A Prayer for our Haitian Brothers and Sisters

For Loving Haiti’s recent board meeting, I (Mark Bell) had asked Caroline Yonker (Vice-President) to lead us in a devotion. Inspired by Psalm 67, she chose to write a “Prayer for our Haitian Brothers and Sisters” and read it to us. It was one of the most beautiful prayers I had heard and very relevant to Haiti’s current condition of unrest! So I asked her if I could share it with our Loving Haiti friends and she said “Yes”, so I am.

Psalm 67

God be merciful to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
² That Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.

³ Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
⁴ Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth. Selah

⁵ Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
⁶ Then the earth shall yield her increase;
God, our own God, shall bless us.
⁷ God shall bless us,
And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

 

Our Lord and our God we come to You with our hearts and minds set on our Haitian brothers and sisters, and we ask on their behalf that You would –

Be merciful to them, oh God.  You are the source of all that is good.  Pour out Your unmerited kindness on them, and actively intervene to meet their every need.  They are in need, oh God, of many things they are powerless to do for themselves, needs that only You can meet. Intervene in the hearts of those who govern, in the hearts of those You have intended to give aid, in the hearts of all Haitians in any position of authority, President Moise especially, that they would be Your vessels of mercy.  Be merciful, Father.  Thank You that You are the source of all mercies.

Bless them, oh God.  Blessed are You, Lord God. You give such good gifts to Your children.  Bring down Your divine abundance. Bring the rains in season, Lord, enrich the earth and may the land yield its increase by Your Hand.  Bless the crops that grow, supply the Haitian people with the sustenance they need. Continue to use Loving Haiti to deliver material blessing.  We thank You for Many Hands for Haiti, Haiti Home of Hope, Project Hope and every other organization acting as Your hands and feet in Pignon, and may You increase their ability to deliver material blessing. But moreover, Father, shower them with an abundant outpouring of Your Spirit.  Bless them spiritually, oh God.  Draw Pastor and Madame, Aldinn, Madame Nicole, Janet, Son, Jerry, Ketty, Benz, Joseph, Pido, Darling …. the many names and faces before us … the children, the congregants, the teachers, the townspeople … all those who have put their trust in you … draw them ever closer to yourself.  Grant them Your gift of faith to trust You, and fill them with Your shalom in the midst of anxiety, fear and unknowing.  Bless them with Your wisdom, Your knowledge and understanding to inform every decision, and may they fully realize the blessing of the exceedingly great power available to those who believe.

Thank you that You do shine your face on them, oh God, that You have exceedingly great love for every child, woman and man.  May they turn and meet Your gaze, Father, and know that You are their Adonai Roi, the Lord who sees them, that You are their Immanuel, the God who is with them.  May they experience Your Presence and know that they know that they know that You will never leave or forsake them.

May they, in turn, shine like a light on a hill.  May Philadelphia Baptist Church shine like a beacon in Pignon, that You would be known and renowned throughout the town and surrounding region.  Be known, oh God, throughout the country, that the word of Your salvation, the message of the gospel, be heard throughout the nation.  May the citizens of Haiti come to know You as Lord.  May they be transformed into Your likeness, be acquainted with Your ways and seek Your will.  Transform the government, Oh God. Do such a transformative work in Haiti that all would say, “Only God could have done this”.  Cause the nation to be glad and sing for joy for the righteous judgment and governance only You can bring about.

May our friends and brethren praise You, Father.  May they confess You, give thanks and glorify You for who You are and for the goodness of Your presence in their lives.   Each of us here can ‘see’ our brothers and sisters and ‘hear’ them singing.  Let Your praises pour out through the doors of Philadelphia Baptist Church and into the streets of Pignon.  You alone are worthy of our praise.  You are worthy of praise from every Haitian; may all the peoples praise You.

Our sight is limited, God, but we walk led by our faith in You and not by what we see. We stand in faith with our brothers and sisters in Pignon, trusting in all the unseen things You are doing, knowing that Your desires for the nation are good. We ask that by Your mercy, through Your blessing and because of Your Presence, all the ends of the earth would come to glorify You and look upon You with awe and reverence because only You are able to accomplish what we ask.

Glory to You, Lord.  Thanks be to You.  Amen.