A Critical Assessment of “War-Fare Prayers” Among Christians in Nigeria Pentecostal Churches

A Critical Assessment of “War-Fare Prayers” Among Christians in Nigeria Pentecostal Churches

Harmona Olusegun Augustus (PhD)., Alaka-Osinowo Bolayemi O.S

Department of Religions and Peace Studies, Lagos State University of Education, Oto/Ijanikin Lagos State, Nigeria

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.909000354

Received: 21 September 2025; Accepted: 29 September 2025; Published: 11 October 2025

ABSTRACT

Prayer plays a germane role in the lives of Christians irrespective of denomination. It is a channel of communicating with God. The general slogan among Christians is that a “prayer-less life” is a “powerless life”. Ware-fare prayer is a prayer technique popular among Pentecostal Christians in Nigeria today. It focuses on using prayers as a weapon of battle against spiritual forces of evil that torments human life both spiritually, socially, economically and so on. This is why the Apostle Paul commanded Christians to put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:18). The aim of this paper is to critically examine “ware-fare prayers” among Christians in Nigeria Pentecostal Churches. Some of the questions to be addressed in this paper are: Why is the ware-fare prayer rampant among Christians in Pentecostal Churches? Are the ware-fare prayers born out of the African metaphysical realities? Are the ware-fare prayers a product of the socio-economic and political problems besetting Nigerians? This paper adopts a historical, exegetical and descriptive research methodologies.

Keywords: Prayer, Ware-fare, Pentecostal, Church

INTRODUCTION

Prayer is an essential element of every religion across the world. There is no religion without one form of prayer or other. Prayer constitutes the channel of communication between the human and non-human entities (Divine). In Christianity, prayer plays a pivotal role as a means of communicating with God. This is clearly expressed in Luke 11:9-10 “And I say unto you ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be open unto you”. As no individual exist without breathing, no Christian remains spiritually alive without prayers. This is in line with the slogan that says “A prayer less life is a powerless life”.

Prayer becomes necessary in the midst of uncertainties, insecurities and all forms of danger facing man. Sometimes, man becomes helpless and weak when confronted with these life-threatening challenges he is facing on daily basis. Hence, he needs prayers to tackle all the negative forces he is contending with. This is in line with the words of Apostle Paul when he admonishes Christians to pray without ceasing (Eph 6:10-13).

There are different forms of prayer in Christianity. These prayers include: prayers of supplication, petition, confession, adoration, intercession and so on. All of these forms of prayers are directed towards seeking the favour of God. For the purpose of this paper, we shall be looking at warfare prayers among Nigerian Churches with emphasis on Pentecostal churches. Pentecostal Churches in Nigeria Constitute one of the vibrant religious movements to have emerged in the Colonial and post-colonial periods, with remarkable growth in membership. Not only that, warfare prayers are most rampant in these Churches.

This paper gives a critical appraisal of warfare prayers with curious and mind- blowing questions on why warfare prayers are so prominent among contemporary Pentecostal Churches in Nigerian.

The Concept of Warfare Prayer

Olufikayo, (2022) sees warfare prayer as visualization of a supposed enemy or battle and the utilization of prayers together with songs and Bible verses to neutralize opposing forces. He further describes warfare prayer as a vital symbolic weapon of imperceptible battle, and the struggle against the devastating authority of the diabolical Supernatural whose weaponry is not Corporeal but mystical, and vocally manipulated. Warfare prayer involves the expression of one’s thoughts, as well as emotions and beliefs, contextually constructed within the immediate Social environment and belief system. These socially constructed emotions and beliefs are embedded with meanings of the “supernatural” which could be dealt with through warfare prayers (Jorgensen 2005).

The Conception of warfare prayer is basically derived from the belief in the existence of two forces ruling the affairs of man. (The good and the evil forces). This idea is corroborated by Olukoya (2013) when he avers that:

There is a raging battle going on day and night between two opposing forces…. This battle is going on between negative and positive powers, evil and good, the real and the Counterfeit, Light and darkness, right and wrong. Even if you do not like to talk about wars and bloodshed or violence, you have no option when it comes to Spiritual wars because you are already involved.

In the same vein, Ruth (2016) opines that Charismatic Christians across the world know that they are locked in an epic end time’s battle with the demonic powers who constantly intervene in the maternal world to nefarious ends. Holding Sway over entire nations and thwarting Christians at every point. Welfare payers therefore becomes necessary, because the battle is not of flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12).

