I
was reviewing this article, initially titled “Ungodly Prayers,” when
the Lord suddenly spoke. He said: “Femi, it is written, ‘my house shall
be called a house of prayer,’ but they have made it a ‘den of thieves.’
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”
(Matthew 21:13; John 10:10).
Immediately, I understood him. Thieves and robbers now attend prayer-meetings where they steal, kill and destroy.
Malicious prayers
At these prayer-meetings, you are likely to see “ogbologbo”
Christians firing “return-to-sender missiles” with great alacrity. They
might shout with “holy anger:” “Let my killer begin to kill himself now,
in Jesus’ name.” Or they might make a decree: “I command the baptism of
madness to fall on my stubborn enemies, in Jesus’ name.”
These thieves pray with passion borne out of pure “sanctified”
hatred: “Every lying tongue against me; be destroyed now, in the name of
Jesus.” “The people who say I will not prosper, Holy Ghost fire;
consume them.” “Those who have taken my name to the witchdoctor, Holy
Ghost fire; destroy them.” “Those firing arrows at me, Holy Ghost;
return to sender.”
You can get to one meeting and find one thousand thieves chanting
“die; die; die” with alarming frenzy. Who do they want consumed suddenly
by Holy Ghost fire? “Every enemy of my marriage; every enemy of my
destiny; every power planning to wage war against my divine vision; what
are you waiting for, die in the name of Jesus.”
Like the biblical Amalekites, these enemies are destroyed with
fanfare every night vigil, only for them to resurrect again and again.
Christians spend a lifetime engaged in this outrage, conveniently
forgetting Jesus’ injunction which says: “bless those who curse you, do
good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you
and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for he
makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the
just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:44-45).
Vengeful prayers
In January 2008, armed robbers attacked a church on the outskirts of
Lagos and raided some banks on the premises. The bishop took offence and
cursed them. He directed his church-members to pray that the wrath of
God would be visited on the criminals. He also cursed kidnappers
operating in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. He asked God to kill
them all. He said: “We place curse on their roots wherever they are and
we pray that thunders of heaven will strike and the judgment of God will
come upon them.”
Is this bishop a follower of Jesus? I seriously doubt it. According
to Jesus, sons of God love their enemies and repay evil for good. They
don’t swear or curse. They don’t go to prayer-meetings and chant “die;
die; die.” It is those who are of the devil that insist on killing and
destroying.
However, the doctrine of sacrifices, whereby people inherit land that
is not theirs; kill off the rightful owners, and destroy entire tribes
and races, has brought a devious spirit into the heart of Christianity.
Jesus warned us against this tendency. When the Zebedee brothers wanted
Jesus to emulate Elijah by sending fire from heaven to destroy a
Samaritan village that denied them free passage to Jerusalem, Jesus he
rebuked them. He told them: “You do not know what manner of spirit you
are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to
save them.” (Luke 9:55-56).
Unrighteous prayers
Way back when, there was a House Fellowship meeting in my flat every
Sunday evening. One day, someone came with a prayer request that was
nothing short of amazing. The boy was taking his WAEC (West African
Examinations Council) exams. Not sure how well he would do, he decided
to pay someone to have the exam questions leaked to him beforehand. But
after having paid the required sum, the man failed to provide the exam
papers. Furthermore, he refused to refund the money. In distress, this
Christian “thief” came to the fellowship to tell us about his
predicament. He wanted the members to pray to God so that he can
“possess his possession.” “After all,” he maintained, “I have paid for
the exam papers.”
What was most pathetic about this incident was that it was clear he
did not know right from wrong. The purchasing of leaked exam papers was
something he had seen his Christian colleagues engaged in. Therefore, as
far as he was concerned, there was nothing wrong with the practice.
But how can we pray to the God of righteousness to fulfil ungodly
petitions? The psalmist asks: “Have all the workers of iniquity no
knowledge?” (Psalm 14:4). Christians need to know that God does not
attend the prayer-meetings of thieves and robbers. If we are not
careful, our prayers and prayer-meetings may become repugnant to God; if
this has not happened already. Thus, Asaph pleads: “O LORD God of
hosts, how long will you be angry against the prayer of your people?”
(Psalm 80:4). Isaiah goes even further. He maintains God is not only
angry at our sins; he is equally disgusted with our acts of
righteousness: “We are all like an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are like filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6). What are our
righteous acts? They are when we pray, fast or go to church.
Covetous prayers
A friend attended a service where “baba isale” thieves were
encouraged to ask God for just about anything. They were told to write
prayer-requests on pieces of paper which were then forwarded to the
pastor for more effectual fervent prayers. As usual, many allowed their
imagination to run riot, asking God to give them what rightfully
belonged to others. Some asked for all the properties in Lekki, a
high-brow area of Lagos. Others asked for choice local industries and
companies, including those where they were currently employed.
A major area of interest seemed to have been the airlines. In this
spiritual free for all, many of the local airlines became up for grabs.
Nevertheless, a problem soon arose. A poor and unemployed member of the
church asked for British Airways. His prayer request was that God should
give him the company lock stock and barrel. The Pastor was not amused.
He brought it to the attention of the whole congregation. That “thief”
had gone too far. How could he expect God to give him British Airways?
But why not? If God can give some the local Bellview Airlines or
Albarka Airlines, why can’t he give others the foreign British Airways?
Is anything too difficult for God? Once we encourage covetousness in the
name of religion, how can we then insist on some arbitrary limitations?
But if I can covet the property of others, what stops others from
coveting mine? This is what happens when thieves and robbers pastor
churches and are charged with preaching the gospel. We only end up by
teaching men the tricks of our trade.
Jesus says: “All who ever came before me are thieves and robbers”
(John 10:8). Those who came after are no better. Indeed, we are worse
VANGUARD
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