Pray for Nigeria, where at least 450 people were abducted in four western states between November 17 and 22. On Monday the 17th, kidnappers took at least 25 girls from a Muslim boarding school. Later that day, in the same state, armed bandits interrupted a service in a Pentecostal church, kidnapping 11. Another armed gang abducted 64 people from their village homes in another state. On Wednesday the 19th, the pastor and more than 35 worshipers were taken from a midweek church service in yet another state. The latest mass kidnapping occurred in the early hours of Saturday, November 22, when armed men stormed dormitories at a Catholic boarding school in a fourth state, kidnapping 303 students and 12 teachers.

Kidnapping for ransom is a major source of income for jihadist groups and for gangs of Muslim “bandits,” who are often well-armed, know the local terrain, and outnumber the local security forces.

Please pray for an end to this scourge. Some of the victims have been released or have escaped; pray that they would all be released unharmed. Pray especially that the perpetrators would come face to face with the Spirit of the living God and for their salvation.