ANC dedication of SA to ancestors sparks major national prayer initiative

Consultation on dedication of E.Cape to Jesus at weekend

 The African National Congress’s dedication of South Africa to ancestors at its centenary celebrations in January has provoked Christian groups in South Africa to undertake an intensive, systematic campaign to dedicate the nation to the Lord Jesus Christ by the end of 2012.

 While many Christians initially prayed against the ANC’s ancestral dedication move, God has since led Christian leaders to embark on a proactive — rather than reactive — national prayer initiative that will have binding spiritual force, say the joint campaign organisers, SA Prayer Movement for Change and the Institute for Christian Leadership Development.

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The dedication of South Africa to Jesus “should be seen as an official spiritual business transaction” that delivers the nation to God for His Kingdom purposes, say the organisers in a background document that explains the scriptural basis of the prayer intitative. They say that dedication of the nation to Christ will facilitate evangelism, fast track answers to prayers, increase the possibilities of righteous and ethical political leaders and generally provide the spiritual infrastructure necessary for transformation.

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In the lead-up to the proposed dedication of South Africa to Jesus at the Union Buildings, Pretoria, on December 2, Christians in all nine provinces will dedicate their regions to Jesus. In an interview today, an Eastern Cape spokesperson for the initiative, Laurette Mkati, said Eastern Cape and Christian and community leaders had been invited to a provincial consultation in Bhisho on Friday, in preparation for the provincial dedication on June 9. She said Kwazulu Natal, which was dedicated to Jesus last Saturday (April 21), was the first region to complete the regional process.

Mkati said that the Eastern Cape consultation would serve to inform people about the provincial campaign and would facilitate a “spiritual mapping process” that would inter alia identify specific areas of repentance, and exactly what would be dedicated to the Lord.

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She said that in 2005, when Nosimo Balindela was Premier of the Eastern Cape “we dedicated the province to the Lord”. But while it had been good, the 2005 dedication never had the buy-in of all groups.

“It was a good first step towards what we are doing now,” she said.

She said that at every level the initiative organisers wanted to promote maximum inclusivity.

 “Our aim is to gather the Church together.”

 After the provincial dedications every effort would be made to get every city and town and village to conduct localised prayer dedication campaigns.