Article: Prayer Walk ‘Jamboree’ or ‘Spiritual Exercise by Meka

The month of October 2020 would be one month to be remembered forever in Nigeria as the month where Nigerian youth became woke. Its no news that Nigerian youths have taken to the streets and social media to stage a peaceful protest against the ill-treatment and unnecessary killings by the former Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and police brutality in general.

However, amidst the protest which started first on social media with the hashtags #EndSARS #Endpolicebrutality before youths marched on to the streets in various parts of the country (Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt, Benue etc.), some Contemporary Christian musicians like Amose-music, Angeloh, Limoblaze and some other led over 600 hundred Nigerian youths on a ’Prayer Walk’ against police brutality in Nigeria on the 11th of october 2020. The Prayer-walk has been on the rise in various states in the country including Abuja, Kaduna, Markurdi and many other states. Christians have come out in their numbers subsequently for the prayer-walk including the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor E. A. Adeboye.

Since the movement started, different opinions/question have erupted as to its effectiveness.

Does this affect the potency of the protest and demand by young Nigerians;

Many have questioned the potency of the prayer-walk and its effect on the desired results on ending police brutality. Limoblaze gave a response to this question in a tweet where he said ‘To everyone that has been peacefully protesting & calling for #ENDSARS, we see you, we support you, we all want the same thing. The prayer walk is not an attempt to step away from the collective goal, it’s just checking the box on a part we know has been overlooked; The Spiritual!’. According to Limoblaze the prayer walk was a move to foster and ensure better results after the protest, in other words the protest would not be completed without prayers hence the Prayer-walk. Pastor Godman Akinlabi supported this with a tweet

‘Intercession going hand in hand with intervention. Like Nehemiah, here we’ve a group of faithfuls seeking God’s face while protesting. We all must continue to lend our voices to the #EndPoliceBrutality campaign. Pray, protest & share.

Shout out to @Limoblaze & team. #sarsmustend’

Pastor Godman referred to the prayer-walk as intercession and the protest as intervention.

It could therefore be noted from the tweets by Limoblaze and Pastor Godman that the prayer-walk was meant to compliment the protest and not hinder its efficacy.

Shouldn’t Christians join to demand for justice and good governance?

At the early days of the protest many questioned the silence of the church and why Christians were being conservative about the protest. As the protest went on Christians came out in their number to join the prayer-walk that started days after the protest. John Koch however rescued Christians from the heat they received when he tweeted; “They said the church ain’t saying nothing about all that’s happening but guess what? We as the church are moving now and we are doing it how the church of Jesus Christ is meant to. Tomorrow we engage the spiritual dimension to this! We are not ignorant of the devil’s devices.”

Dr Foy a media/entertainment consultant further stressed on the fact that after prayers, they join other protesters. He also  admonished more Christians to join the race as He said with a caption on Instagram ’beyond race or religion is the human life’.

The policy and rules made by the government affects every citizen irrespective of their religion, it is pertinent that Christians engage in demanding for the the right policy, justice and good governance.

Will Jesus embark on the physical prayer walk if he was here?

This seems to be a tricky question as Jesus is not here physically but dwells in us spiritually. However, it should be worthy of note that whenever Jesus was in the midst of people with positions of authority while on earth, he always expressed his opinions. There is no particular instance of Jesus having a prayer walk in the bible, however there are Scriptures and instances of others like Nehemiah that seem to support prayer-walk.

In Nehemiah we see a person with a God-given burden and a sensitive heart. Before Nehemiah ever set foot in Jerusalem, the Scripture tells us he wept, mourned, fasted and prayed for the city (Nehemiah 1:4). When he finally arrived, his eyes saw the rubble, the burned city gates, as had others before him. However, when a person with a God-given burden and a God-sensitive heart saw them, things changed!

A Scripture in the bible says ;

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:15-18, ESV).

It was reported that during the protest, miracles were evident.

Another scripture throws light on this;

“But seek the welfare [wholeness, prosperity, peace] of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your

welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:7, ESV).

What did Jesus say about prayer?

Jesus was a man of fervent prayer and He consistently admonished believers to live a prayerful life. Jesus’s approach to prayer and understanding of it was unique. In Scriptures, we see Jesus not only teaching his disciples how to pray but also giving guidelines on what prayers is, often describing it as a personal relationship with God.

Jesus said that prayer should be a private time between God and the worshipper. This statement seem to contradict the prayer-walk. However, Jesus does not mean that it is wrong to pray with others, but the prayers should be sincere and for the right motives. Mathew 6:5-15.

The book of Mathew clearly illustrates the teachings of Jesus on prayers; some of the passages are; Matthew 7:7-11

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Matthew 18:19-20
Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. (the prayer walk)

Matthew 21:21-22
Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have Faith.

Some other passages of the bible like John, Mark and Luke convey the messages of Jesus on prayer also.

Following these thoughts and teaching of Jesus on prayer, do you think the prayer-walk is a spiritual effort or a jamboree?

 

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