PRAYING FOR OUR NATION

This week Uganda is going into elections and these have been the mostly hotly contested elections in the recent past history of Uganda.
In the next few days we will know who our new leaders are but before then we as Christians who have been called by God to pray for our nation and our leaders, have got to pray.
i) Why pray?
Because prayer is the greatest weapon that God gave us to fight the Devil and his forces and it is the most assured way of getting God’s will for any situation.

2 Chronicles 7:14-16
• “14 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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”

• In prayer we do business with God and in prayer we can decide the destiny of our nation and our continent.

ii) Why pray for the Nation?
• Because God requires us to pray for the nation. The nation where God has put us is our home, when it is peaceful, we are peaceful and when it is not , we will not have a better future.
• The Bible teaches that God blesses those nations that keep His standards of justice and righteousness.
• Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. (Proverbs 15:34 NIV)
• A nation is its people and each nation has got a place to play in God’s economy.
• We have the opportunity as a nation to thrive, prosper and be God’s channel of blessing to other nations and this all comes when God becomes the King and the affairs of God are held in high esteem, when that happens a nation will change but its people will be a source of influence to the rest of the world. That has happened in the United Kingdom 200 years ago, in United States of America in the last 100 years and we see it happening in South Korea today.
Deuteronomy 28 1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

iii) Why pray for our Leaders?
• The Bible commands us to pray for our civil leaders therefore we have to pray.
• I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone– for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2:1-4 NIV)
• When we get godly leaders those leaders will influence godly character and behavior in our nation.
• When we have leaders of vision, the Bible says the leader leads people to inherit God’s promises.
• Joshua 1:6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
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• If you have an evil leader, that leader will destroy that nation. For us in Uganda we experienced that during Idi Amin’s time.
• Leaders can lead a nation to revival but leaders can also mis-direct a nation.
Uganda is going through a season of elections and some of us will be excited and others disappointed with the results.
But we have got two responsibilities
1. We have to go for elections
2. We have a responsibility to pray for the nation and our leaders even those we may not have supported, we still have to pray for them.

There is a wave of violence, riots, demonstration around the world, we have experienced this recently in Egypt, Tunisia and a few other countries. Let us pray that these nations will not fall into anarchy and let us pray that this wave does not spread to other countries.
We encourage you to pray for your nation specifically for Uganda as we go through elections this weekend.