Pray for Nigeria

As Christians and other communities in Nigeria come under fire from extremist attacks, please join us in praying for an end to violence and persecution in the country.

Prayer for Nigeria in distress

All powerful and merciful father,
you are the God of justice love and peace.
You rule over all the Nations of Earth.
Power and Might are in your hands
and no one can withstand you.
We present our country Nigeria before you.
We praise and thank you
for you are the source of all we have and are.
We are sorry for all the sins we have committed
and for the good deeds we have failed to do.

In your loving forgiveness,
keep us save from the punishment we deserve.
Lord we are weighed down not only by uncertainties,
but also by moral, economic and political problems.
Listen to the cries of your people who confidently turn to you.
God of infinite goodness,
our strength in diversity,
our health in weakness,
our comfort in sorrow,
be merciful to us your people.
Spare this nation Nigeria from chaos anarchy and doom.
Bless us with your kingdom of justice, love and peace.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Prayer for the nation and people of Nigeria

Father God, we thank you for Your fidelity to the people of Nigeria.

We thank You Lord that, despite manifold conflicts,
Nigeria is still one nation –
a nation rich and diverse in languages and cultures.

We thank You for endowing the land and peoples of Nigeria
with an abundance of human and natural resources,
for this surely is "a land flowing with milk and honey".

We thank You Father for those parts of Nigeria
where religious freedom and freedoms of the press,
expression and association are respected,
and we pray these continue to be upheld
and promoted throughout the nation.

We implore You Lord to eradicate all acts
of injustice, bribery and corruption that blight the peoples of Nigeria;
acts that leave many people hungry, sick, ignorant and defenceless,
and that leave a nation trapped in stagnation.

Father we ask that every Nigerian
should imbibe a true spirit of patriotism.
We pray that Christians and Muslims alike
will collaborate in nation-building
by embracing the positive values found in their faiths,
especially love, compassion, justice and peace.

We praise You Lord for an expanding local Church,
and we pray for an outpouring of your grace
such that the mission of the Church in Nigeria abounds in love,
so that the Gospel might penetrate the hearts of all Nigerians,
and even those in nations beyond.

We pray especially for the formation of youth
and the provision of a new generation
of fervent and faithful priests.

Finally Lord, we thank You for those brothers and sisters in Nigeria
who have paid the ultimate price for their faith,
through the sacrifice of their lives.
We ask you to strengthen, comfort and console
their loved ones in their absence, and
to bring renewed faith, hope and love
through the shedding of their blood.
We pray that the flame of their witness
may burn bright and never be extinguished.

Blessed Mary, Queen of Nigeria, we implore you
to advocate a New Pentecost through
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon this great nation of Nigeria.

We make our prayer through Christ, Our Lord.

Amen.

Adapted from the message of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria to the nation at her Golden Jubilee of Independence (September 17, 2010)