Introduction

Today, people in Haiti are facing a crisis seemingly too large for anyone to fix. The whole world feels helpless to do anything about the combination of challenges threatening the lives and welfare of so many who are suffering.

But… fervent and persistent prayer for them is being made to God by the church, and as we know, that makes all the difference in the world.

Can we fix what is happening in Haiti? Certainly not one of us on our own. Even collectively, our financial and physical resources can’t right every wrong.

But God has revealed in scripture that when his people pray, and especially when they join with one another in their praying, he responds by actively changing the circumstances of those to whom we cannot physically go.

We invite you to walk together in a special season of fervent and persistent prayer for the people of Haiti, and we’ve collected together prayers from some of our partners in various fields to guide you a day at a time.

Consider these words from our friend, Hannah…

On a dirt road down a dusty street, as the sun begins to crest over the mountain peaks, a mother walks for water. Two buckets, one in each hand, a baby wrapped around her waist, nearing a stream sought after by the whole village. Tired eyes so full of strength and light, she collects the day’s life source from this mountainside. Two buckets, one on her head, the other’s weight passing between hands, her child wiggling, giggling at the sloshing sound. They trek back home.

 

In a kitchen painted green and white with subway tiles along the sides of the walls, a mother tiptoes to her sink. The sun rises through the trees as she watches from the balcony window above the flow of water filling the mug for her morning tea. Her toddler balancing, grabbing her knees waiting as patiently as a toddler can be for their mama to meet their never ceasing needs. They make their breakfast toast.

 

Two mothers both full of perseverance, strength, and personality living different daily realities. Their skills and experiences are not the same, but love and perseverance still reign in their homes. As our mother at the sink scrolls her phone, she learns of an opportunity to stand in solidarity for this mother in Haiti whom she may never know and she may never meet. She looks down with new gratitude at her sink and she continues to read:

 

According to USAID, the average Haitian walks 6 kilometers a day for clean water. This statistic is from a time when it was safe to travel along the streets. Today, heartbreakingly, there is rarely an opportunity to walk the streets for anything, even water.

 

And you, Help One Now, you heard of this and you struggled for progress, you budgeted, you wrote your checks, and you purchased water filters for the homes of Haitians. But so much more needs to be done in Haiti than just clean water.

 

So we invite you to join us. To allow lament to fill your heart. We invite everyone to take part in a prayer walk. 6 kilometers to pray and think. 3.6 miles to walk and read. A physical act of sorrow and sweat beads. An hour of your day to hope and dream for our friends in Haiti.

 

During the month of November, we will offer this time to one another. Take part once, twice, or even daily. Walk in solidarity. Pray wholeheartedly. Whoever abides in the Lord ought to walk in the way he walked, so upon these rocks and asphalt streets, from neighboring countries, we lift our cry to the Lord.

 

Doing good is simple, and together we build as our hope is rekindled. We know our greatest gift is one another, so we pray for every mother, father, and child. We walk and we fall to our knees. Hear, oh God, our prayers for Haiti. Let peace flood their cities and streets. Meet us in our circle of empowerment. Draw near to us on our walk of lament.

So walk with us, using the prayers that follow, which are not merely inspirational. We believe they will be powerful as God responds to the outcries of his people.

1.
Pastor Jean St. Cyr

Help One Now Local Leader in Haiti

Brothers and sisters from around the world, our country is in the worst shape ever. I’m 68 years old, and I’ve never seen anything like this happen in Haiti. I am asking you to join together with us in prayer. As the people of Israel, having been in captivity for 430 years, thought God had forgotten about them, we are living through a situation that feels close to that.

Please enter into prayer with us and stand with us in this difficult time. We must pray fervently, not lightly, against the evil spirit at work in our country. God is in control. The situation is dark, but it’s not too dark for God to work.

Psalm 46 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So I ask you to pray with me.

Heavenly Father, I call upon you for the country of Haiti. I know you love Haiti because you love all people. We may no longer be called the pearl of the Caribbean, but I ask you at this very moment, God, to stand with us and do something special. Through your explosive power, help people realize that we are serving a living God who is not dead.

We serve a God who can listen to us, and that’s why we come to you for the country of Haiti. Do something special, as you did for the people of Israel. At this very moment, please, God, listen to our prayers. Continue to change our hearts. Help us to remain in a good place so that people can live. It’s like hell now, but I know you can change that in half an hour, in a second, in a split second.

Hear our voice and heal our company. We need you badly because our country is ultimately your country. You know Haiti because you are the creator of everything. We look for your blessing, for your healing, for your deliverance as you used to do for other people. And bless the Help One Now family who stands with us.

Please strengthen people in every nation, for every nation faces its own issues. God, we bless and magnify your name. There is no God besides you. Your love and your power are limitless. You’ve been good to me, and I know you can be good to the country of Haiti.

