" The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery and mistreated the poor and needy and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out my indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath : and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads says the Lord God." (Ezekiel 22: 29 - 31 NKJV).

" If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place."
 ( 2 Chronicles 7:14 - 15 NKJV).

The first scripture says that when God's people fail to answer the call for prayer in

the face of sin, oppression, corruption and injustice in our nations, the judgment and wrath of God comes upon that nation. But the second passage says that when we pray, God hears us, forgives us, and heals our land.

I wish to use my nation Sri Lanka as a context to this small write-up on the power of transforming prayer. Ethnic riots have been a usual phenomenon in Sri Lanka from the early 1950's, not too long after we received our Independence from the British rule in 1948. In the early 1970's, we had a youth insurrection, which claimed the lives of tens of thousands of university students and young professionals. Although the insurrection was brought under control in less than year, it repeated itself in the latter 1980's. Tragically, in the early 1980's ethnic riots escalated into a full-blown ethnically based civil war. This dragged on for at least three decades. The casualty counts are varied. The government puts it down 60 to 70,000 but other sources say that it was at least 150,000.

Well, the Church prayed. We first started to pray in our local Churches; then local Churches prayed within our own denominations; and very soon interdenominational prayer groups began to spring up all over the Island. In almost all of our prayer gatherings, we quoted 2 Chronicles 7:14 which obviously alerted and motivated us to pray.

In the year 1994, a few of us prayer leaders, Dr. Arul Ankitel , Dr. Lalith Mendis, Pastor Michael Dissanayake and I, were privileged to meet veteran internationally renowned prayer leader Kjell Sjoberg. He visited Sri Lanka invited by Dr Arul to lead us how to engage in strategic level spiritual prayer nationally. This spearheaded us into the birth of a strong united prayer movement across the nation.

God answered our prayers in numerous ways. We had many well-organized and coordinated prayer gatherings in addition to the regular monthly prayer times, which we had among ourselves. First we had the final victory over the ethnic civil war in 2009. Although the end of the civil war in May 2009 was rather bloody and very unfortunate, the final conclusion of was most welcome. Although the war ended in 2009, full healing and reconciliation between the two ethnic groups never did happen. Strategic Prayers over our nation continued despite the challenges we faced in the area of persecution for both Christians and Muslims. It would not be unfair to say that the minority peoples groups in Sri Lanka were treated badly by the arrogant majority religious leaders.  Our nation continually lived under a curse entrenched in so much division, bloodshed and oppression.

On January 9th, 2015,  we finally saw the toppling of a very unjust and oppressive regime. There was great joy in our nation at last. We are beginning to see amazing change in our nation. Our prayers which have gone on relentlessly through the decades of the 80's, 90's, and the 2000's are being answered every day. Praise be to God. The Lord's eyes and ears have been attentive to our prayer. Yes, prayer has the power to transform nations.

Dr. Leslie Keegel, IPC Leadership Team