NBCC calls for 152 Hrs Chain of Prayer for General Election 2024
Rev Dr Zelhou Keyho
NBCC General Secretary
REFLECTION
1. Let us acknowledge his Lordship. He is the Creator of the heavens and earth. Everything including our situation is in His Hand.
2. Let us submit our failures as well as our strengths and successes if any to His power so that He will use us mightily to demonstrate his sovereignty over the nation and our land.
3. Let us in humility confess our sins, our pride and our confidence and in true submission come to the throne of grace in confession and repentance, that we are nothing without Him.
4. We are nothing without the Creator therefore, let us come to the cross of Calvary and claim the power of the blood.
5. Let us believe in faith that great things will happen to our nation and our land because Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God of the Indians and the Nagas too.
6. Let us ask God to strengthen our weak faith and believe that this time around we will see God’s power demonstrated over the power of evil, wickedness and the unrighteous devices.
7. Our people need to be delivered from the false promises and the falsehood during this time of the year.
8. Let us claim victory over the evil forces of this world and believe that God will do mighty things in our land.
9. As much as we want change, we also need to change.
10. We need to run away from loving money and fame.
11. We need to change our fear factor to the fear of God.
12. A righteous living is the need of the hour.
13. We need to change the way we see the suffering world in the eyes of God and not in our selfish eyes as if the world belongs to us.
14. We need to change in spreading falsehood to win the sympathy of others.
15. If you change and if I change, the Holy Spirit will work in us.
16. We need to change in promoting ourselves and our organization and work for the Kingdom.
PRAYER FOR INDIA
We all know our leaders in India (most of them are not Christian). But, let us believe in the power of prayer. Let us also believe that sincere prayer can change things. Let us cover our nation with the power of our Living God.
1. Pray for our leaders that God, the Holy Spirit will work and minister to them. It does not matter from what religious affiliation they come from. God is still supreme. Many of our leaders do not acknowledge Yahweh. Our prayer is simply that God the true living God will guide their actions, their words and their lives. Their religiosity is false religiosity but that Yahweh, the true God will reveal to them and convict them of their actions.
2. Pray that during this election time, God will reveal his power and demonstrate His sovereignty over India.
3. Pray that the right leaders will be elected who will dispense justice to the poor and the weak and love the people and care for their welfare.
4. Pray that the power of God will pull down those who are trying to manipulate the system for their own benefit.
5. The Hindu-only India, ideology of the right-wing groups is a major cause of concern. The Parliament and the Cabinet have been turned into a mere formality. Judiciary, the last hope for the people, appears seriously weakened. Christians have become the victims of police and investigate agencies. Educational institutions and educational policies are routinely tampered with. Fear is in the air and hatred seems to be the new catchword for love.
6. As we have become soft target for the fundamental right-wing groups and the life of minorities has come under constant threat and we have been treated as second class citizens. We need many Christian Value Based Civil Servants who will work for the country, for our community and for the most marginalized in our society (#4&5 taken from another source)
7. Pray that as India go to vote for our leaders to the 18th Lok Sabha election, they will do so in all sincerity thinking of the issues that confront the common people daily and not to win votes only by the false election promises this time around.
8. Pray that God will protect the Christians, the minority and the marginalized in our country that they will not feel insecure but will be bold to speak the truth and act wisely and be a factor during this election.
9. Pray for the persecuted church which will become an easy target during this time. Let us cover them in our prayer.
10. Pray that election hatred and violence will be minimal and maximum peaceful atmosphere will prevail.
PRAYER FOR NAGALAND
As much as we pray for India we also need to pray for our state and our leaders.
PRAYER FOR OUR LEADERS
1. Pray that our leaders will be God fearing and that whoever is elected this time around will stay close to God and the people.
2. Pray that God will speak to our leaders and move their conscience and discern who the enemy is.
3. Pray that our leaders will have a sense of the fear of God in their lives.
4. Pray that God will awaken the dormant conscience of our leaders.
5. Pray that they will come to the knowledge that they are responsible to God first, and to the people who put them to power.
6. Pray that the fear of God and the love for the people will sink into their heart.
7. Pray that God will move them to repentance.
8. Pray that God will be merciful to them and show his grace upon those who will seek him in sincerity.
9. Pray that they will respond to the inner voice and show noticeable change in the things they do.
10. Pray that our leaders will know that they alone cannot build our land. Leadership position is a gift and an opportunity to serve the people.
11. Pray that we will consciously developed unity of mind and purpose among the Nagas. We cannot call ourselves as one people and act differently for our own selfish gains.
12. Pray that we will develop confidence in each other so that no one, no community will feel insecure.
13. We cannot allow ourselves to further fragmentation. We have had enough of it. If anyone feels left out let us lift them up in true spirit of unity. Our unity is a hard-earned unity and we must continue to maintain that in true spirit of love and understanding.
14. Let us learn to humble ourselves to ask for forgiveness and at the same time learn to forgive each other in true Christian spirit.
15. Let us fervently pray for our leaders and intercede on their behalf. Call out their names and pray for them. If possible, invite them the association center as your time sloth comes to pray for them. No one should be too busy to pray.
AS VOTERS:
1. Let us pray that God will also speak to our conscience as voters who put people to power.
2. Pray that we will also be able to discern what is right and what is wrong.
3. It is a sin to sell our votes and when we don’t sell our vote there will be no buyers.
4. Let us pray that our prayer and our life style will be in tune.
5. Let us also pray for strength so that we will not be easily enticed and fall prey to false political promises and suffer later.
6. Pray that as voters we will be able to distinguish real politics from false politicians who are there in power just to play with our emotion by filling their pockets with all that belong to the public.
7. Pray that we will not be pointing fingers at each other but honestly come out to condemn the evil practices of the present-day election system.
We have learned the art of blaming others very well. The blaming game is not producing any result. It only gives birth to another blame. Let us take upon ourselves that we are all responsible. I am responsible. As much as we blame our leaders for their acts and the way they conduct and manage the affairs of the people, we also need to know we are responsible as well.
The writer of Chronicles says:
If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from the wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chron. 17:14).
“If my people who are called by my name….” include everyone. It includes, pastors, deacons, politicians, public leaders, village leaders, common people, farmers, men, women, and everyone. No one is left out here.
We can simply say, “may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” May God be merciful and be gracious to us in our desperate moments. May this be our prayer for 152 hrs.
LET US STAND IN THE GAP.
God bless us all.
