Congratulations to the American people! Barak Obama and hope.

Heartfelt congratulations to the citizens of the United States of America. The election of Barak Obama as the president of the United States of America is a noteworthy event, worthy of celebration. It shows that the American people have within their hearts a desire for a new way, a new way of dealing with their internal affairs, and a new way of dealing with the rest of the world.

This election holds great hope for the world's most powerful nation. Power, favour, and influence come with a great deal of responsibility. My prayer is that Mr Obama will be all that we hope he will be. The pressure to achieve, and to turn around the mess that Mr Bush has left will be immense. However, I would encourage you to pray that God will grant wisdom, courage and strength to Mr Obama and his team - it is possible that God could work through them to bring about both national, and international, transformation. It is possible that justice could be established where previously there has only been strife and abuse. It is possible that wealth could be shared and lives changed. It is possible that the west could reach to the south and bring about global shifts that will deal not only with the interests of the few, but with the real struggles of the many.

Such change will be costly. Politicians are not known for sacrificial leadership - rather, the system of deomocratic (ologarchies) relies upon winning the popular opinion of one's electorate. However, we have seen in South Africa how one person, Mr Nelson Mandela, could be an angent of change, peace, reconcilliation and renewal. I pray the same for the new President of the United States of America.

May that nation and all of her people be blessed! And, may the abundance of the blessing that they experience be used by God to bring greater blessing to the rest of the world.