President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has called upon Malawians to remain hopeful and steadfast in prayer despite the distress that the nation is experiencing.

Speaking in Lilongwe on Wednesday when he attended the National Day of Prayer, President Chakwera described the prayers as coming at the right time for Malawians to remember, recast, reflect on the goodness of the Lord and also know that with God everything is possible.

“We are a nation in distress, but this time reminds us that God can do what he has done before. Therefore, we need to repent. Today we are being reminded that there is always a way when we focus,” he said.

Chairperson of the organising committee, Reverend Francis Mkandawire said the prayers were organised to thank God and reflect what he has done for Malawi in the year 2022.

Mkandawire said the country has experienced challenging situations, among them, the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign exchange shortages, and corruption.

However, Mkandawire said despite the challenges, the nation has triumphed in many ways, hence holding the prayers to thank God and also to present petitions.

“As we will be entering the new year of 2023, we have aspirations as a country, we have concerns and petitions that we want to ask God to guide and help us.

“As we have planted our crops, we seek God’s face so that we should have sufficient rains in order for us to have bumper harvest,” said Mkandawire.

The prayers which were organised under the theme “Malawi, be strong and take heart: God is our refugee and fortress” brought together people from different denominations, traditional leaders and political party leaders among others.