Prayer for Kenya

Pastor Wright had been invited to serve as the House's guest chaplain by Rep. Anthony Powell, a Wichita Republican who was also a member of Wright's church. Accordingly, Pastor Wright composed a prayer, read it at the opening of the legislature on January 23 1996, and departed, unaware of the ruckus he had created until his church secretary called him on his car phone to ask him what he had done.

Pastor Wright said afterwards: "I certainly did not mean to be offensive to individuals, but I don't apologize for the truth." His staff stopped counting the telephone calls that came from every state and many foreign countries after the first 6,500. Wright appeared on dozens of radio shows and was the subject of numerous TV and print news reports, and his prayer stirred up controversy all over again when it was read by the chaplain coordinator in the Nebraska legislature the following month. Wright later explained, "I thought I might get a call from an angry congressman or two, but I was talking to God, not them. The whole point was to say that we all have sins that we need to repent – all of us . . . The problem, I guess, is that you're not supposed to get too specific when you're talking about sin."

This is the prayer in Kenyan Concept.

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and
to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to
those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We
have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and
call it Democracy.

We have exploited the poor and called it Charity.

We have rewarded laziness and called it humanitarian efforts.

We have killed our opponents and called it choice.

We have shot protesters and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our followers and called it building
self esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with burning tyres, burning houses and open
wounds and called it freedom of expression.

We have barricaded roads and rail and called it freedom of association.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and
called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every
sin and set us free.

Guide and bless these men and women who have been elected to direct us
to the center of your will and to openly ask guidance in these things
in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen!"