– By Enyeribe Anyanwu
One of the news items that saturated the media landscape during the celebration of this year’s Ed-El Fitr last Thursday was the call by the President and other top government and party officials for the nation to use the celebration to pray for the peace. Nigeria has in recent time been under intense bombardment by terrorists, bandits, Jihadists, secessionist agitators.
Unfortunately, the nation appears so helpless and hopeless as the terrorists and bandits run riot on the land, killing, maiming and abducting people for heavy ransoms. The country’s state of insecurity has reached such an unimaginable level that divine intervention is truly needed. Hence, the call for prayers for God’s intervention is in order, and cannot be faulted.
Prayer can, indeed, change anything. It can change hopelessness to joy. It can change mourning to dancing, defeat to victory, and adversity to prosperity. When God intervenes in a situation, years of suffering and anguish will turn to rejoicing. That is the power of the Most High, the maker of Heaven and earth and the creator of all flesh irrespective of the god they give credit for their existence.
But praying or making request to the Almighty God, the most holy God demands sincerity of heart, that is, a heart without guile. It demands a certain level of righteousness for Him to hear you and act on your request or supplication. God abhors hypocrisy, and cannot listen to a hypocrite; for He says in His word that the prayer of the sinner is an abomination to Him.
Therefore, let the people calling for prayers and those who’ll pray examine themselves. Political leaders calling for prayers for peace during Muslim or Christian festivals has become so trite. Even the person pushing the nation to the precipice will be calling for prayers. Those running with the hare and hunting with the hounds are also involved in calling for God’s intervention. But God says, He cannot be mocked, whatever a man sows, that will he reap.
How can we know the truth and refuse to do it. How can we see black and call it white. How can we harbor deep hatred in our hearts, while we pretend that all is well? How can we be so insincere, vindictive, discriminatory, deceptive and hypocritical? How can we elevate tribalism, injustice and insensitivity to an art and still call on God to change things for us.
God has given our leaders in Aso Rock and the various state government houses all it takes to stop the onslaught of insecurity ravaging the country. He has spoken to the leaders in diverse ways, but they have remained adamant. He has used foreigners, elders, wise men in the land and even the blood of youths to speak to them, but they have remained adamant. So what prayers are they calling for, and how would they know if God has answered them?
While, we ponder on these questions, the words of the Holy Scripture in Galatians 6:7: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.”
No securityin this country