Use me as I go forward. I don’t know what will happen next, but I know you are with me, and you will show me how we can stand our ground. If we don’t pray, we’ll never know all that you can do. Stand with us and deliver our country from every evil spirit. Cast them out, and let us see light so we can continue to provide for the people of God.

Thank You, Lord. I know you’re good. I know you are an amazing, awesome God. Whatever happens, you are still God, and we will remain in your court where you want us to be. This is where we want to stay. Thank you, Jesus. I love you. I glorify your name. Amen and Amen.

2.
Pastor Jean Alix Paul

Help One Now Local Leader in Haiti

Jesus, we want to give you all the glory because you are worthy to be praised, and we believe in you and in your word. We know that your word is true. And we know, Father, that if you are for us, nothing can come against us.

So we believe you are at work in the suffering that our people in Haiti are enduring right now. You are the only one that is able to do something for us. And that’s why, Father, we come into your presence to ask you for your guidance. We ask you, Father, to lead us. We ask you, Father, to take authority over the situation in Haiti. We ask you, Father, to come and touch the people that are involved in gangs and corruption.

Father, you alone know who the people are who are harming our people in Haiti, and we believe you can and will do something to fix the situation. We ask you to provide food for our people. We know that everything is very expensive, and we don’t know where the resources will come from, but we believe that nothing is impossible for you. You will do whatever is necessary to make sure that our people are able to get food for their families and loved ones.

Father, you will help us to make a way where there is no way so that we can get clean water for our people. We pray for people who are contracting cholera, Father, that you will help them to be healed, and that you will restore them. We ask you, Father, to open a way for us to get some fuel into the country when we are unable to go ourselves.

Please, Father, open the door. And we pray, Father, for the safety of our people, especially in Port-au-Prince. We ask that you will send your angel to come and protect everybody in each community and that you will prove that you are the God who can do anything. Nothing is impossible for you. So we just ask you, Father, to help us. And we depend on you to give us all the strength we need. We depend on you, Father, to do all those things that we ask.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

3.
Will McLeane

Help One Now Church Partner & Pastor at Edenton Street Methodist Church in Raleigh, NC.

Gracious God, we remember how in the days of Israel’s Exodus, you looked upon your people. You heard their cries, you saw their suffering, and you delivered them from their oppression. Look now, God, and see the suffering of your servants in Haiti.

Hear now, oh God, their cries, for their backs break under the yoke of oppression. Their lives are daily in danger because of corruption and the plans of the wicked. Their throats thirst, and their bellies growl for their daily needs.

God of Exodus, God of deliverance, just as you did in the days of Moses, would you confuse the plans of the wicked? Would you turn the hearts of evildoers, by your miraculous grace, toward repentance, so that they would walk in the way that leads to life?

Would you raise up among the Haitians, leaders who will love you, follow you, serve you, and guide your people onto the path of your deliverance?

Would you pour out a double portion of your blessing upon those faithful leaders we know and love?

We pray for Pastor John, Pastor Jean Alix, Rosena, and all of the pastors who are leading your flock.

We pray for those teachers who are faithfully doing the work of raising up a new generation of leaders.

We pray for social workers who are scrambling to meet the daily needs of people in their community.

We pray for mothers and fathers who are nurturing the lives of their children in these days of great oppression and suffering.

And we pray for the young men and women, oh God, who will lead a new generation on the path of your deliverance.

Pour out Your blessing upon those who are already faithfully leading, and call forth new leaders who will carry out the work of your deliverance.

In these days of suffering, God, would you provide manna for your people, as you did for Israel in the long wilderness? We ask you to provide them with daily bread and living water.

Most of all, Lord, reveal to your people in Haiti that the God of Exodus is Emmanuel, God with us. May Christ become real, tangible, and present to your people in this hour of their suffering. May they know that they do not suffer in vain, for they are sharing in the suffering and, thus, the resurrection of life in Christ.

We pray that the work of the Spirit would so move in the lives of the people of Haiti that their hearts would be filled with that resilient joy of Christ that conquers despair, even the resurrection power that generates hope, creativity, and new life even in the face of death. God of the Exodus, Emmanuel, God with us, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, deliver your people of Haiti in their time of great need.

4.
Pastor John Chinyowa

Help One Now Local Leader in Zimbabwe

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. Therefore we will not fear. Though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea. Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble, tremble with its tumult, God is in the midst of the city, it shall not be moved, God will help it when the morning dawns, the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. (Selected from Psalm 46.)

I want to pray for peace amidst this storm. While you are having such a rough time, the whole world suffers with you. But we think particularly of you because of the things you are seeing happen there.

Loving God, our refuge and strength, even the wind and sea, obey your voice. You are the one who put the wind in its place and said to the sea, “Peace, be still.” Fill us with great faith and save us from the surging water so that we may tell the good news of our saving love through Jesus Christ, our hope.

