If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face . . . I will heal their land. – 2 Chronicles 7:14
Bridgetown, our capital city, will never be the same again after the night of prayers with which the Christian church bombarded heaven on Thursday, November 21. This initiative comes at a time when across this country, in virtually every nook and cranny, there is a heaviness of heart because of the perils that are besetting us as people.
The past three or four months have seen a spirit of violence, bloodshed, murder, suicide and untimely death taking over this country. Many people have confessed that they have refused to listen to the news or read the daily newspapers because the headlines have almost always been of drive-by shootings, women’s throats being slashed, sexual promiscuity, youth deviance or further economic downturn.
It seems as though a spirit of negativity has been unleashed over this nation. Our country, for the most part, is a Christian nation. About 97 per cent of our population claim the Christian faith. Thank God we are still free to worship in our society and sing praises to Him. Unlike some countries around the world, there is no persecution of Christians because of their faith. It is my sincere prayer that this will remain a feature of our land.
At the political level, our leaders float around in a vacuum of indecision and uncertainty as they seemingly do not have a clue as to what they should do to improve our economic fortunes.
Regionally, many of our neighbours seem to be enjoying a greater level of prosperity. Some of their economies are bouncing back. In one very small sister country, the government gave the civil servants a bonus at a time when Barbados, once seen as the jewel of the Caribbean, is believed to be borrowing money to pay public servants’ salaries.
While the Attorney General would want us to believe that in spite of a spike in the level of crime, there is no sense of dread in walking about, there is definitely an atmosphere of doubt and uncertainty.
It is against this backdrop that the call for a National Day Of Prayer should be seen and the organizers lauded for the initiative. Above all, the glory belongs to God. In 2 Chronicles 7: Verse 14, God makes a promise to King Solomon to heal the land.
Baptist Minister Brian Bell, in a sermon entitled How To Pray For A Nation, advances the proposition that: “God’s people, following God’s plan, receive God’s promises.” Put differently, when we do what God says, we will enjoy His promises. We are blessed when we do things God’s way (sermoncentral.com).
The indictment in this often quoted Scripture is not against the wider citizenry, it is indeed against “those people which are called by God’s name”. The question therefore is: what is God saying to the Christians in our land? God is certainly setting out conditions under which He will bless and heal our land.
The first and perhaps most critical of these is humility. We are to “humble ourselves, seek His face and pray” but further, we are to turn from our wicked ways and it is then that God will hear from heaven and heal our land. In Proverbs 14:34 we are admonished that “righteousness exalteth a nation but sin is a reproach to any people”.
As Christians, have we fallen short in our righteousness? Isn’t God calling us, like He did the people of Israel, back to obedience of His statues? In Verse 19 we read: “If ye turn away and forsake my statutes and my commandments . . . and serve other Gods, and worship them . . . will I make it to become a proverb and a byword among all nations.”
Are we at risk of becoming “a proverb” or a “byword” by other nations? The reassurance perhaps lies in the words of our National Anthem: “The Lord has been the people’s guide/ For past three hundred years/ With Him still on the people’s side/ We have no doubts or fears.”
Clearly, hardships will come; we will have our lion’s den and fiery furnace experiences but God’s promise is: “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee . . . For I am the Lord thy God . . . thy Saviour!” Isaiah 43:2-3.
• Matthew Farley is a secondary school principal, chairman of the National Forum on Education and a social commentator.
