By Moses Akarhan
I have extracted the above title from the homily of Rev. Fr. Greg Nbashi, the priest in-charge of St Justina’s Pastoral Area, Mayodasa in the Catholic Diocese of Jalingo, where he called on the Christian faithful to match their prayers with actions if they want to experience any meaningful transformation in the country.
Fr. Nbashi, who gave the charge at a sermon on Sunday in October, 2022, as quoted in the media, said that while it was important for the church to pray for change, no difference will be made if they do not take practical steps to effect change by going out and voting for credible candidates.
He said that as citizens of the country, believers were under obligation to actively participate in all the political processes that would eventually culminate in the election of leaders, especially ahead of the new political dispensation coming this year.
Taking his reading from the Book of Exodus Chapter 17, and the Gospel of Luke Chapter 18, Nbashi insisted that the people must match prayers with actions and pray persistently, knowing that the battle is just as physical as it is spiritual.
“As children of light, we must understand that nothing works well without the fusing of prayers and actions. Anything you want in life can be achieved if only you are able to blend actions with prayers. The Israelites were able to defeat the Amaleks through the prayers of Moses and the efforts of Joshua and his troop on the ground. It takes the two to tango”. Nbashi said.
Since the beginning of this year, Catholics all over the country have been reciting the prayer presented to them by the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria every Sunday for free and fair elections in Nigeria. The prayers read in parts:
“God Our Father, as we stand at the threshold of fresh general elections in Nigeria, we Your children come before You, conscious of how we have misused Your gifts and blessings in our country since we started our new democratic journey.
“We also humbly acknowledge how we all, leaders and followers, have turned away from you and favoured corruption, impunity and violence. We admit that we have allowed greed, hatred and fraud to permeate and mar our elections up till now.
“Merciful Lord, we turn to You, pleading for mercy and pardon. Strip us of greed, corruption and impunity. Cause Your Holy Spirit to expel from us all unjust tendencies and fraudulent practices. Rid us of the evils of vote-selling, vote-buying and election rigging.
“All-powerful and Benevolent God, without You, we cannot succeed, Left to our own devices, we cannot progress. We therefore fall on our knees, seeking Your intervention. Transform our electoral officials into impartial and incorruptible umpires. Fill them with the spirit of patriotism, justice and fairness so that they may conduct free, fair and credible elections. Make our votes count transparently, that we may have honest, true and just election results.
“Oh God of justice and love, inspire us to vote solely for the common good of our nation so that we may elect visionary, honest and competent leaders, with hearts that beat for the welfare of one and all in our nation. Enable us to embrace and usher in a new dawn in Nigeria through these elections so that our children can look forward with hope to a more bright, peaceful and prosperous Nigeria.
“We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord – Amen”.
Between 13th, 14th and 15th of May last year, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) declared three days of prayers and other supplications for Nigeria, to seek the face of God over the forthcoming general elections and other activities in Nigeria. CAN President, Dr Samson Ayokunle Olasupo, in a statement quoted in the media, requested all Church leaders, through their various Churches to organize a solemn assembly to pray for Nigeria. He said the prayers are to passionately call upon the Lord to show Nigeria mercy and divinely intervene in all its affairs, especially economic, political and security matters.
He asked Christians to pray that the political leaders will not set the nation on fire or tear it apart by their insensitive political actions which failed to take the nation’s complexities into consideration ahead 2023 elections.
He asked that God will continue to be with the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to stand firm without an iota of partiality in making sure that 2023 general elections are free and fair.
He, therefore, called for the judgement of God on anyone who, out of selfishness is planning to create chaos in the forthcoming elections no matter how highly placed in the nation.
Another prayer point was for voters to come out and vote the right people into power, those who will make promises and fulfill them.
The Bible says, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:14–17 NKJV). James writes that “a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone” and that “faith without works is dead.” James tells us that if someone claims to have a commitment-faith-and assumes that on this basis they will be saved or delivered in the final judgment, but they don’t have the works of charity or other forms of obedience to God, then they are deceived.
Corroborating the above Biblical statement, the Primate, Archbishop, Metropolitan Church of Nigeria, Most Reverend Henry Ndukuba is quoted in the media as urging Nigerians to change the mentality that simply praying will change Nigeria. According to him, Nigeria will not get the best leaders during the February and March, 2023 general elections that will solve the nation’s problem through prayers alone.
Archbishop Ndukuba said it was time that Nigerians realised that they must match their prayers with practical actions. He urged Nigerians to de-emphasise issues of political parties, religion and tribe and vote for individuals with character, integrity and capability to solve Nigeria’s myriad of problems. “Every Nigerian is aware of something – that things have fallen apart. It is clear that the centre cannot hold anymore because our leaders have in one way or the other, compromised the things that needed to be done for their own selfish or sectional interest because of that, Nigeria has become ungovernable in terms of insecurity, poor economy, poverty and all sorts of bad things”.
“So, ahead of next month’s general elections, if you know that you want things to be better and that you don’t like the way things have been going in this country, go and get your permanent voter cards and use same to make a statement on that Election Day. Every one of us as citizens of Nigeria must get involved if we want things to change.
“We want to urge Nigerians not to sell their PVCs because it is their power to make a decision when you will go out to vote. While voting, think about the politicians that will be mindful of the plights and sufferings of Nigerians.
“We believe God that Nigeria must change for good and get better after the elections. We must continue to pray but prayer alone is not enough. Just take action with your PVC”.
As the election approaches, we urge Christians not only to pray but exercise their solemn duty to vote and influence countless others to also vote and to vote correctly. The same hands that are lifting up to God in prayer should pull the lever of a voting booth.