The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria posted warnings on its website towards the end of April that extremist group Boko Haram may be planning attacks in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, “including against hotels frequently visited by Westerners.”

Boko Haram was behind an attack on Easter Sunday that killed 36 people. The blast shattered windows of nearby churches and business premises. Many vehicles were also destroyed. “It was a big bomb because it created a huge hole in the ground,” Kaduna resident Malam Zakari told the Nigerian Tribune. The sect is responsible for over 900 deaths already this year, according to the Associated Press. “The big challenge is how do you overcome evil with good biblically and non-violently?”

Open Doors’ Paul Estabrooks said, “It’s obviously deliberate when on Christmas Day and on Easter Sunday you have these violent attacks against churches and Christians. It’s not coincidental.” He asked for prayers that Nigerian Christians would learn to face these attacks as peacemakers.

Source: Christian Post; Open doors

BIBLE STUDY: Matthew 5: 1-12

PRAY: That Nigerian Christians may be instruments of the peace of Christ in this hour of darkness.