We pray for rescue, recovery, and relief for the people that are working to serve the hurting. God, when the waters rose, you brought Israel safely through the sea. Sustain all those in Haiti who seek to save others so that they may repair the ruined city. Raise up the former devastations and be the restorer of the streets to live in, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In times of trouble like this, God of wind and water, stillness and storm, your spirit sweeps over the surface of the sea. Give us faith to seek you in times of trouble. Reach out your hand to us when we are thinking so that we may believe and worship you, oh God.

This is a time of disaster, we realize, not only in Haiti but the whole world, because of sin. But you are holy. You’re our comfort and strength in timesterms of sudden disaster, crisis, or chaos. Surround us now with your grace and peace through storm or earthquake, fire or flood. By your Spirit, lift up those who have fallen, especially those who are going through this time and who are struggling to cope. Please, Lord, sustain them. Those who work to rescue or those who work to rebuild and fulfill those who are lacking hope. Please give them hope as a new creation. In times of distress like this, some lose their faith.

We pray for our brothers and sisters in Haiti, especially those that lead from the Help One Now camp. We want to pray for each one of them to be renewed and to have strength. Almighty and everlasting God, give strength to those who lack it, even to those who grieve. Let the prayers of your children who are in trouble be heard by you.

Hear our prayer. Lord, we claim your promise of wholeness as we pray for those who are suffering. Make the weak strong, the sick healthy, and the broken whole. Confirm to them how much you love them. To everyone in distress, grant mercy, oh God. Grant relief and refreshment. As we pray, we seek your help. As we begin to rebuild, we seek that our neighbors and friends from other countries come and help.

You are the God of compassion. You watch our ways. Please, Lord, surround those who have been shaken by tragedy so that they might sense your presence. Hold them through their faith. Lord, all around us, the waters are rising, and we feel helpless. But, Lord, we cannot stop trusting in you.

We feel powerless, for the current is strong, and our bodies are tired, but we are anchored in the Lord. The waters are rising. Grant us the strength and help us to know that, downstream, you will offer your help. Grant us your patience, since we don’t know when this will end. Grant us your perspective so that we can understand that you are not punishing us, but that you are showing us something else.

Lord, we want to thank you. Give us eyes. How precious are your gifts. We know that you’ve given us families, friends, and faith. We know that even some of our friends have gone because of this. Please heal our land as we pray for our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

In the name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

5.
Samantha Beach Kiley

Help One Now Church Partner & Pastor at Church on Morgan in Raleigh, NC.

Waymaker,

You show up at dead ends
and astonish us
with seas that split
bread that multiplies
bodies that don’t stay buried
and so we look for You in Haiti.

We do not see a way.

We bang on your door,
with your child, Rosena, and her people, our siblings,
with all who live in fear
in a room with no doors
and we beg You for a way out.
For nothing short of resurrection.

And for those of us who stand outside the room:

as you prepare our hearts now,
would you prepare our feet for the invitation to engage?

Silence the sham of scarcity.
Temper our appetite for scale.
Would we jump at the chance to
help one precious person
towards the door
we trust You are making
even now?

Keep us on our knees
only until You show us where to walk
and then,
would we run, Lord
would we run.

6.
Rosena Joseph

Help One Now Partner in Ferrier, Haiti. Prayer Spoken in Creole, translated into English.

Lord Jesus, our Father in Heaven, we thank you. Thank you for your grace and love. Thank you for the goodness and mercy that you have for us. If it weren’t for you, we would never be able to live a better life. You have mercy for us, and we thank you for that. We lift Haiti up to you, Lord. This country is facing some terrible problems.

Lives are being lost. People are suffering. And children have nothing to eat. Every day, things are becoming more difficult, and people don’t know what to do.

We ask you to be present in Haiti, Lord. Haiti needs you. May peace reign. Speak in the people’s hearts that are working in the government. They need to see the state of the country. Haiti can’t endure this anymore. We want a better way of living. Protests are all around, and people cannot do anything.

Say a word, please, Lord. You said in your word that people who humble themselves before you can be healed.

Please heal our country. We believe that you can change our situation. You see our cries, and you know our problems. Kids can’t even go to school. Please, Lord, don’t leave us alone, we trust you, and we bless your name, in Jesus’ name that we pray, amen!

Conclusion

The Bible, in Acts, chapter eleven, tells the story of Peter being touched by the Spirit of God to go and share the good news about Jesus with Cornelius. Unbeknownst to Peter, Cornelius had already been praying for God to reveal himself. Hundreds of miles apart, God was moving his people to come together.

In the same way, God is always working in places in the world where we cannot go and doing things we are powerless to do on our own.

So don’t stop. Keep walking. Keep praying. Keep investing your time, energy, and resources and trust that God desires to actively respond by working powerfully to relieve the suffering of others, both next door and halfway around the world.

Here is one more prayer to pray, from the Apostle Paul:

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.

 

(2 Corinthians 1:3-7 NLT)