Last Sunday at Newlife-Robina one of our South African born members, Deanna Pienaar, led us in prayer for that wonderful nation. Deanna's prayer reflects the heart cry of many South Africans she spoke to last week, including some of the many who are a part of our church community.
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you for this glorious Gold Coast morning. We praise you this morning for the privilege of being able to live in a city where we can feel safe; for the opportunity of being able to live in a country such as Australia where we have so much freedom and so many benefits.We confess, Father God, that there are many times that we take these privileges for granted. We can be keen to complain and find fault when, indeed, we are so blessed. And for this ingratitude, we are sorry.
We lift up to you this morning, Father, the country of South Africa. The beautiful country of South Africa whose heart is aching at the loss of their greatest son and earthly father figure, Nelson Mandela. Father, you know how much hope and love and other intense emotion the people of this unique nation have invested in the legend that Nelson Mandela has become for them and, indeed, for millions around the world. He has carried for so many decades the only hope for the citizens of a special country that is wracked with tension, violence, corruption, illness, high unemployment, segregation and huge anxiety. And this morning, Father, as they begin to celebrate and reflect on the life of this remarkable man, their anxiety also begins as they wait to see where the ship of South Africa will now be steered without its rudder of so many years.
We thank you, Heavenly Father, for the life of Nelson Mandela, for the difference his life, his sacrifice, his courage, his determination, his wisdom and integrity, his lack of bitterness and his amazing capacity to forgive have made to the lives of many. We praise you, Father, for your presence and for your hand on the peaceful transition that occurred in South Africa 20 years ago when Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk and other leaders called on you to guide the nation through what could have been a treacherous time.
Father God, we call on you again this morning, to have your hand firmly on South Africa and her people as they deal with their grief, their loss and their anxiety for the future. We ask, Father, that the legacy of Nelson Mandela will not be in vain. We ask that the future leaders of South Africa will perpetuate and cherish his legacy sufficiently to consider striving for freedom for all—freedom of speech, freedom to have a home, food, an education and to feel and be safe. We pray that the youth of the nation, who perhaps are not as sensitive or as appreciative of the sacrifice made by many such as Nelson Mandela, will remain calm, co-operative, collaborative and respectful in order that a peaceful, productive future for South Africa can be possible.
This morning, Father, we implore you to remain present in the lives and minds of all South Africans. Holy Spirit, move among the people of that nation, so that they become stirred to take up the baton that they have for so long left in the hands of their hero, their Madiba. As Mandela said at his retirement, “It is time for new hands to lift the burdens of the world” . We ask that you will equip and guide the nation with eager, honest hands to take up this call.
And, Father, at this time of Advent, we are mindful that the life and cause of Nelson Mandela has also brought with it pain for many families in South Africa; many of whom may be here this morning in this room and all over the world. Father, South Africa is such a complex, mystifyingly beautiful place, and we ask this morning that all who have been hurt by the struggle that may be associated with Nelson Mandela will find it in their heart to not only forgive him and others but that they may be blessed with a wisdom that allows them to understand and appreciate the sacrifice of many. We ask that the people of South Africa will remain calm, will continue to forgive in order that peace can prevail.
Prince of Peace, may this season of Advent fill the hearts of each one of us present here today and make us mindful of the need to forgive where forgiveness is required so that we can go into this season, celebrating your life, Father, with a pure heart.
We ask this all in the beautiful name of Jesus. Amen.
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