Christians, don’t ever pray to your ancestors
The message preached by Pastor George Pratt at Antioch AME church in Stonecrest, Georgia, encouraging congregants to call on the name of their ancestors for help has drawn a lot of attention recently. Many Christians found the teaching strange and unbiblical. Pastor Pratt’s argument may be logical to many Africans but it is obvious that it negates the most basic tenets of Christianity.
Most African pastors have found it difficult to depart completely from African Traditional Religion (ATR) even among the Pentecostals. The use of objects and symbols to represent the power of God as practiced in paganism has remained in churches today. Bangles, necklaces, handkerchiefs, scapulars, bottles of oil and water, and the list goes on.
Many African Christians strongly believe that familiar objects are needed to represent God and His presence for the power of God to be made manifest. Maybe Pastor Pratt felt that this practice would appeal to African Christians. Unbelievers may be comfortable with this concept, but no Christian should embrace this teaching. Praying through ancestors or angels is scripturally prohibited (Deuteronomy 18:10-11, Revelation 22:8-9).
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According to Pastor Pratt, “You simply are a manifestation of your ancestors, your ancestors are you and you are your ancestors.” This is true, on some level. But we simply can’t make such broad and far-reaching spiritual applications to this truth; especially when it blasphemes God’s name.
Many of us are the first generation of Christians in our families. Some of us were dedicated to these ancestral idols before Christ. Christians in the Western world may not understand the appeal of these superstitious practices, but Africans know it all too well.
We in Africa after surrendering our lives to Christ face many invisible spiritual battles. Instead of calling on dead ancestors, and summoning strange spirits that war against us, we should pray against them and destroy every stronghold they have over our lives.
Even in the Bible, ancestral power frustrated God’s people. Moses could not get to the promised land because of the manifestation of anger that he inherited from his Levitical parents (Genesis 49:5-7, Exodus 2:1-2, Numbers 20:7-12, Deuteronomy 32:52).
We should pray and purge ourselves of every practice that is linked with the occult. We are new creatures in Christ and should denounce ancestral powers and look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Oscar Amaechina is the president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, Abuja, Nigeria. His calling is to take the gospel to where no one has neither preached nor heard about Jesus. He is the author of the book Mystery Of The Cross Revealed.
