Today, February 8, 2017, Somalia is holding presidential elections. Early this year, Erica wrote a prayer for an international women's prayer program that we think is very fitting for today and the weeks ahead as Somalia seeks new leadership and change.
The Al Shabab militant attacks of this past week has led the twenty Somali presidential candidates to move the election into the Mogadishu airport, where the elected members of parliament will vote in their new leader.
Despite the high level of corruption within the government, the UN special envoy to Somali, Michael Keating, sees the election as a crucial step toward stability and reform, as much of the parliament has been replaced with new leaderships eager for change.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since the fall of Siad Barre's regime in 1991. Please join us today and in the days ahead as we uphold Somalia and the millions of Somali refugees spread throughout the world in our prayers.
If you are interested in learning more about the ministry of Canadian Baptists among Somali refugees living in Kenya please click here.
Praying for Women and Girls in Somalia
Almighty and loving God,
Your mercy and compassion are never failing, they rise like the sun over Somalia -- Transforming the dark and torrid waters of the night and filling the earth with hope and vitality.
We lift up to you the women of Somalia.
Here in the great horn of Africa, on the wind swept shores of the Indian Ocean and along the arid Mudug plain, millions of mothers rise today to continue the struggle of survival.
For the sake of their children, they will toil under your great sun desperate to provide for the needs of their families.
Some will spend this day in the vast refugee camps that surround the rubble of Mogadishu, caring for children, sweeping the dust from their tent, and waiting for change.
Others will walk this day along camel paths in search of water. Some will carry a baby or sick child seeking help from a distant medical centre. Many will flee from villages where battles are erupting, following worn trails that crisscross their country.
Twenty-six years of conflict and war have torn apart the fabric their nation. Bloodshed and violence have touched every home. It is mothers who nurse the battle wounds and who bear the scars.
We pray with the women of Somalia. Lord, hear our prayers as we join these women in crying out for peace. Pour your Holy Spirit upon this nation bringing healing and restoration. Awaken within Somalia a thirst for reconciliation, and a hunger for forgiveness. Open new paths in the desert that will lead your children to lasting and abundant life.
They desire this day an end to violence. Against the clamor and din of war may their voice be heard, as they weeps for their people, as they yearn for a better life for their children, and a new future for their country.
May the love and power of Christ touch their lives today. Amen
Erica Kenny
Canadian Baptist Ministries
Nairobi, Kenya
Thank you. We pray this prayer with you.
ReplyDelete