Let us hear the written Word of God as recorded in Psalm 66:1-20,
“Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: 2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. 3 Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. 4 All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah. 5 Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. 6 He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him. 7 He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.”
This is the Word of the LORD. Thanks be to Almighty God.
PERSECUTED? PRAY
We pray, O God, that You will prepare born-again Believers, globally, for the increase persecution which is up ahead. Even here in Jamaica, cause, O God, that we will pray like we have never prayed before and while we’ll continue to pray for this nation of Jamaica, that we’ll pray for the world, because we recognize that the gospel of the Kingdom of God must be preached as a witness to all nations before the end comes.
Yes, we know increasingly it is becoming more and more difficult after the laws that have been passed in the United States of America re same-sex marriage, and we know the temptation will always be there for countries in the Caribbean and elsewhere to follow suit.
Even here in Jamaica, when we listen to disclosures, the expressions, and pronouncements of a number of persons, especially those who are emissaries of Satan, are pressuring the politicians, pressuring other key stakeholders to follow the footsteps of Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, etc. But we thank You, Almighty God, that not only will You mute those voices, but Father, You will give our leaders the backbone to stand; and where they fail to stand, to resist the overtures, even the threats and punitive actions at times that might be taken against Jamaica, that You will replace them, remove them and replace them with righteous men and women of God who are prepared to say “No” to ungodliness, “No” to evil.
TROUBLE ALL OVER THE WORLD BUT…
And so, Father, we pray that You will visit all the nations of the world, especially in Europe, as they continue to go through one of their most challenging seasons yet. We pray for those who are in harm’s way, those who have no electricity, no fuel to heat, to keep them warm. Have mercy, O God. No food, no food to eat or to give their children; have mercy.
Parts of Africa, we are also mindful of that which is taking place there. Hallelujah. We see the unrest in Peru, for example, have mercy, also. Many have died and are being killed, so we pray, O God, in Your mercy and love, that in all the various areas of turmoil that You will dispatch angels to monitor the situation, and where the poor, the fatherless, and the widow cry out to You, we pray O God, that You will come to their rescue. Go to their rescue, in Jesus’ name.
And so, Father, we thank You that as a people, as we cry out to You, despite the darkness, the decay, the decadence, despite the many ways in which the enemy may appear to be winning, we thank You that once we cry out to You, we have the assurance of victory. We thank You that we, here in Jamaica, the people of God, we are not fighting for victory, but we are fighting in victory, in Jesus’ name.
GOD CANNOT FAIL
And so, we thank You, O God, that the volcano of prayer is erupting once more, and we thank You, Father, that more and more of our people, instead of being distracted by the festivities of the end of the year, that we’ll become focused…hallelujah… focused with determination on prayer, fasting, and worship of the true and living God, recognizing that if we put our hope and our trust in You, then You, O God, cannot fail and will not fail, in Jesus’ name.
And so we thank You, Lord, for Your provision for those who are hungry, those who are thirsty, those who are dispossessed, those who are disenfranchised, those who are ostracized, those who are sick, broken, beaten, abused, left for dead.
We thank You that, as You did in the parable of the good Samaritan, that even now You are pulling up alongside people all over: people who are giving up, people who are in darkness, people who are hungry, people who are empty, people who are lonely. We thank You that You are showing up. You are showing up like the good Samaritan. You are mollifying wounds; You are providing means of escape. You are also carrying those who can no longer carry themselves. You are also speaking words of encouragement, words of healing.
THE REFRESHING
We thank You for the refreshing that is now coming upon this nation of Jamaica, and as we cry out to You, O God, we thank You that the best is yet to come. And even as we close out this year, despite the difficulties, the trials, and the tribulations, the darkness, the gloom, and doom, we thank You that the best is yet to come. “For greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world,” for God is greater.
And so we rejoice in the fact that the grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of the almighty God, the Word of the mighty God remaineth or stands forever.
And so, Father, we continue to look to You, the Author and Finisher of our faith. We shout, “Jamaica for Jesus Christ of Nazareth! Freedom Come! Rescue the perishing! Refreshing the remnant!” And as the people of this nation cry out to You, as our children, our families cry out to You, as born-again Believers in Christ cry out to You, we thank You, O God, that You will respond decisively and shift things decisively in favour of the remnant, so that this nation will not go under but over in victory.
We rejoice in that which You have done, are doing, and will do, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, so that Jamaica shall become the righteous place for righteous choices, to lead righteous lives, to raise righteous families, and to do righteous business, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. So let it be. So shall it be. And so it is.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah to the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the people of this entire world. Yeah, the sins of the people of Jamaica, in Jesus’ name. So let it be. Hallelujah. To God be the glory. Hallelujah.
Editor’s Note: This prayer was done in December 2022
