INDEPENDENCE DAY PRAYER FOR UGANDA

INDEPENDENCE DAY PRAYER FOR UGANDA

...And He has made from one blood, every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings so that they should seek the Lord ...and find Him ...for in Him we live and move and have our being ...Acts 17: 26-28

Thank you Lord for creating Uganda 54 years ago

You know our times and boundaries

From Moroto to Kisoro

From Malaba to Kasese

From Masaka to Moyo

From Kalangala to Kaabong

We pray for the prosperity of this nation

So that we might also prosper (Jer. 29:7)

We decree and declare

That we are a rich nation

That we are corruption free

That we are a God fering Christian Nation

That ours is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

That we are a united people

That we are a chosen people

That we are a blessed Nation (Ps. 33:12)

Our EDUCATION is blessed

Our HEALTH SERVICE is blessed

Our HOMES are blessed

Our FAMILIES are blessed

Our WOMBS are blessed

Our PRESIDENT is blessed

Our MINISTERS are blessed

Our JUDICIARY is blessed

Our PRISON SERVICE is blessed

Our PUBLIC SERVICE is blessed

Our BUSINESSES are blessed

Our CHURCHES are blessed

From the depths of Lake Victoria to the snow capped peaks of the Rwenzoris-

WE ARE BLESSED

From the Prisons of Luzira to the cushioned seats of State house Entebbe

WE ARE BLESSED

From the thick forests of Mabira to the graceful grasslands of Amuru

WE ARE BLESSED

And because we are blessed

We will honour you with our copper from Kasese

We will tithe of our oil from Bunyoro

We will give of our gold from Karamoja

We will bless nations with our iron from Kisoro

We will welcome the stranger and the refugee

We will treasure our Gorillas and our long horned cattle

We will protect the Nile and the Kyoga

We shall grumble No more

We shall moan no more

WE SHALL DO OUR PART

We shall stand in the gap

We shall re-build the walls of hope

We shall take care of the orphan and the widow

We shall plant more trees

We shall help the needy

We shall stand for righteousness

We shall stand for justice

We shall stand for fairness

WE shall stand for peace

And we will see the goodness of the Lord

In our lifetime

WE will see our nation prosper

In our life time

And even if it doesn’t happen in our lifetime

Your word O Lord remains true

We shall now bow to despair, hopelessness of faithlessness

YOU REMAIN our God

You speak your word to fulfil it

And we shall praise you

WE praise you with the Larakaraka

WE praise you with the Runyege

WE praise you with the Amagunju

We praise you with the Ekitaguriro

WE shout and praise you with our calabashes

With our Ngalabi

Our tube fiddles

Our thumb pianos

Our xylophones

Our everything

WE shall stamp our feet like the Bakiga

WE shall shake our heads like the Acholi

WE shall swing our waists like the Baganda

WE shall twists our hips like the Basoga

And shout out with our Vuvuzelas

Your you are our God

The God of UGANDA

The Apple of your eye

The pearl of Africa

Nay

The Pearl of the World

Oh Uganda

May God Uphold thee

Amen

D.R.Ruhweza

October 9, 2016

The Free Prisoner

The Free Prisoner

March 6, 2017

My Church is currently teaching a series entitled PREGNANT WITH DESTINY that centered on the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis Chapter 37. The teaching is quite phenomenal and I recommend you to follow it here. Often times, I have been reminded of many things or my eyes have been opened to other realities which I seek to share in this blog.

The first point that came to my attention was the fact that although Joseph had been imprisoned, he continued to look out for the affairs of others. See Genesis 40:7 So he (Joseph) asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “why do you look so sad today?”  Joseph was concerned that some prisoners were sad!! This was quite interesting for me. How can one who was unjustly treated, thrown in the pit, sold as a slave, imprisoned, etc be the same slave (for he never lost that status) who cares that those who have hitherto had it easy (Chief Butler and Chief Baker) are feeling under the weather in the prison?

Ideally, one would think that some people are not allowed to be sad when compared to those like Joseph. Our sense of justice generally would assume that such butlers and cup bearers who have had the easy way of life should style up and we need not care about their feelings. It would be justified for someone like Joseph to move around with a sad face but not them. More surprisingly, Joseph was not sad in spite of his circumstances – being a slave and a prisoner at that. Instead Joseph cared for others. He cared about others. He remained a FREE MAN in spite of his circumstances. This means that whereas he might have physically been in prison, he never stopped hoping that he would physically leave one day. It is for this reason that we see him asking the Chief Butler to remember him. Verse 14 but remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon,”

We get a glance into the mindset of Joseph. In spite of his circumstances, including his ‘‘promotion’’ as glorified slave, Joseph never lost focus of who he was. Being in charge of fellow prisoners was never Joseph’s final purpose. He remained focused on the prize – his calling as a son of God. He might not have seen how he would get out of the mess, but he kept the faith. He never forgot that God had called him to be ruler. He never forgot his relationship with God. That is why he refused to sleep with Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39:9). How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? In Genesis 42:9, the Scripture also states he remembered the dreams he had dreamed about his brothers bowing to him.

So Joseph knew who he was and never lost focus. He might have been a slave and a prisoner physically, but he remained a free man, a favorite son of Jacob his father. His dreams possibly never stopped including scenes of his multi-coloured court, racing with the goats and lambs in his father’s compound, reciting his dreams (dreaming big) etc. Similarly, Sadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who were glorified slaves in Babylon, also refused to bow to the golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3).  We too need to always keep focus. We shouldn’t let the challenges and perks that come along life’s way, temporarily distract us from the bigger picture.

The above therefore begs the question – what is my version of prison and what is my attitude towards it?

In case one is in a bad or abusive marriage, one ought to have the right attitude and not settle for less. One should always dream for a marriage made perfect in Christ. The marriage might be a prison but the attitude of the prisoner to the prison should be one of hope for the better – a perfect marriage. Don’t settle for the few kisses that a physically abusive husband remembers to give you when he has a ‘momentary lapse’ of regret.

In the workplace, in the country, in our physical bodies, in our businesses, whatever our momentary prison is, it should not determine who we are. We remain free people – free in the mind to dream and think and plan and believe that in due season we shall reap a harvest if we do not faint. 

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Niwe Oha?**

Niwe Oha?**

By D.R. Ruhweza

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Niwe oha?**

Are you the disappearing face of my Isenkati*??

Whose bloodied eyes and slaughtered I no longer envision?

Are you the stern bespectacled face of the she-Justice casting ‘fire and brimstone’ at  the terrified defilement suspect in the accused box?

Maybe you are this money they gave me when they butchered my father and boiled him in a huge pot?

Tell me Justice, Niwe oha?**

Are you the small still voice that tells me to forgive?

Or the hard ball of air in my throat which appears when i see the General who burnt my village drive past in a 4WD?

Are you the artificial arm that I look at now or the young man I see at my feet who brings me joy in spite of the fact that he was forced in to me by countless men?

Ah –

Maybe you are the sense of victory (or is it vengeance) when the man who swindled the money for now deceased AIDS riddled cousin is sent off to jail?

Niwe oha? **

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**  Runyakitara for ‘Who are you?’’

*  Runyakitara for ‘Paternal Aunt’’