Worried about the state of the nation, Christian leaders are converging on Abuja for what has been dubbed a Solemn Assembly.
They are not going to pray for the country alone, but the state of the Church, which the organisers believe has been infiltrated by pretenders.
A copy of the call to the Assembly which is slated for next week and available to everyday.ng reads in part:
A National Call for Solemn Assembly
Beloved Brethren:
Our nation is in dire straits today: spiritually and socially. We are in great distress. But we are not without hope. There is a God who rules over the affairs of every nation including Nigeria. How might we respond? The bible offers a glimmer of hope. In the words of King Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.’ (Isaiah 37:3-4).
Ancient landmarks are being removed as boundaries of Christian schools are being pulled down and unchristian practices being enforced. Freedom of civil and individual rights, which the fathers of our nation made sure were held sacrosanct are now being trampled upon; we are being stripped naked with our eyes wide open. The future of our nation’s children are in great jeopardy. Our ranks have been infiltrated and great divisions manifest within the Body. But the greatest worry is not the threat from without; our very existence as a church is being threatened by great decay within the Body.
When the people of God have such problems, the ONLY way to GO is to the Lord – the ONLY ONE WHO IS ABLE TO RESTORE the Church and our nation to WHOLENESS and TRANSFORMATION. We need to come in repentance and heart rending prayers. That was what Jehoshaphat did (2 Chronicles 20) when trouble and war lurked in the corner before their very eye. That was what Daniel did (Daniel 10:2) when he was confronted with the godlessness of his time. That was what Habakkuk did (Habakkuk 1) which led him to herald a call to repentance and revival. In His hour of great trial, our Lord Jesus Christ withdrew to the garden of Gethsemane and cried to the Father in agonizing prayers. He is perfect example. Prophet Joel: calls us to: Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord, (Joel 1:14). Whenever God’s people, called by His name humble themselves, confess their sins and pray, God hears and moves on their behalf!
