Why do I choose the life of Nehemiah as a model for my life? Why do I like to share with our South Sudanese community worldwide? As Nehemiah did, I have a dream today that God will free his people from all forms of slavery one day! I pray that God almighty will be glorified and that the Glory of the Lord shall be revealed in our country one day, whether we are in exile or not. I pray that all flesh shall see it together and that our suffering, struggles, and pains will be worth it. This is our hope, which is beginning to come true since we received our independence and became a new nation on July 9, 2011.
What are the main points of the Nehemiah story concerning prayer for his country and people? He asked them to refrain from hatred and violence while pursuing their goals in exile.
Nehemiah wanted to encourage his people to help themselves by recognizing that the people who support them must be motivated; most living in Babylon are hard-working people capable of helping those who exist in poor living conditions. Let us be mindful of our own interests; we can accomplish our goals with our American friends coming to help us.
I learned much from Dr. John Garang De Mabior about selling his ideas to short-sighted people who believe in what they see now but not what will come later. It was not easy for John to succeed with this.
So often our community is quick to love and support new and inspirational goals and projects. This is a good quality of our people! However, later, the enthusiasm starts to fade away because we sometimes don’t support ourselves in pursuing our goals as South Sudanese. Americans believe in leaving behind a legacy to be picked up by their children, caring for their mission, organization, or business for a better tomorrow, and carrying on with their future. We and our Sudanese brothers and sisters would do well to adopt those goals in practice ourselves. We must love the generations that come after us enough to rebuild our country.
The Gospel is the hope that you can be renewed and strengthened by the power of God: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (II Corinthians 5:17 ESV). This is a reminder of the change that God has worked in us through faith in Jesus. This change takes away our guilt and motivates us to live for others, not ourselves.
Prayer for Confession:
O God, we ask for the rebuilding of hope to rise in our community—for peace, restoration, and for our families in the West to prosper, even though we have many challenges. We ask for the motivation, encouragement, passion, and understanding we need to rebuild the infrastructure of our home nation, contributing to the building of your Kingdom in tangible, practical ways. We are thankful you are with us. Amen.