Also, Joshua, (2021) sees warfare prayers as aggressive prayers that requires the spirit of “enough is enough”. This is in tune with the Psalmist statement “O God arise and let my enemies be scattered”. According to him, it is the right prayer to pray against strongman, witchcraft spirit, household wickedness, marine spirit, occultic powers and ancestral powers and so on.

Warfare Prayers In The Bible

As stated above, prayer plays a prominent role in the lives of Christians. It is the process of entering into a deeper relationship with God. The Bible clearly stipulates the different types of prayers. Among these are:

• Adoration prayer –           Psalms 95:6
• Forgiveness prayer –           Psalms 51
• Repentance prayer –           Acts 2:38
• Breakthrough prayer –          Deuteronomy 28:2-13
• Intercessory prayer –           I Timothy 2:1.
• Prayer of consecration – Matthew 26: 26-27
• Prayer of Thanksgiving – Psalm 100 : 4
• Prayer of faith –           James 5:13-16. etc

For the purpose of this write up, we shall focus on warfare prayers in the Bible.

War Fare Prayers In The Old Testament.

There are basically three words in Hebrew that are commonly used for an enemy. They are: ‘Oyebh’, ‘Sane’ and ‘Tsarar’. ‘Oyebh’ literally means “One who hates”. It is frequently used in the psalms. The term ‘Sane’ is used in Numbers 10:35 for enemies; they are those who hate God” (the devil and his demons who are the ultimate enemies God). The term ‘Tsarar’ is used in Psalm 23:5. “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…” It is often used for an enemy in disguise of a friend.’ Oyebh’ and ‘Tsarar’ are frequent words in the Old Testament for enemy.

Warfare prayers in the Old Testament are basically found in the book of psalms. The psalms belong to the third Category of the Hebrew Canon known as the writings or ketuvim. They are composition of sacred poems and Songs meant to be used in worship. The psalms are categorized according to their contents. For the purpose of this paper, we shall consider the warfare psalms in the light of our discussion.

In psalm 35:1-2, the psalmist Says “Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take up shield and buckler and arise for my help” (KJV). David in this psalm appeals to the righteous judge of heaven and earth against his enemies that hates and persecutes him. It is supposed that Saul and his party are the persons involved. The Hebrew word for “Content” is Lacham, which literally refers to physical fight. A warlike imagery is created in this passage, since David knew that God had fought in the past on behalf His people. “He is the mighty man in battle”(Psalm 24: 8). Moses, also depicts God as “a man of war” (EX 15:3)

Also, Psalm 37:20 invokes physical injury and death by sword and fire to the evil people. “The arms of the wicked shall be broken… Their Sword shall enter into their own heart and the wicked shall perish….as the fat Lambs… into smoke shall they consume away” (KJV). Psalm 55: 15 is a simple, direct and right to the point psalm of warfare. “Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the grave”.

The warfare psalms otherwise called imprecatory psalms are those that invoke judgment, calamity and curses upon one’s enemies or these perceived enemies of God. According to Storms (2017), the imprecatory psalms should not be seen as spontaneous explosions of a bad temper but are calculated petitions against the ungodly adversaries that torment people’s life. These prayers are not expressions of personal vengeance, they are for triumph of divine justice, not the Satisfaction of personal malice.

Warfare prayers are also found in other books of the Old Testament. The prophetic literature (Nevim) contains many as well. In Isaiah 49:26 God spoke through the prophet that “He will feed the oppressors with their own flesh and shall be drunk with their own blood…”This passage is directed to the Babylonians who had taken Zion captive. Here, God intends to Show His strength and Love for Zion by giving Babylon what Babylon gave Zion. This accordingly will show that God is “the mighty one of Jacob”. Warfare prayers are born out of the fact that God takes vengeance on His adversaries. Though, God is slow to anger and great in power, he will not at all acquit the Wicked (Nahum1:1).

Warfare Prayers In The New Testament

In the New Testament, there are numerous passages admonishing Christians to engage in warfare prayers. In Ephesians 6:10-11, Apostle Paul is of the opinion that Spiritual battles are not to be fought physically, he therefore admonishes Christians to put on the full armor of God so that they can stand against the devil’s schemes. “For the battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, against the powers of darkness… So that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground”. The armor of God is an illustration that reminds Christians about the realities of spiritual battles and also describes the protection available to them. In the same vein, Paul in II Corinthian 10: 4-5 asserts that “the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world”. This Statement gives credence to the need for warfare prayers.

