Praying for Kenya

(Note: I don't claim to know much at all about Kenyan politics or history and I hope I haven't been inaccurate in anything I've written; my main aim is to give an impression of things as I have experienced them.)

Today (Kenya time; tomorrow UK time) is the day of the Kenyan elections. If you think back to five years ago, you might remember the results of the last presidential election were disputed and there were weeks of terrible violence in some areas of the country. Over 1000 people were killed and around 600 000 were displaced from their homes. People here are understandably nervous that history might repeat itself this time around. In fact some embassies and NGOs have even moved their staff out of the country until it's over.

It's been interesting being here and watching the build-up to these elections. Back in January the primaries were held where the parties chose their candidates; there were a couple of incidents of trouble and reports that the process was slightly chaotic in some places. But the general tone of the time of campaigning since then seems to have been quite positive and optimistic. As I've travelled to and from school each day I've seen lorries plastered in party colours and posters, with huge loudspeakers on playing lively music. On the back of the lorries are people wearing their party's t-shirts and hats dancing to the music. There are posters absolutely everywhere - stuck on fences, trees, roundabouts, bollards, hanging from cables overhead, even plastered on the road surface! Rallies are held on street corners and one day I saw a stream of people in yellow baseball caps clearly dispersing after one of these - the caps presumably a gift from the party involved, trying to persuade people to vote for them. Of course, there is this side to the campaigning - money is even sometimes given out to attract voters, and the sheer cost of the campaigns, including helicopters to fly the candidates around the country, is quite horrifying. As well as party campaigning, however, there has been a significant campaign for peaceful elections. There have been peace concerts, the matatus have adverts for peace, the radio DJs have been calling for peace, as have the presidential candidates themselves. In fact last week most of the candidates attended a huge prayer meeting where the focus was prayer for peace.

As a church we have been praying for Kenya in the weeks leading up to the elections. Last night we had a special prayer meeting for that purpose, our homegroup has organised a prayer rota over the last week or so and this morning's service was mainly focused around prayer for the nation. But the atmosphere was not at all one of fear or nervousness, rather we were focused on praising God and recognising that his power is far greater than any human power. He truly is the King of kings, and all people, including leaders, must bow before him. We prayed for his protection over Kenya, that any evil plans will be destroyed and that his will would be done through whoever is elected. It's hard to explain but somehow everything we did this morning seemed to mean more, or maybe the meaning was in clearer focus because of the uncertainty of the coming days. There was a real, tangible sense of God's presence with us. We even sang 'Shine Jesus, shine', which to my ear can be a bit dated and I don't think I always notice the words properly, but today they really seemed so relevant. Here's the first verse and chorus:

Lord the Light of Your Love is shining,
In the midst of the darkness shining,
Jesus light of the world shine upon us,
Set us free by the truth You now bring us,
Shine on me. Shine on me.

Shine Jesus shine
Fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit blaze,
Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth Your word
Lord and let there be light.

The other thing that we did both last night and this morning was to sing the national anthem, which I found incredibly moving. The tune is beautiful, and the words are amazing, a prayer for Kenya. Here is the English translation:

O God of all creation
Bless this our land and nation
Justice be our shield and defender
May we dwell in unity
Peace and liberty
Plenty be found within our borders. 

Let one and all arise
With hearts both strong and true
Service be our earnest endeavour
And our homeland of Kenya
Heritage of splendour
Firm may we stand to defend.

Let all with one accord
In common bond united
Build this our nation together
And the glory of Kenya
The fruit of our labour
Fill every heart with thanksgiving.

We could do worse than pray the words of the anthem for the beautiful country of Kenya! Please, if you are a praying person, remember Kenya in your prayers this week.