Joan Barrett | A call to national prayer

Dear Prime Minister:

Greetings. May the Lord bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine on you and give you peace, wisdom and strength. “And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” – Book of Esther.

All well-thinking Jamaicans thank and salute you and your team as you take to the trenches and engage this COVID-19 monster with such strength, determination and efficiency.

COVID-19 is 2020’s common enemy and leveller of all the nations and peoples of planet earth. We are all in this fight together. As a member of the Worldwide Church of God, I humbly and boldly say that if you/we do the right things, we will emerge triumphantly; better than we were at the onset, and equipped to make Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business.

As you know, the Church community in Jamaica, land we love, is already practising much of those hygienic and other social habits that you have gone to such length to implore and mandate. All these are ‘right on’ with the commandments God gave His people in the early days.

Other still more important commands include loving and obeying Him and teaching them to our children in perpetuity. The rewards for keeping these commands were health, wealth and prosperity in perpetuity. To neglect them is to perish in perpetuity – Deuteronomy 6.

Mr Prime Minister, aren’t health, wealth and prosperity all that we Jamaicans are living, working and dying for? Are not these what COVID-19 is attacking in Jamaica, and simultaneously attacking our strong and friendly allies? It is no secret that it is time for prayer – individually, collectively, nationally and internationally.

support the call

I note the call made by Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips for the governor general to declare a day for national prayer, and this I urge you to support whole-heartedly.

Prayer is among God’s other admonitions to us. “Men ought always to pray and not faint”; Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer … let your request be made known to God: “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, pray … I will hear from heaven, and will heal their land.”

In times like this, men’s hearts are failing them because of fear (see the rush worldwide on toilet paper). Our intellect, ingenuity, innovativeness, knowledge and access to renewable resources are no match for our challenges. We simply need to go to the Lord for help. Despite the fact that He made us a little lower than the angels, He alone is God – omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, maker of the universe and master of everything. More than that, He loves us beyond our powers to understand, and by virtue of that love, gives us free access to Him and His resources. This ACCESS is called PRAYER.

Through prayer, Jamaicans and all mankind may enter His presence at anytime. A thought from Him and it is done! This master of everything is also our loving Father and strong deliverer. Let’s talk with Him.

He is waiting on us to come to Him so that He may visit us with the healing, health, wealth and prosperity that He has in store for us. Mr Prime Minsiter, I join with the leader of the Opposition and countless Jamaicans to ask you to call Jamaica to a day, maybe a week, of prayer to give God permission to honour His promise and glorify His name, and deliver us from perishing. Let Jamaica pray collectively and fervently to God for deliverance.

Mr Prime Minister, Dr Tufton, Dr Clarke, Dr Bisasor, our health workers, security workers, first responders, suppliers of goods and services, Jamaica thanks you and is praying for you. Take care of yourselves and pray.

Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.