Apostle Peter on his part encouraged the Christians to be “alert and of Sober mind. Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring Lion looking for someone to devour” (I Peter 5:8). Here, Peter describes the devil as a roaring Lion always out to look for preys. He further admonished Christians to resist him by standing firm in the faith. Apostle John describes the devil as a thief that comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

Aside from the above, the New Testament Commands Christians to pray by the name of Jesus in order to assert authority over the kingdom of darkness (Philippians 2:10-11). “At the Power in the name of Jesus, every kneel must bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.” (Philippians 2:10-11). Jesus also assured his followers that “whatever they loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven and whatever they bind on earth shall be bound in heaven” (Mathew 8:12-20). A clear demonstration of the efficacy of warfare Prayer in the New Testament Can be seen in Act 12:5-7. In this passage, Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer was being made fervently for him by the Church. On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was miraculously released by the Angel of God.

The Book of Revelation 9:11 describes the world of darkness in this statement: “And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in Greek tonque is Apollyon”. The Hebrew term Abaddon means “destruction”, “doom” while the Greek term Appollyon means “destroyer”. In the Hebrew bible, abbadon is used with reference to a bottomless pit, often appearing alongside with Sheol, a resting place of the dead. Abbadon is the angel of the Abyss. The work of the angel is to oversee the devastation of the inhabitants of the earth, although his minions are allowed to torture and not to kill (Walter, 1996). This is an indication that there are spiritual forces of darkness at work in the heavenly realms. Apostle Paul summed up our discourse, when he advice Christians to pray without ceasing.

Warfare Prayers In Pentecostal Churches In Nigeria

Pentecostal churches have come a long way in the history of Christianity in Nigeria. They constitute a reasonable percentage Church denominations in Nigeria. The name Pentecostal is derived from the day of Pentecost as recorded in the Book of Acts of Apostles 2:1-4. The presumption is that they are led by the Holy Spirit, as a result, they are also called the “living

Churches”. Pentecostal churches lay emphasis on the gifts of Holy Spirit which include: speaking in tongues, healing, discernment of the Spirit, prophecy, and so on. Fakokun (2007) views Pentecostalism as an experiential, holistic and growing global culture in Christianity. Olufikayo, (2022) Categorized Pentecostalism into four:

1. Classic Pentecostal denominations
2. African Independent Churches
3. Charismatic churches and

Independent mega

In Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa, Pentecostalism Constitutes One of the most vibrant religious movements to emerge in the colonial and postcolonial periods, with remarkable growth in membership. For the purpose of this paper, the authors will adopt a general nomenclature “Pentecostal Churches” to include the categories listed above.

Warfare prayers are prominent in Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. This is born out of the belief in the existence of evil forces that torments people’s life. According to the African belief, the world is believed to be polarized with the Unification of the opposites, “the good” and “the evil.” In other words, the world naturally projects both good and evil. This belief is one of the under- laying factors behind warfare prayers in Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. There is always the conviction that every occurrence in life whether good or bad is initiated by spirits that are numerous and inexhaustible. Among them are the Spirit of poverty, the spirit of sickness, Spirit of barrenness and the spirit of failure (Olufikayo, 2022).

When any of the Pentecostal Churches engage in warfare prayer, they address the spirit one after the other. For example, “you spirit of sickness depart in Jesus name”. Pentecostal churches conceived Warfare prayer as the practice of fighting adversaries and attracting goodness. In the conception of Pentecostals, there are many unpleasant situations that are beyond human understanding or scientific explanation, these situations are motivated by certain invisible powers. It is therefore believed that warfare prayer is necessary to combat demonic powers that negate believer’s peace and joy.

Warfare prayers are more than physical, although, there are human agents who carry out the assignments for those powers. There is the notion that there is hardly a family in Nigeria that does not have a background that demands such prayers if they are to be successful in life. In his perception of warfare prayers, Olukoya (2013) asserts that “we find ourselves in a geographical location where demons were already ruling before we were born. An environment where market places are places of spiritual transactions. For this reason, we need to engage in warfare prayer”. He further avers that violent prayer coupled with violent faith gives one an uncommon breakthrough. He went further to describe warfare prayer as: “adamant prayer; stubborn prayer; enough is enough prayers; unapologetic prayer, that is prayers you pray without regret; bold prayer, that is fearless with courage to demand a response; Unwavering prayer; Steadfast prayer. It has just one goal: elimination of the enemy”

Adding weight to our discussion on warfare prayer in Pentecostal churches, Raph (2002) postulates that often times, our secular frame work of thought prevents us from receiving truth about war fare prayers. He went further to say that many naïve and uninformed Christians may dismiss the phenomena of angels and other Spiritual entities as imaginary because they may not fit well into Secular and Scientific paradigms. It is thus important to understand that the geopolitical and cultural Systems of a nation consist of more than the people, the structures and institutions. There is an attempt by the ruling spirits to exert a negative influence over our societal structures and institutions. The failure to recognize this territorial dimension of the Spiritual realm is making many Christians ineffective in fulfilling their purpose.

