint is clear in Heb. 13:5, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." The Lord warns His followers in Luke 12:15, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." Under the guise of prosperity, covetousness has become a major doctrine in the Church.
Two types of churches are recognized in the world today: the true Church and the harlot Church. The harlot Church prostitutes its calling and anointing. If there is harlot Church, it presupposes that there are harlot pastors. The Bible refers to it as the Laodicean Church. That is the Church that boasts, "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." Meanwhile, the Lord laments over that Church, "thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Rev. 3:17).
Ministers who serve the people in their idolatry face a lot of dangers. They will have no reward from the Lord, and if they get into trouble, the Lord will not help them, because they do not serve Him. When their oil dries up, they cannot expect the Lord to refill them. That may be why some ministers of the gospel are turning to charismatic witchcraft and Satanic covenants for power. The Lord does not supply them with fresh anointing. Unfortunately, greed and pride will not allow them to repent and return to serving the Lord. The adulation of men, and praises of the people blind their eyes from the beauty of, and eternal reward in, serving Christ.
Pastor Elton lamented this condition in the Nigeria Church many years ago, when he said, “I see crowd, I see cars, I see cash, but I do not see Christ.” Every minister of the gospel should ask himself/herself, “Am I ministering to the Lord, or to the house?” At the same time, each believer should ask himself/herself, “Is my pastor ministering to the Lord, or to the house?” This second question is very important for every believer, because wherever the shepherd goes, the sheep will follow. It is a spiritual principle. The sheep follow the shepherd. If the shepherd is going to hell, the sheep are likely to be in the same danger.
In the Nigeria Church, obsession with mammon has caused much problem. Apart from causing spiritual blindness, it has robbed the Church of credibility, power, and moral authority. The average pastor in Nigeria is suspected as a fraud. It is one of the consequences of the 'ministry to the house' when believers go after their idols which, in our time, is covetousness.
The other danger is that it has robbed the Church of discernment. The Church is unable to distinguish between right and wrong, holy and unclean, the sacred and the profane. Consequently, the Church was manipulated in recent years to take decisions that brought calamity upon Nigeria and the Body of Christ. It is shameful that it was Church leaders that endorsed and put the politicians into power in 2015. They facilitated the re-election of the controversial Buhari in 2019 and endorsed the heinous electoral fraud of 2023. Some Church leaders not only promoted that party into power, but also gave it a pastor as first Vice President. Why did the Church commit such grievous errors? The leaders lacked discernment.
In 2014, Mama V. A. of the Jury Ministry, asked God about the spiritual condition of the two major parties that were contesting for power, the PDP and the APC. Soon as she asked, God showed her PDP as half-man and half-beast, and the APC as complete beast, with no iota of humanity. The past ten years of APC leadership in Nigeria have confirmed that the woman saw correctly. She informed whoever cared to listen to be careful in exercising their votes.
The Nigeria Church is in dire need of leaders with discernment. Another election is drawing close, and emerging signals indicate that the ministers serving the house have not repented. Discernible moves have commenced in the Church that strongly suggest that the “ministers to the house” have commenced another round of commercial transactions.
In the circumstances, what should the Church do? The Church must review its leadership structure and, more importantly, the process that produces leaders in the Church. Christians should interrogate the selection process that keeps producing greedy and profane persons as leaders in the Nigeria Church. This assertion is neither slander nor disrespect. The quality of Christian leadership in this season of distress falls far below the Scriptural standard.
The current leadership selection process must be overhauled, and the Church should conduct a leadership performance audit. Too many innocent people are dying while the leadership of the Church keeps transacting business with corrupt and ungodly politicians. The voice of the Church is quiet in the hallowed chambers of truth where the Body of Christ is expected to speak truth to power.
The relentless murder of Christians all over the country and the overwhelming population of 8.18 million Nigerians in IDP camps should incense any God-fearing Christian leadership. Unfortunately, Christian leadership remains passive. May the Lord raise credible voices in the Body of Christ that will demand a review of the leadership structure of the Church. The passivity and compromise of the Church must not continue.
God bless Nigeria.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Is.56:10-11
Repent on behalf of Nigeria Church for the passivity and compromise of Church leaders who are meant to stand for the Church in this season of distress.
2. John 10:12-13
Pray that God will uproot from His Church all the hirelings who use Christian positions to promote their selfish interest rather than protect the flock of Christ.
3. John 10:11
Pray that God will raise good shepherds for the Nigeria Church who will place the interest of Christians above theirs.
4. Acts 6:1-4
Pray that God will raise credible persons who will ensure that the Church is re-organized to respond effectively to existential threats against Christianity in Nigeria.
5. Isa. 45:12-13
Intercede for Christians in the IDP camps, that God will intervene for them to return home. A United Nations report stated that 8.18 million Nigerians are in IDP camps.
6. Job 5:12-13
Pray that God will frustrate every Church leader that is paid to support and promote corrupt politicians to remain in power.
7. 2 Cor. 6:14-18
Pray for the gift of discerning of spirits for the Nigeria Church, so that Christians will always separate the sacred from the profane.
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DAILY INTERDENOMINATIONAL PRAYERS FOR NIGERIA
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
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