Let us pray
Father, as we cry out to you in this time of prayer, as Jamaica prays, we repent of wicked leaders, ungodly leaders, evil leaders, corrupt leaders, unprofessional leaders, selfish leaders, leaders who are indifferent and apathetic to the needs and the cries of the citizens of this nation. Oh, we pray, oh God, for intervention re our children.
Too many of our children are dying. We look at the Coopers Pen situation. How many of the children from that community were not able to return to school because their homes were demolished, and all that the parents owned physically were demolished in a matter of minutes.
Bulldozers came upon them unannounced and dismantled their homes. A number of them are still living under tents. They have lost their furniture. They have lost their clothes. They have lost their money. They have lost critical essential items.
Some of them are irreplaceable. Among them, are memories. They have lost, in some instances, their sense of well-being. And we have a government that is promising that they will be doing something for them by December.
Lord God, have mercy. We cry out to you, oh God, in the context where the police continues to go around with impunity to shoot and to kill, in a number of instances under the guise that they came under fire. And their best way of responding is to discharge their firearms. And at the end of it, people are dead, including women. Lord God, have mercy.
Have mercy on a nation where the cost of living has skyrocketed. So many are going to bed without proper food. Many are not able to go to the supermarket. They now have to be going to the wholesale. And even at the wholesale, they are still not able to afford what is there. They have to now be going to corner shops to buy two slices of bread, a squeeze of toothpaste, and a little bit of oil in a plastic bag.
They cannot afford even to buy a hand of banana; green banana, let alone ripe banana. They can’t afford to buy yam. They can’t afford to buy Irish potato, even rice.
They have to be buying a little bit of rice here and there. Flour is going out of their reach. Basic items, even patties are now out of the reach of many.
Lord God, we are a nation in absolute crisis. Abject poverty is facing many. Oh, people are struggling to pay their water bill where they have water.
Think it not strange that the large majority of the island of Jamaica is under water prohibition. Many are without water, and yet they are still receiving bills. They are struggling to pay their electricity bills. They are struggling to pay their mortgage. They are struggling to take care of their day-to-day essentials. This is the nation in which we are living, a nation where our population size continues to shrink.
We notice the number of schools that have been closed and are merged because of the decrease in the population of different communities. Lord God, have mercy. This nation clearly is under judgement.
We see the continued carnage on the roads. Many people who are dying as a result of motor vehicle accidents. We are a nation in crisis, and we have a minister of health walking around, doing vox pop, talking about self-pleasure.
Have mercy on this nation of Jamaica. We pray, oh God, that as you continue to move across this island of Jamaica, the righteous will recognise that it is time to pray. No wonder in Isaiah 32, the women are called out.
Rise up, ye women of Jamaica that are at ease. Rise up, ye women of Jamaica who are at ease. Rise up, ye women.
Amen
