Christians in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) and Jere local government area of Borno State yesterday gathered at First Baptist Church in Maiduguri to pray for God’s intervention on rainfall.
The Christians gathered from different denominations as directed by the Christian Association of Nigeria prayed that God forgives the sins of the people and send peace and rain for bountiful harvest in this year’s farming season.
Chairman of the state chapter of CAN, Most Rev. John Bogna Bakeni, urged the faithful not to see the prayer for God’s intervention on rainfall as a contest, having been similarly carried out by Muslims and traditionalists, but to see it as harmonisation of faith.
Bakeni who is the auxiliary bishop of Maiduguri Catholic Diocese called on Christians in the state to seek God’s face and change their ways to avoid calamity such as is in the current situation which he attributed to sins and injustice meted on the innocent, of which he noted that even some children of God and Christians are culprits.
The CAN chairman said people who call themselves children of God are part of injustices carried out against fellow citizens and until they change their ways, calamity would continue to occur because God does not condone injustice.
He said even in ancient times, calamities like lack of rainfall were associated with sins, as in the book of Amos chapter 4 vs 1- 13 where God showed that He uses natural disasters to teach people lessons to bring them back to repentance and correct their ways.
He saluted the congregation for coming out en-mass for the prayer session despite the short notice given to them which was as a result of the emergency situation.
Bishop of Maiduguri Anglican Dioceses, Rev. Emmanuel Morris, prayed God to grant the state peaceful and fruitful rainfall, and urged the congregation to connect the prayer for rainfall to 2024 so that farmers can cultivate their crops at any time of the year.
He urged Christians in the state to have courage in God and abide in His ways in all their dealings for good tidings.
Prayers were offered to God to release rainfall in the state and Yobe State as various servants of God prayed in different languages including Hausa, Bura, Chibok/ Kibaku, Margi, Gwoza, Kanuri, Igbo and Yoruba, among others. “I spent three years in Fame, 14 years in Encomium where I was Editor for eight years. I was the longest serving editor for Encomium. It was after eight years that I felt I didn’t have any point to prove there again. I ended up starting my own, Yes! International Magazine. So you see as I wrote in my book which has the name, “Success is not served a la carte”.
