Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams has recounted how his prayers an opposition party caused a rift between him and a Ghanaian president.
The presiding archbishop and general overseer of the Action Chapel International ministry was preaching at his church this past Sunday, 24th April 2022, when he said men of God are not called to speak ill of leaders. “The pulpit is not to attack leaders or to criticize leaders”.
“The Bible didn’t call us to speak evil of rulers, it didn’t call us to criticize the people in authority but it says: ‘Pray for them, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Saviour,” he said.
He continued that “we are not anointed to attack and criticize people in authority; that’s not my assignment. The pulpit is not to attack leaders or to criticize leaders, it’s to pray and if you believe in God, then pray.”
Quoting the Bible to buttress his point, the preacher said: “‘I exalt, therefore, that first of all supplication, prayers, intercession and giving of thanks be made for all men irrespective of their religious background; for kings, for all that are in authority and if we do that, we’ll live a quiet and a peaceable life in all Godliness and honesty,” adding: “That is the only way Godliness and honesty and peace of any country is maintained when prayers go up for those in authority; not when we criticize them. For it is written: ‘Speak no evil of the ruler of my people.”
The astute man of God who has been a preacher for almost 45 years, during his sermon revealed that there was a time when a sitting president of Ghana got upset with him just because he prayed for the opposition party at the time.
“There was a time there was a president in this country; myself and some men of God from outside came and we went to visit him and he was very hostile toward me” but “sweet and nice to everybody else,” he said.
“Very hostile toward me,” he emphasized, and added that the president “didn’t even acknowledge me. This is a guy that I prayed for [for] many years even when he was in opposition”.
“I prayed for him; [he] comes [to] visit me many times; we were that close; he visits me and all that,” Archbishop Duncan-Williams recounted.
“He was so hostile and after, when we were leaving his office, I allowed everybody to go and I concerned him and I said: ‘Mr. President, what’s going on here?”
“I didn’t even allow security; I said: ‘Mr. President, something is wrong; what’s happening? I don’t like your countenance toward me.’ And I said: ‘Something is not right.”
“He said: ‘You are right about it; I’m very upset with you, and I said: ‘Talk to me Mr. President; if you are upset, talk.”
“And he told me, and I found out that somebody that was so very close to me in my church went to slander me, went to lie and said I was praying for the then-opposition,” Archbishop Duncan-Williams recalled.
“And I said: ‘Mr. President, it is true: I pray for the opposition and I pray for [the] government; what is wrong? I said: ‘I prayed for you when you were in opposition, so, why are you angry with me?”
“Yea, it’s the truth: I pray for [the] government, I pray for [the] opposition. That’s what the Bible says we should do. 1 Timothy 2 from verse 1 going to verse 4. And I said: ‘Yes, it’s true: I prayed for the opposition just as I prayed for you when you were in opposition, so, what’s your problem?’”
“He said: ‘You know something; you’re right, you’re right and I said: ‘Mr. President, you’re better than this.’ And I walked off. I just walked off.”
