"Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart."
- Mahatma Gandhi
According to the announcements coming out of Nairobi, Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta will today lead the National Prayer Breakfast at Safari Park hotel in Nairobi. He will be accompanied by President of South Sudan, Salver Kiir.
In its 17th year, the annual ecumenical national prayer breakfast which was started in the US has been held in the country since 2003. It is an important event on the Kenyan calendar and provides a platform for political leaders across Africa to meet, reflect and pray for the nation.
At the event today, both President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenyan and his counterpart, President Salver Kiir of South Sudan will deliver keynote addresses.
The theme of this year's event is ‘Dawn of a New Nation.’
Present at the event is Deputy President William Ruto, Chief Justice David Maraga, Amani National Congress party leaders Musalia Mudavadi among others.
The event started with prayers and parliamentarians organizing themselves in a choir to lead songs.
Last year, the breakfast prayer which gathers together leaders, businessmen, and politicians from all walks of life to pray for Kenya, was themed ‘Forgiveness’.
According to The Star, Lord Michael Hastings, a Father and an MP in Westminster, London was the keynote speaker at the prayer meeting.
He set the ball rolling with a powerful summon on the need for people to forgive each other and forget the past.
"The coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, working together is a success," Hastings said, seemingly pointing to the need for President Uhuru Kenyatta and Opposition chief Raila Odinga to ensure their unity pact works.
Hastings made reference to various renowned world leaders who embraced forgiveness and went on to become engraved in history books as the world’s greatest leaders.
Of note was the reference he made to former South African President Nelson Mandela.
"Soon after Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years of incarceration, he bore no bitterness. When he was asked why, he said I realized if I don’t forgive my enemies, I would still be in prison".
"So I said if Rabin and Arafat could shake hands; Mandela and De Clerk could shake hands, what is wrong with Raila Odinga shaking hands with Uhuru Kenyatta?"
He said after the handshake, things started changing in the country. The shilling stabilized, the stock market steadied and generally peace returned in the country.
Raila, albeit jokingly, said the handshake even went international and influenced the meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in.
Header Image Credit: COURTESY