The Specific references to “territorial Spirits” in the words of Olukoya and Raph above underscores the reliance on warfare prayers in Pentecostal Churches. It is also believed that for anybody to engage in warfare prayer, the person must accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ because whoever must fight against the kingdom of darkness must not remain in the Camp of the devil. This view is supported by the Scripture when it says that a kingdom cannot rise against itself.

A Critique Of Warfare Prayers In Pentecostal Churches.

The questions raised at this juncture are: why are the warfare prayers so rampant in Pentecostal Churches in Nigeria? Are these Prayers a fallout of the metaphysical realities of African world view? Ozumba (2016) defines metaphysics as: “The African way of perceiving, interpreting and making meaning out of interactions, among beings, and reality in general. It is the totality of the African’s perception of reality…” African metaphysics is holistic, its logic underlies the basis for the standards and expectations of the African, in the Sense that the metaphysical world view of the African defines his/her attitude to situations and issues in everyday living. This notion, presupposes the belief in warfare prayers. The African world view is “Spiritual” nothing happens by accident. This is why Bolaji Idowu avers that African are in all things religious.

One can rightly deduce that warfare prayers are precipitated by the African metaphysical world view that everything happens to man has a spiritual force behind it. The Africans view the cosmic world as being Interconnected Spiritually. As such, prayers are seen as not just mere expressions of words but serious spiritual battle against the spirits that are inimical to man’s progress. This position is corroborated by Van der Walt (1997) when he opines that African thought exists and differs from Western thought in that Western thought generally ignores the Spiritual dimension of phenomena and focuses on  the  visible,  measurable  physical  reality.  However,  in  African  thought Supernatural causes play an important role in explaining Phenomena. African ontology is concerned with the Spiritual world and the forces that play a role in it. Africans regard Supernatural Causes as the explanation for everything.

However, one cannot ignore the roles of poverty, bad governance and insecurity in the issue of warfare prayers in Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. In a society where poverty and unemployment strife, there is tendency for people to attribute this to the work of evil forces, since in African belief, every situation has spiritual undertone attached to it. According to the National Bureau of Statistic (2021), it was estimated that Nigeria’s unemployment rate increased from 27.10 percentage in the first quarter of 2020 to 33.30 percent in 2023. The inability of the government to provide employment opportunities make people to seek for solace in the Church. People are forced to engage in warfare prayers in order to combat the spirit of poverty.

The issues of insecurity and the incessant killings of people on daily basis in Nigeria could be a propeller to warfare prayers in churches. Nigerians  see this as a Spiritual battle that needs to be addressed spiritually. In most of these Pentecostal Churches, they pray against the “spirit of death” that is out to destroy the lives of people. It is most likely that in a Country where there are good security measures, people may not totality engaged in such prayers. It is important to state that most of the so-called spiritual problems that prompted warfare prayers in Nigeria Pentecostal Churches are not necessary caused by evil forces. The Socio-economic experiences of Nigeria coupled with bad governance makes these problems to appear Spiritual.

CONCLUSION

This paper examines the concept of warfare prayers in Pentecostal Churches in Nigeria. It was revealed that warfare payers are born out of African metaphysical world view, which presupposes that behind every situation is a spirit attached to it. The African ontology sees reality as spiritual; this however, prompt people to engage in warfare prayers to combat the forces of darkness. The paper also attempts a critique of warfare prayer. The paper concludes that unlike, the Western world view where events are explained scientifically, in the African world view, events are explained supernaturally.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations are proferred:

1. Pentecostal churches and the church in general should direct their prayers more on the growth and development of Nigeria.
2. Warfare prayers should be focused on the enemies of Nigeria. These include; the bandits, terrorists, kidnappers, ritualists and all other agents of darkness that do not want peace to reign in the country.
3. Government should make provisions for social amenities and creates employment opportunities for young people.
4. Poverty alleviation programes should be an issue of urgency, because prayers without works is dead (James 2:26).
5. Church leaders and Christians should embark on more effective evangelism in order to win souls for Christ. Evil triumph in a society where the heart of people is far away from God
6. There should be a re-orientation programme by the church to enlighten believers on the need to change their mindset on the belief that all problems are caused by evil forces. Some problems are manmade or self-
7. Churches should intensify their welfare packages in other to cushion the effects of harsh economy on their

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