By PEACE IJIYERA

 

THE 2026 World Day of Prayer service was held last Friday (March 6) at the Traralgon and District Baptist Church.

Each year, the day has a country of focus. This years focus was Nigeria.

Under the theme ‘I will give you rest: come,’ taken from Matthew 11:28-30, about 30 people from different denominations including, Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, and Lutheran came to intercede on behalf of Nigeria.

The World Day of Prayer is an international movement led by Christian women that has been operating in Australia since 1927 and in the Latrobe Valley for more than 40 years.

Coincidentally, the World Day of Prayer fell during the week of International Women’s Day.

Reverend Heather den Houting said that women who pray are among the “most powerful people in our community”, and described the group of praying women as a “radical movement”.

During the service, a series of hymns were sang and stories from women in Nigeria were heard.

The stories highlighted the struggles with systematic oppression, religious persecution and poverty that many face in Nigeria.

In all these stories was the reoccurring theme of finding strength through faith and community. After each story was an intercessory prayer.

Year 11 student leaders from Lavalla Catholic College performed a short play about a young girl in Nigeria who was facing educational difficulty. Through faith, friendship and hard work, the young girl was able to improve her studies and received an award at the end of the term.

With a stone given to each attendee at the entrance, the congregation was invited to place their stone on a table at the altar, symbolising placing their burdens at the feet of Christ.

Reverend Houting was invited as a guest speaker and addressed the congregation, highlighting the power that is in corporate prayer and gathering.

“This is not something to be taken lightly and it’s not an archaic or strange situation, it is actually a powerful and extraordinary testimony to people who hold faith in the power of prayer,” she said

“Hearing real stories is important, and my friends, praying together is important.”

A morning tea was held after the service. Fitting the theme of Nigeria, jollof rice, a popular Nigerian dish was served. As a seasoned jollof rice consumer myself, it was a good attempt; a solid six out of 10.

Next year will see the 100th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer which will be celebrated at St Michael’s Catholic Church, Traralgon.