CHURCHES PRAY FOR FAIR SHARING OF RESOURCES

MANZINI – “Lord, we pray that as citizens of Eswatini, we all have a fair share of all the resources you have blessed the country with.”

This was a prayer by Reverend Thabisile Dlamini, from the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church (Kush), when praying for the country during the Council of Swaziland Churches’ annual general meeting (AGM) and celebration of its 44th anniversary, which was held at St Paul’s Methodist Church yesterday.

She prayed for good stewardship of national resources in all levels of society. She rebuked the spirit of corruption and prayed that the Lord touched the hearts of all those who would be tempted to engage in any act of dishonesty and corruption. “We pray for a fair distribution of the country’s wealth so that poverty does not come as a result of selfishness and dishonesty,” the reverend said in her prayer.

Again, the reverend prayed for the three arms of government to work in harmony for the development of the country and to the glory of God. She also prayed for members of both houses of Parliament that they strived to enact just laws that would seek to improve the lives of emaSwati.

The reverend also prayed for Parliament to be truthful and fearless in their work and think about the people they were representing, instead of their own interests. Dlamini prayed for Cabinet ministers to be God-driven as they executed their duties and asked the Lord to cover them with his grace so that they would accept their calling as a service to him. 

Judicial

She also prayed for judicial members that they adjudicated on cases in a just and fair manner and that they had the wisdom that was given to King Solomon. “We also pray for His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen Mother that they have good health and wisdom from God as they lead the nation,” the reverend said the prayer.

Thereafter, Dlamini prayed to the Lord to heal the nation and the world at large from the COVID-19 pandemic. She prayed for government and all those given the responsibility to lead the national response to the pandemic so they carried out their duties in a God-fearing manner.

She further prayed for frontline workers in response that they were protected, given strength and compassion to do their work. She prayed that all resources allocated and donated for the response were accounted for and that during the national emergency, there would be no violation of basic human rights in that no one would take advantage of the vulnerable members of society and abuse them. 

violence

On another note, the reverend prayed that the nation find a way of dealing with GBV, rape, killings and suicides. She prayed for all those who worked with such cases to have enough patience to follow up on the cases so that survivors of any form of violence received all the care they needed and the perpetrators were persecuted.

Moreover, she prayed for the nation to be able to address the root causes of violence, especially poverty, unemployment, gender inequality and other forms of social injustices.

Meanwhile, the Lord was asked to make the church become exemplary in matters of social injustice, respect for human rights and good governance.

This plea to the Lord was made by Bishop Wellington Mkhaliphi of the United Christian Church of Africa in Nhlangano. “We pray for the leadership of the church to always seek God’s wisdom so as to lead it (church) in a Godly manner,” the bishop said in the prayer.

He also prayed for the church to be always alert and ready to defend biblical teachings against misleading theologies and false lessons. He prayed for the spirit of discernment so that they were able to differentiate what was from God and which came from the devil.

“We pray that the church continues to be prophetic and to be true to God-given mandate so as to protect and promote life as that is what our Lord Jesus Christ came to this world for,” the bishop said as he prayed.

Bishop Mkhaliphi also prayed that the church should speak for the poor and marginalised members of society that they should be treated justly and should not be victims of social and economic injustice.

Thereafter, he prayed to the Lord that he guides and directs the church during this time of COVID-19 so that it could speak in one voice when raising awareness on the pandemic and when providing support to church members.

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