Speaking at the 19th annual Prayer breakfast today, the Bishop Emeritus of Christ Is The Answer Ministries (CITAM) Dr. David Oginde said that we stand at a critical time in our nation with just less than 80 days to the polls to elect leaders at various levels of our governance structure.
Bishop says it is a season that in previous years has brought upon us a great sense of anxiety and fear. Anxiety because of the uncertainty as to who it is that will rise to the place of leadership at these critical levels. Anxiety because we have made elections a do-or-die affair in which every one of us believes that “our candidates are the best, are the most legitimate, and therefore must win.” Anxiety because our candidates stir up our emotions and raise our hopes that they are going to win the elections at 6 am the following morning and we are eager to wait for those results.
He elaborates how election season has also brought upon us the spirit of fear.
“Fear because of the impact of the insults and the negative talks that we have witnessed in the past. Fear because of the violence that has seen innocent lives lost in the campaign trail. Fear because of the riot and violence that has resulted in the disruption of business activities, destruction of property, and displacement of people from their homes into camps after elections. Fear because of the men, the women, and girls who have been molested and the tens and sometimes hundreds of lives that have been lost in post-election violence.”
The consequence is that in our country the preparation for elections has sometimes looked like the preparation for war.
“The consequence is that in our country the preparation for elections has sometimes looked like the preparation for war. The government mobilizes all its forces, businesses slow down in preparation for the worst, citizens stockpile food and other necessities in readiness for difficult times, some people relocate from areas they consider to be hot spots, and some of our international community residents go back to their countries to watch from afar. But fellow Kenyans it does not have to be that way.” Bishop Emeritus says.
“Elections in this country can become simple transition times when we move from one leadership into another like happens in other nations. We can vote in peace and go back to our businesses to wait for results. We can receive results in peace and continue with our daily lives.” But for this to happen Bishop says, we must be ready to shift our mindsets and understand and appreciate the purpose and meaning of elections.
We must transition and lift up our eyes to our God and our Lord who alone can change the course of a nation.
“We must temper our expectations with the sober reality that in any contest there will always be those who succeed and there will be those people who may not succeed and all of them must be celebrated for coming out to stand where many of us are afraid to dare. So there is no winning and losing, it is a matter of us choosing our leaders. But most of all we must transition and lift up our eyes to our God and our Lord who alone can change the course of a nation.”
Bishop reminded the leaders who were gathered at Safari Park Hotel that they had come to call on God who promised and said, “Call to me, and I will answer you and I will show you great and mighty things that you do not know. Fear not for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God.”
“We have come to a God who has declared, “I know the plans I have for you plans not for evil but for good to give you a future and a hope.” He says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will heal their land.”
“Fellow Kenyans, we have had many prayer breakfasts this is the 19th, and we have had many prayer meetings in this nation, I want to implore us to make a transition. A transition from merely saying prayers to sincerely calling upon God. A transition from merely showing face value prayers for a deep reverence for God.”
As he concluded his speech before making a prayer, Dr. Oginde said that the leaders have gathered at a time when some Kenyans and clergy have been going around the nation in a peace and prayer caravan across the 47 counties praying and interceding for our country. “Let’s join them and turn this nation to God. Let’s transition from any form of hypocrisy and turn to sincere prayers and let’s see a transformation take place.” He said.
Our God is a God of mercy, when the people of Nineveh called upon Him, He turned around from what He had proclaimed Himself as a destruction and rescued the people.
“If we come to our God with sincerity, I believe this could be a turning point for our nation. People will benchmark with us on how we do elections and how elections can be done.”
