EDITORIAL: God helps those who help themselves

As a nation, and indeed as individuals, we should place God at the centre of our lives and our national affairs. This is no contradiction in a secular state. Across most of our major religious traditions there is a shared belief in a higher power to whom we turn in times of difficulty.

But prayer - like the national gathering planned for this Saturday - cannot become a substitute for action. The Bible puts it plainly in James 2:26: “faith without works is dead”. In other words, reliance on God and personal responsibility are not mutually exclusive. They complement each other.

The same principle extends beyond Christianity. The Qur'an, in Surah Ar-Ra'd 13:11, teaches that God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.

That is an important message for Namibia as we confront the disturbing levels of violent crime, gender-based violence, and road accidents.

God is able and mighty. But He has also given us intelligence, imagination and the capacity to reason, organise and act.

So when we gather on Saturday to pray, we should arrive there with a plan. We should be able to say this is what we, as a people, are doing to confront these problems.

We cannot pray for fewer road deaths while continuing to drive recklessly. Prayer should strengthen our resolve to answer these questions, not relieve us of the responsibility to do so.

There is also a danger in repeatedly asking God to solve problems that are, to a large extent, of our own making. We must meet God halfway.

Let Saturday's prayer therefore be the beginning of a national commitment to action - backed by measurable interventions, clear responsibilities and accountability.

We should pray, certainly. But after we say “Amen”, we must get to work. For faith without works is dead.