While you fast and pray in 2024 (I) – Our Security, Our Peace By Prof. O.E Bassey

The new year is right here, and rightfully, the celebration should go on. Doing 365 days alive is a milestone, as such, it is always going to be one that calls for the feasting as much as it calls for reflection and a new spirit to take on the new year.

At the end of a year and the beginning of a brand new one, there is always a renewed spirit that marks the start of a new adventure. This renewed spirit often brings a sense of hope and excitement, as people reflect on the past year’s accomplishments and set new goals for the future. It also serves as a reminder that each year is an opportunity for growth, learning, and embracing new experiences.

But amid this is the irrefutable religious angle to it all with different prophecies and different spiritual instructions that believers get engrossed in to the detriment of some other important detail. As you will reckon, it is not unusual to find a thick cloud of spiritual activities during this period. From marathon prayers to marathon fasting to marathon praises, believers rightfully indulge in this during this period as it has been for quite some time that it is now a ritual at the start of every year.

But the recurring problem amid all this and from what precedence shows is that there is a gap in character building that is always neglected for spiritual warfare and fortification. More often than not, people go through the year still remaining the same people they used to be because they did nothing different from what they have been doing all the years and as such, get the same result that has them in the same spot for years on end.

If truly this year will be different from every other year, then both spiritual and character growth must go hand-in-hand for significant success that eclipses the regular. You must prioritize imbibing the right characters that ensure peace, development and success for the year on a personal, community and national note. Even the Bible reckons that spirituality alone cannot do it. You must accord equal attention and effort to the physicality to lead a completely successful life.

James 2: 14;17: What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?  Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

So while you go ahead fasting and praying for a successful 2024, it is important for you to remember to pray out anger, fast out hate, pray in the spirit of love, fast in the spirit of peace, and above all; seek the fruits of the spirit, for without character, your spirituality is incomplete, and on such grounds, you lack the power to affect life and lives positively.

Prof. Ofonime Emmanuel Bassey is a Leadership, Security, Peace and Conflict Resolution Coach with decades of experience in the practice and promotion of Law Enforcement, Peace and Security through the Nigeria Police and the United Nations.

He has served and interacted at the top level management of the Nigeria Police as well as internationally as a United Nation’s Monitor/Mentor in Kosovo, Europe.

A professor of Peace Advocacy and Conflict Resolution, Ofonime is a certified United Nation’s Trainer, and currently the Director of ICOF Institute of Leadership, Peace and Conflict Resolution in Africa.

With his marks well-established in Peace Leadership both in Nigeria and Africa. Currently, he is the President, NISSI Safety Management Institute: An Institute famous for Peace Leadership.

Presently, he is spearheading a campaign tagged “The Next Peace Leaders”, a campaign that is billed to run from 2022-2030 with a target of training 37,000 young peace leaders.

For leadership, conflict, peace and security consultations and trainings, reach him via:

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WhatsApp: +2347065828892

Mail: emmanuelbassey@gmail.com