On Monday May 25, 2009, a special Monday morning prayer meeting at the Akanbi Onitiri premises of the Lagos Church was organised by the Elders to herald the start of 40 days of praying, fasting and churchwide consecration.

Elder Israel Ereola in his speech taken from Ps. 51:10-13, highlighted how grateful he is to the Almighty for giving the Church the ''Right Doctrine'' and that disciples should use this period as a ''period of repentance, reflections and restitution.'' He encouraged the Church that the upcoming 20th anniversary should be a celebration and a clarion call for change across board.

The service, which started at exactly 10 am in the morning, witnessed an encouraging turn out as disciples from all walks of life heeded the clarion call. Also in attendance were all the ecclesiastic and administrative staff of the Church. Prayers were offered by the congregation as Abideen Murtala spoke about 'Love for the Lost' from Jesus' parables in Luke 15 while Ayo Da Silva challenged disciples on the need to be open and real rather than being superficial in our Christian life.

Speaking mostly from the book of Isaiah 58:1-14, the Lead Evangelist, Chris Ogbonnaya spoke on what true fasting really is. He expressed how much God has been ''gracious to us as a Movement and the need for us to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our existence'' He also stressed that ''the main purpose of our fasting is to acknowledge God for all he has done for us and for His great plans for the Church.'' He finally charged the congregation to ''set our visions and dreams high, to kill fear that easily takes us captive for we have a God who dreams for us so we NEED to use this period as a time of purification from within. ''

The service ended with announcements and an inspiring testimony by Emmanuel Emeh, an evangelist who endured trying times recently. He shared about his victories while he persevered in his persecution.

Disciples trickled out of the venue at noon to their various offices with a resolve to consecrate themselves for the Lord, not just for the 40 days declared for fasting but for the rest of their lives.

From http://www.icocnigeria.org/spiritual/fast%20and%20pray.asp

Posted by Jerry Maday