During a recent event, the president
offered a remarkable prayer of repentance for himself and the nation. Consider a few of the words from his prayer
to God:
I stand here
today to close the evil past and especially in the last 50 years of our
national leadership history and at the threshold of a new dispensation in the
life of this nation. I stand here on my
own behalf and on behalf of my predecessors to repent. We ask for Your forgiveness.
We confess these
sins, which have greatly hampered our national cohesion and delayed our
political, social and economic transformation.
We confess sins
of idolatry and witchcraft which are rampant in our land. We confess sins of shedding innocent blood,
sins of political hypocrisy, dishonesty, intrigue and betrayal.
Forgive us of
sins of pride, tribalism and sectarianism; sins of laziness, indifference and
irresponsibility; sins of corruption and bribery that have eroded our national
resources; sins of sexual immorality, drunkenness and debauchery; sins of
unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred and revenge; sins of injustice, oppression
and exploitation; sins of rebellion, insubordination, strife and conflict.
These sins and
many others have characterized our past leadership, especially the last 50
years of our history. Lord forgive us
and give us a new beginning. Give us a
heart to love You, to fear You and to seek You. Take away from us all the above sins.
These are not the words of the American
president but of Yoweri Museveni, the president of the nation of Uganda. He gave this prayer at the National Jubilee
Prayers event as the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of its independence
from Britain. As he closed his prayer,
he said this:
We want to
dedicate this nation to You so that You will be our God and guide. We want Uganda to be known as a nation that
fears God and as a nation whose foundations are firmly rooted in righteousness
and justice to fulfill what the Bible says in Psalm 33:12: Blessed is the
nation, whose God is the Lord, a people You have chosen as Your own.
I renounce all
the evil foundations and covenants that were laid in idolatry and witchcraft. I renounce all the satanic influence on this
nation. And I hereby covenant Uganda to You,
to walk in Your ways and experience all Your blessings forever.
I pray for all
these in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I know nothing of President Museveni or
whether his heart is truly with the Lord.
The only basis I have for forming an opinion of the man are the words of
this prayer. On this basis, I am
impressed that a national leader would so publically express the spiritual
needs of his nation and seek the favor of God for himself and his people. It is refreshing to read these words and know
that somewhere in the world a person of great influence and leadership is at
least saying the right message. Let us
hope that his nation will follow and bear fruit in keeping with repentance
(Matt. 3:8).
Naturally, these events in Uganda cause
me to reflect on our own nation of the United States. How long has it been since we have heard a
national leader speak in such a way in America?
It certainly has not happened in my lifetime. The early leaders of the nation often
declared days of prayer and fasting during the Revolutionary War. During the Civil War, President Lincoln
declared a national day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer, saying, "It is the
duty of nations as well as of men, to owe their dependence upon the overruling
power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet
with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to
recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all
history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord." President Roosevelt even led the nation in
prayer over the radio on the evening of D-Day, but that was a long time ago.
Will we ever again hear an American
president speak words like those of President Museveni or President
Lincoln? None of us know the answer, but
it is encouraging to know that a nation like Uganda, which has been marred in
wickedness for many generations, can begin to show signs of turning to the
Lord. If that nation can turn from the
depths of evil, then the United States can turn also. If the nation turns, then be assured that
God's blessings will come, for "righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a
disgrace to any people" (Prov. 14:34).
