Prayer delivered by AFRC Chairman Major Johnny Paul Koroma at the funeral of 21 persons killed during ECOMOG shelling of the port. Delivered Thursday 4 September 1997.
Fellow Citizens, let us pray. O God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob. God of those that fear your name, we beseech you this afternoon, we ask you dear Lord, that even as I declare seven days of national mourning.
I re-dedicate this nation and submit it to you, that you will have your own decision and will over us. We know God that there is no king or president who appoints himself. There is no one who is born president. You alone appoint and you alone remove.
Glory be to your holy name. Lord we submit ourselves to you, believing and trusting that we are in transit. Naked we came, and naked we will go back.
Blessed be your holy name. There is nothing we will take back with us. These our people, our brothers and sisters who passed away didn't ever know this was their time. They were no more sinful than we are. Glory be to your holy name Lord.
For we do not know our day, but we ask of you these things; because you loved the world so much that you gave your only begotten son that whomsoever believeth in you should not perish, but shall have everlasting life.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high, shall abide under the shadow of the almighty. And we shall say unto the Lord, you are our refuge and our fortress. The God in him and whom we trust.
Father we thank you, Father we bless you. Father we ask you to look kindly upon this nation. Look at your people. They are destroyed. They are in deep distress. They are deprived; but with you near us with your angels guarding us Lord, yes we have lost, but we know you will sustain us, and you will give us.
We seek peace, dear God. Yes, the peace that cometh from you, not the peace of the world. But the peace that passeth all understanding, the peace of God.
O dear Lord Jesus our Lord, I re-dedicate this week as a praise and worship week. I know we are at war against the devil, but the devil can never win. The devil was defeated at Calvary. Calvary brought us peace, that is the peace we shall enjoy in this nation.
Father we thank you.
Father we bless you.
I dedicate the government that our Lord, you may dwell with the secretaries and under-secretaries of state that they may know that they are not there because of their own power and strength, nor because they are clever men and intelligent men and women, but because you have asked us to do your will unto your people.
We are messengers, Lord. You are king and ruler of this nation.
Father we surrender. Whatever we have, we surrender and I ask you that as you have brought me up here at such a time like this, when other men better could have been here, but you have brought me Lord, in order to proclaim your name as our God. Father I thank you. I thank you God.
(Pause for one minute to remember the souls of the departed.)
Heavenly Father, Father, I want to promise before your people. I want to promise before this nation that, your name I will continue to proclaim. That your name we shall hold high, that we shall never surrender to injustice. We will uplift the name of Jesus as Lord. I know O God that these things did not begin today.Even in this dark moment of our nation, Lord, I ask this nation to join me to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and to proclaim you Heavenly Father as the ruler of this nation.
We shall overcome.
We shall overcome in the name of Jesus.
Amen.