By Abiola Olawale
Bishop of the Living Faith Church Worldwide (Winners’ Chapel), David Oyedepo, has issued a spiritual rallying cry, instructing Christians nationwide to engage in a coordinated one-hour midnight ‘prayer raid’ to counter the escalating violence and deadly attacks on churches and worshippers across Nigeria.
The announcement, delivered during a Sunday’s pre-Shiloh encounter service, comes after a recent attack on a Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in Kwara state.
In a powerful declaration that has reverberated across Christian communities, Bishop Oyedepo mandated a specific, strategic spiritual offensive, dubbing it a “midnight raid.”
During the “midnight raid,” every member is urged to dedicate one hour, from 12 a.m. to 1 a.m. (local time), to intense, focused prayer.
He said: “Developments in the past two weeks, particularly in Nigeria, are worrisome to say the least. The need for a prompt response in prayers to stop the killings once and for all. You can’t trade people’s lives for your comfort. All the innocent blood shared is speaking vengeance…all the perpetrators will pay with their lives.
“No one is more Nigerian than myself. We all have our ancestral grounds. We all know power passes power, no power passes the power of God.
“We are going out on a midnight raid (prayers). Every member of this church should be awake one hour before violence descends to anarchy in Nigeria… you mean a church was invaded during worship, and people were killed and abducted and nothing happened? The God of justice is rising. He gave reasons why the wicked will be cursed in prayers (Genesis 12:3).
“When God steps in, the pride of men is cut. Every arrogance will be cut down. Nigeria will never descend into chaos. I want them to hear these hard things because they are coming from the burning spirit of a prophet.”
“When God speaks it is accompanied with peace, Psalm 85:8, ‘I will listen to what God the LORD will say; for He will surely speak peace to His people and His saints. He will not let them return to folly.’ I’ve been shouting this for 15 years; he (God) has prompted me to speak again.
“We shall be calling for justice against those responsible for acts of violence. We are raiding the camp of the wicked; let’s all partake in the midnight prayer. All winners anoint your houses. Every attack against the church shall be met with divine justice. Don’t politicise human life; it’s immoral. Let’s join our hands and our hearts together and pray that prayer, one hour only 12am-1am.”
