We begin our prayer time in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. + Amen.
‘Adoration’
Psalm 84:1-2; “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”
It is amazing how we can and really should be filled with such pleasure in seeing a small vegetable seed send a bright green stem up through the soil and watch it reach for the warmth of the sun and drink of the morning dew and be refreshed with timely rainfall. HE made that happen every single season since the beginning of time. Consider that same unbelievable work that He is accomplishing through each of the Haitian children who have spent the past year learning about His Son, Jesus. It is taking place right before our eyes. HE is in control of that seed, the seasons, the lives of Haitian children and us as well.
A time of ‘Adoration’ to our Heavenly Father.
Please take time to sit quietly and gaze at His creation and feel His presence in your life.
Think about the provisions, protection, hope and love that surround you because of His unfailing love for you.
Grasp the immense work that our Creator is doing in the lives of each Haitian child who attended a Christian school this past year.
‘Confession’
Romans 10:9-10; “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” We were born, sinful and unclean, through no fault of our own, but because of the sins of our parents, grandparents…Adam and Eve.
God sent His only Son to die for our sins. Jesus did everything right while he was here on this earth. He loves you with a love that cannot be measured. He gave to the world when no thanks were returned to Him. He healed when there was no hope, and He died without complaint. Jesus did nothing wrong and everything right; all this for you. He lived for you and died for you. Our sins nailed Him to the cross on Calvary and kept Him there until His life on earth had ended. A time of personal confession. Our sins are placed at the base of the Calvary cross...His cross, and we give thanks that the times we have fallen short in the eyes of our Heavenly Father have been washed clean and we have been forgiven through the Blood of our Risen Savior Jesus Christ.
‘Thanksgiving’
John 13:12-14; “When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”
These verses from John 13 caused me to recall back in the day, decades ago, when John and Carol Hall went to Haiti and met with Pastor Benoit and saw the 42 hungry children at Tarrasse, and John asked “How can I help?” Jesus told the disciples in John 13:14 to go and wash the feet of others. He didn’t say how; which kind of soap, the temperature of the water or thread count of the towel, no, He just go, and ‘do it’.
And now, decades later after John’s question, Trinity/HOPE is feeding Haitian children and we are living in a world where a pandemic has its tight grip over our daily lives and we stop and spend time giving thanks that God has used us as a part of His blessing to the families of over 30,000 Haitian School children with a Trinity/HOPE feeding program since COVID 19 has closed their schools a few months early this year. Trinity/HOPE has made it possible for families of their children to go to their school and receive the food their child would normally have been fed and take that back to their homes. Haitian lives are still receiving God’s gift of food and Hope for tomorrow when the vodou priest gives nothing, but a gloom filled look at today, tomorrow and forever.
Psalm 106:1: “Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
Heavenly Father, we come to You now with hearts, minds and words filled with ‘Thanksgiving’.” We give thanks for our Creator, Redeemer and Holy Spirit.
We give thanks for over 30,000 children who are still being fed during this pandemic for the remainder of the school year.
We give thanks our providence; monetary, food, clothing, timely moisture and shelter.
As we give of our first fruits may we also give a portion of our best to His children in Haiti who need the assistance we can provide because Your abundant blessings continue to pour into our lives.
We give You thanks for Your healing touch on Mark Gudlin and the joy for him being back home with Denise and family.
Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for protecting each of us from this pandemic that has shaken our world.
‘Supplications’
Acts 1:14; “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.”
The Trinity/HOPE Executive Board has been watching how the pandemic is affecting Haiti and is in frequent contact with Feeding Program Directors from around their country, and continues to read news accounts from Haiti. I thought it might be good to share just a short piece from an article written in early May that gives a very good glimpse of what is taking place there. “With just eight official virus fatalities as of May 9, the COVID-19 pandemic is still in its infancy in Haiti, where staying at home and social distancing are unattainable luxuries for many who make their living in the informal economy. In an attempt to stem the spread of the virus the government of Haiti announced that wearing a mask would be compulsory in all public places beginning May 11. Masks aside, for many Haitians the main question remains: Die of hunger today or coronavirus tomorrow?”
Looking at this pandemic from “outside the box” it would seem that our Heavenly Father brought Trinity/HOPE together decades ago to feed as many of His children as was needed for this event in history; to spread the Holy Gospel and message of Salvation to as many lost Haitian souls as possible.
Heavenly Father, we bring our supplications before You;
Almighty Lord; protect and bless Your children and their families, here and there, during this pandemic during the summer months. Lord of the Harvest, please bless the efforts of the Haitian farmers, may their gardens and homes be protected from storms this summer.
Almighty Healer and Shepherd of the flock; comfort, uplift and heal Beckie Rathke as she faces the challenge of cancer. May she never doubt Your presence throughout her daily activities.Heavenly Father, please use this pandemic to draw us closer to You and place our needs in Your BIG Hands, instead of our weak and small hands.
Heavenly Father, please place Feeding Program Director Willy Dieudonne in Your constant care as he battles COVID-19 like symptoms at his home in Cite Soleil, Haiti. Watch over him, his wife and their new baby during these challenging times.
Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a Word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You sent it; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:11-14; “Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints send their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
May God go before you to guide you; may His arms be beneath you to support you, around you to protect you and above you to bless you. And may the blessings of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you always dear sister and brother in Christ,
In His love, Jay Brinkmeyer