Today, September 8th, 2017, the second Friday of the month is no coincidence to the all night monthly prayer and praise of the Nigerian Methodists Chaplaincy. Today as a powerful invitation to what a very small fellowship of intercessors can do to save a nation is very strategic to our intercessory vision and mission for renewal and integration within the British Methodism. Today, September 8th, 2017 ‘is seen as significant as 8 September 1940 was the National Prayer Day that led to victory in the Battle of Britain. King George VI had called for a series of National Days of Prayer and the nation had prayed in May that year for the Dunkirk evacuation.’ Today is 77 years after the National Prayer Day and indeed “time is short” to pray for “torn-apart” Britain. God’s lifeline of grace is still available and He is speaking to us following all recent political divisions, recent disasters, national distress, spiritual decay and decline, the aftermath and process of Brexit. The 77th anniversary is another summon for a National Day of Prayer for the nation to turn back to God and His Holy Word. National Call to prayer means repentance, enjoying a right relationship with God. The prayer of Jonah in the belly of the great fish perfectly illustrates the underwhelming importance of some our national and spiritual issues 77 years after the victory in the Battle of Britain.
The graphic description of what it was like in the belly of a fish, according to the prophet, ‘When my life was ebbing away, l remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you’ (Jonah 2:7). Jonah prayed and God answered. Jonah was God’s prophet to Israel in the days of King Jeroboam (2 Kg 14:23-25). Jonah suggests the church called to go on mission, to the world, to Nineveh, the hated enemy of the Jews. Just as Jonah instead went down to the port of Joppa. ‘He boarded a ship that would take him the opposite direction, to Tarshish. It is true that the church is far away from the Great Commission to ‘Great Omission.’ The church is at the port of comfort, going opposite direction to God’s Word and commands. Acknowledging Christ as Lord summons us to an active pursuit of God’s purpose in our nation. The 77th anniversary after the physical victory in the Battle of Britain calls us to engage and seek after spiritual victory over the soul of Britain.
We are not only in spiritual warfare, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said that the British economic model is “broken” and in need of fundamental reform. We are in economic war as well. I was part of the protest by the Royal College of Nursing on Wednesday. We are sort of over 50, 000 nurses in UK and the Nurses condition of work with the cap in place is very tragic. Archbishop Welby describes our situation as “a watershed moment where we need to make fundamental choices about the sort of economy we need.” According to him, “We are failing those who will grow up into a world where the gap between the richest and poorest parts of the country is significant and destabilising.” The Archbishop, a member of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) highlighted the IPPR’s report that laments on how ‘Britain has “lost the spirit of possibility”, and calls for “fundamental reform” of a magnitude similar to that of the 1940s and 1980s, to address “deep and longstanding weaknesses” in the British economy.’ Our economic war points to “the runaway nature of high pay among the richest and most powerful,” in contrast to the fall in pay in real terms for many workers, and to geographical inequality. Archbishop explained that “In local communities where I have worked in Liverpool and the North East, living standards have actually fallen … What we are seeing is a profound state of economic injustice.” We do not need another prophet to tell us the need for National Day of Prayer and Fasting for ‘a system in the service of human flourishing and the common good, where all are valued and all have a stake, regardless of their perceived economic worth and ability.’
The soul of our nation is in a serious spiritual/economic warfare and this calls for commitment of our total and national life to make the greatest possible impact for Jesus Christ on this generation. God’s vocational appointment in life, true discipleship summons us to complete openness to the most needed and most neglected of all vocations, the Great Commission. Our nation is in need of a renewed relationship with God. Using the words of the Archbishop, “That is the heritage of our culture, the outcome of our great historic values, and emerges for me from the teaching of Jesus Christ.” Let us pray and ask God to help us to arise and shine, to demonstrate visible miracles in His name (Acts 4:20). It is on record that ‘the last Battle for Great Britain was won on its knees. This time we must again seek the healing of the land not just Spiritual renewal.’ Let us pray for the out pouring of a spirit of prayer upon our churches and Great Britain. LET US ASK GOD TO SPARE GREAT BRITAIN, HELP OUR LEADERS COME TO THE ALTAR WEEPING FOR OUR CONGREGATIONS UNTIL GOD POUR OUT HIS SPIRIT FROM ON HIGH (Joel 2). Enough of our churches after churches attending to business as usual, ‘as Europe apparently descends into darkness.’ Let us pray for increase in our 24/7 prayer houses and discipleship. Isaiah 32 v 8-15 says awaken from your complacency and pray until the Spirit is poured out from on high.
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