The collapse of a Christian generation (2), By Ayo Akerele

How to Build the Bridge of Prayer into the Next Generation

Pastors must teach prayer intentionally and consistently. Churches must create active prayer meetings. Parents must pray with their children. Children must see their parents pray. Ministers must avoid diminishing prayer in their messages. Churches must promote purity of doctrine over popularity. Believers must test all spirits and measure all teachings by Scripture.

Leonard Ravenhill said, “A praying church is not a straying church.” If the next generation forsakes prayer, our generation has failed. We must secure the faith of the next generation. We are living in an age of “Anything Goes” Christianity, sweet, blended, adulterated, numbing, deceptive, and destructive. But God is calling us to raise a generation that knows Him, fears Him, prays to Him, and walks with Him.

A Generation that Rejects Adulterated Christianity

A generation that crushes stones of error before they enter the mouth. A generation that stands on Scripture alone. A generation that prays without ceasing. A generation that shines more and more unto a perfect day.

We must secure the faith of the next generation, by teaching them to pray, by modeling holiness, and by preserving the purity of the gospel.

“The voice said, ‘Cry out!’ And he answered, ‘What shall I cry?’ All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.” (Isaiah 40:6)

I stand again upon the staff of my calling, the office of a scribe appointed by the Lord — to speak directly to the conscience of the church, and especially to its leadership. The silence of our elders in the face of rising evil is no longer golden. Heaven is disturbed by the level of compromising quietness displayed in the midst of a raging spiritual war — a war that is steadily eroding the dignity, credibility, and moral authority of the church, which God designed to be the final solution to the persistent plague of sin, wickedness, and corruption in our land.

The reasons behind this silence are not mysterious; they are painfully clear.

“Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:9)

Scripture declares without ambiguity: “The righteous are as bold as a lion.” (Proverbs 28:1).

But when unrighteousness infiltrates the inner fabric of the church, the moral strength required to speak truth to power becomes weakened. Among the many forms of unrighteousness that have captured the church, the love of money, mammon, stands as the greatest thief of spiritual courage.

At a time when wicked men, destiny destroyers, and national devourers have ascended into leadership at multiple levels, the prophetic voice of the church’s senior leadership has gone silent. The voice of money now speaks louder than the voice of truth. The applause of crowds has become more valuable than the approval of God.

“Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent.” (Acts 18:9).

To understand where we are headed, we must first acknowledge where we have fallen. Why has the love of money conquered the hearts of many spiritual leaders in Nigeria? The reasons are practical, painful, and undeniable:

1. Many leaders have turned away from the Lord and now engage in various shades of occultism, witchcraft, and syncretism, practices known to their closest aides and ministry staff.
2. ⁠Many work secretly with corrupt politicians, receiving tax waivers, massive donations, lands, cars, and other seductive gifts from men steeped in corruption and occult power.
3. ⁠Many belong to pseudo‑occultic “loyalty clubs” and “sons of the prophets” groups, where they have sworn lifetime allegiances to spiritual fathers who manipulate them.
4. ⁠Many personally bankroll political parties, elections, and political candidates for personal and ministerial gain.
5. ⁠Many are entangled in corrupt business ventures, smuggling, money laundering, forex round‑tripping, land grabbing, illegal mining, and fraudulent real estate schemes — using the proceeds to erect gigantic cathedrals.
6. ⁠Many are trapped in sexual perversion, same‑sex scandals, immoral relationships with members, mentees, choristers, and visiting guests during counseling sessions.
7. ⁠Many actively initiate junior pastors into occultic ordinations, binding them with “holy communion” rituals and “anointing oils” that enforce lifelong loyalty or threaten destruction if they ever leave.

All these evils point to one thing: the desperate accumulation of wealth at any cost.

Stephen King once told the graduating class of Vassar College in 2001: “We come in naked and broke. We may be dressed when we go out, but we’re just as broke. Warren Buffet? Going out broke. Bill Gates? Going out broke.”

The catalogue of corruption within the church is long. Because of these things, many leaders no longer possess the moral authority to confront political wickedness. They remain silent in the face of tyranny. And silence is the natural habitat of evil. Evil thrives when good men remain quiet, passive, and apathetic.

Dr Erwin Lutzer warned: “If we refuse to pray for iron gates to fall, we will be forced to pray inside iron gates.”

History is filled with examples of pastors who stood boldly with God and confronted evil in their nations. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemöller challenged Hitler’s demonic empire. Martin Luther King Jr. confronted racial tyranny. Dr John MacArthur confronted governmental overreach.

Billy Graham confronted presidents with truth.

But today, many elders are silent.

This silence reminds us of the tragic fall of the Church of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople, Turkey. Once, Christianity in Turkey stood at ninety‑eight per cent (98 per cent) of the population, with only two per cent (2 per cent) Muslims.

Today, the numbers have reversed, 98 per cent Muslims, 2 per cent Christians.

Why? Because the elders were silent, uninterested, and apathetic.

After constructing one of the greatest cathedrals in history, the Church of the Holy Wisdom, Emperor Justinian declared during its dedication in AD 537: “Solomon, I have outdone you.”

In today’s currency, that cathedral would cost over a billion dollars.

Dionysios Hatzopoulos, in The Fall of Constantinople, recorded the moment of its conquest:

“The bells of the massive church rang mournfully, and singing hymns in Greek, Italian, or Catalan, men, women, children, soldiers made peace with themselves, with God, and eternity.”

Dr Erwin Lutzer added:

“Soldiers fought their way into the Church of the Holy Wisdom, killing all worshippers. Religious icons and furnishings were destroyed. The priests performing their duties were massacred. Churches and convents were ransacked, and nuns were raped.”

Ten generations later, all the massive investments poured into that cathedral have been wasted.

Values Last Longer than Buildings

The elders of that era fell into the warm embrace of mammon, believing that wealth, regardless of how it was acquired, could build God’s kingdom, save lives, and influence nations.

But Nigeria today proves that theology false. Wealth does not build the gospel. Wealth does not sustain the gospel.

Wealth may build buildings. Wealth may build schools. Wealth may build infrastructure. But wealth cannot build or preserve the gospel.

The gospel is built and sustained by integrity, godliness, righteousness, holiness, truth, faithfulness, and the fruits of the Spirit, all nurtured in environments of sound discipleship. Only twelve disciples turned the world upside down.

“And the Lord said to him, ‘Go through the midst of the city… and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations done within it.’” (Ezekiel 9:4).

I plead with our fathers, men who have been shown mercy by God and still have breath in their nostrils, to rise and rebuild. Men who still have the window of grace open before the curtain of life falls and the door of eternity opens.

It is time to turn back to the Lord. It is time to return everything Satan gave you. It is time to give back the money taken from corrupt politicians. It is time to walk away from occultic societies, even if it costs your life. It is time to end sexual perversion and return to your family in repentance. It is time for your silence in the face of evil to die. It is time to step out of hiding and speak truth to power, not privately, but publicly.

“Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die.” (Proverbs 31:9)<

Ayo Akerele is the senior pastor of Rhema Assembly and the founder of the Voice of the Watchmen Ministries in Ontario, Canada. He can be reached through [email protected]. You can connect with him on: YouTube: @VoiceoftheWatchmen, TikTok: @drayoakerele, Instagram: @drayoakerele, Facebook: @Ayo Akerele