30 October 2012

Rooted in MORE of Jesus ~ by Vicky Bentley


God loves Uganda – let me say He loves ALL of Africa…and He showed Himself so powerfully during our recent visit from Anne Graham Lotz and her team from AnGeL Ministries.  

Uganda celebrated its Jubilee on October 9, 2012; 50 years of independence, yes, for 50 years God has enabled them to stand as a sovereign nation. President Museveni prayed this prayer for Uganda:

Father God in heaven, today we stand here as Ugandans, to thank you for Uganda. We are proud that we are Ugandans and Africans. We thank you for all your goodness to us. 

I stand here today to close the evil past and especially in the last 50 years of our national leadership history and at the threshold of a new dispensation in the life of this nation. I stand here on my own behalf and on behalf of my predecessors to repent. We ask for your forgiveness.  

We confess these sins, which have greatly hampered our national cohesion and delayed our political, social and economic transformation. 

We confess sins of idolatry and witchcraft which are rampant in our land. We confess sins of shedding innocent blood, sins of political hypocrisy, dishonesty, intrigue and betrayal.  

Forgive us of sins of pride, tribalism and sectarianism; sins of laziness, indifference and irresponsibility; sins of corruption and bribery that have eroded our national resources; sins of sexual immorality, drunkenness and debauchery; sins of unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred and revenge; sins of injustice, oppression and exploitation; sins of rebellion, insubordination, strife and conflict.  

These sins and many others have characterized our past leadership, especially the last 50 years of our history. Lord forgive us and give us a new beginning. Give us a heart to love you, to fear you and to seek you. Take away from us all the above sins. 

We pray for national unity. Unite us as Ugandans and eliminate all forms of conflict, sectarianism and tribalism. Help us to see that we are all your children, children of the same Father. Help us to love and respect one another and to appreciate unity in diversity. 
National Prayers with President Museveni, October 2012
We pray for prosperity and transformation. Deliver us from ignorance, poverty and disease. As leaders, give us wisdom to help lead our people into political, social and economic transformation. 

We want to dedicate this nation to you so that you will be our God and guide. We want Uganda to be known as a nation that fears God and as a nation whose foundations are firmly rooted in righteousness and justice to fulfill what the Bible says in Psalm 33:12: Blessed is the nation, whose God is the Lord. A people you have chosen as your own.  

I renounce all the evil foundations and covenants that were laid in idolatry and witchcraft. I renounce all the satanic influence on this nation. And I hereby covenant Uganda to you, to walk in your ways and experience all your blessings forever. 

I pray for all these in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Many of you know that Wes and I met the president personally during our outreaches to Northern Uganda. Reading this account stirred our hearts and we are praying he has turned himself to a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  

One week after this prayer was offered; Anne Graham Lotz and her team opened Rooted in More of Jesus in Gulu at the Acholi Inn. Christians, both leaders and lay people, came from all over the northern half of the country. FRM also hosted over 60 brothers and sisters from South Sudan.  
Rachael Ruth Wright, Anne Graham Lotz & Vicki Bentley
in front of the FRMA plane at the Gulu airport
People arrived at the venue by 2:00am, traveling all night because they were determined to hear every Word that proceeded from the mouth of God’s servant. The excitement of the participants filled the air like an electric charge! The Holy Spirit was moving and immediately the enemy began trying to rob us of all God sent Anne to give us; but he was routed and slunk back in defeat  - as chaplain Peter Akech would say, “Jesus beat Satan properly! 

Anne came with a vision to ROOT the believers in MORE of Jesus by teaching them how to read, study, and teach the scriptures using an inductive Bible study method. It was so simple and so powerful! And I believe it was a direct answer to President Museveni’s prayer! 

Wes was standing on the veranda when the first interactive session of the workshop began. Anne asked, “Alright, who can share with me a fact from this first verse?” Sabina Anyango, one of our Literacy Trainers for Rabuna Fi, was first to raise her hand, stand to her feet and answer with confidence in the Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit! Gifti Mura, the Project Administrator for Rabuna Fi and my longtime friend, told me, “It looked like Wes wanted to jump with his happiness!” The next question was answered by one of our Calvary Chapel Nimule Youth members…and it just got better and better as the day went on.
 
From the Acholi Inn, the team visited Sanctuary of Grace Christian Academy, where Rachael Ruth Wright showed 100 teachers and children's ministry workers how to use the same methods to disciple children! We left Gulu and went on to minister in Kampala. I would love to share more but I think it’s better if you hear it first hand from the AnGeL Ministries team: please click here http://www.annegrahamlotz.com/news/prayer-praise/rooted-more-jesusuganda/ 

God’s Word boldly promises He answers our cry for healing, hope, and help when we humble ourselves and pray (2 Chronicles 7:14). I can’t help but wonder if God, in His Omniscience, held Anne back from visiting Uganda until October 2012, to answer President Museveni’s prayer? I guess we will know for sure when we get to heaven – but as for all of us at FRM/FRMA we choose to praise Him TODAYknowing we saw the seeds of revival take root! 

Please pray for us as we distribute the follow up materials. The first group to start was at Calvary Chapel Kampala and many others are registered. Pray each church in Uganda and South Sudan will be reached…

3 comments:

SashaStepanov said...

Praise God!

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing how the Rooted in More of Jesus events went, Vicky! We will continue to pray for the follow-up.

Unknown said...

Praise the Lord for a great report of all He has done through the Rooted in More of Jesus events! Thank you for sharing, Vicky. We will pray for the follow-up.