ALMIGHTY GOD, CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, WE COME BEFORE YOU AS A NATION HUMBLED BY THE STORM THAT HAS PASSED THROUGH OUR LAND. LORD, YOU SAW THE WINDS THAT TORE DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES, YOU SAW THE FLOODS THAT COVERED OUR COMMUNITIES, AND YOU SAW THE HOMES—THE PLACES OF SAFETY, MEMORY, AND FAMILY—THAT WERE LOST OR DAMAGED. TODAY, WE RAISE JAMAICA BEFORE YOU, EVERY PARISH, EVERY DISTRICT, EVERY CITY AND EVERY CORNER OF THIS BEAUTIFUL ISLAND.
FATHER, YOU KNOW THE PAIN OF THE PEOPLE WHOSE HOUSES WERE BLOWN DOWN, WHOSE ROOFS WERE LIFTED AWAY, AND WHOSE LAND WAS WASHED OUT BY RACING WATERS. YOU HEARD THE CRIES OF FAMILIES HUDDLED IN DARKNESS, WONDERING IF THEIR HOMES WOULD SURVIVE THE NIGHT. YOU SAW THE FEAR IN THE EYES OF CHILDREN AND THE WORRY IN THE HEARTS OF PARENTS WHO WORKED ALL THEIR LIVES TO BUILD A LITTLE CORNER OF SECURITY. LORD, HAVE MERCY ON THEM, AND LET YOUR LOVE GUIDE THEM AS THEY BEGIN AGAIN.
WE LIFT UP OUR REAL ESTATE SECTOR BEFORE YOU—THE BUILDERS, THE CONTRACTORS, THE LAND SURVEYORS, THE REALTORS, THE DEVELOPERS, THE ARCHITECTS, THE ENGINEERS, THE BANKS, THE INSURERS, AND THE EVERYDAY HOMEOWNERS WHO HAVE A DREAM OF A SAFE PLACE TO CALL THEIR OWN. LORD, STRENGTHEN OUR HOUSING MARKET SO IT MAY NOT ONLY REBUILD WHAT WAS LOST, BUT BUILD BACK STRONGER, FAIRER, SAFER, AND MORE RESILIENT FOR EVERY JAMAICAN, WHETHER THEY LIVE HERE OR ABROAD. AND WE LIFT JAMAICA HOMES BEFORE YOU—A PLATFORM BUILT TO HELP JAMAICANS FIND HOPE, FIND INFORMATION, AND FIND A WAY HOME. LET THIS WORK CONTINUE TO SERVE PEOPLE AND GUIDE THEM TOWARD RESTORATION AND REBUILDING.
GOD, WE REMEMBER THE ROOTS OF OUR NATION. WE REMEMBER NANNY OF THE MAROONS, WHO KNEW HOW TO PROTECT HER PEOPLE AND HER LAND. WE REMEMBER SAM SHARPE WHO STOOD FOR FREEDOM, PAUL BOGLE WHO STOOD FOR JUSTICE, MARCUS GARVEY WHO SPOKE OF A PEOPLE DESTINED TO RISE, AND NORMAN MANLEY WHO WORKED TO BUILD A MODERN JAMAICA. LORD, LET THEIR COURAGE, THEIR IMAGINATION, THEIR SENSE OF PURPOSE, AND THEIR BELIEF THAT JAMAICANS CAN OVERCOME ANYTHING LIVE IN US.
FATHER, WE ASK FOR WISDOM FOR OUR LEADERS—EVERY GOVERNMENT MINISTER, EVERY MP, EVERY COUNCILLOR, EVERY COMMUNITY LEADER, EVERY PASTOR, EVERY CIVIL SERVANT, AND EVERY PERSON OF INFLUENCE WHO HAS A ROLE TO PLAY IN THE REBUILDING OF THIS NATION. MAY THEY GOVERN WITH FAIRNESS, EQUITY, COMPASSION, AND ACCOUNTABILITY. MAY THEY BUILD POLICIES THAT PROTECT THE POOR, EMPOWER THE WORKING CLASS, AND MAKE HOUSING ACCESSIBLE AND SAFE FOR ALL. LET THERE BE TRANSPARENCY IN CONTRACTS, INTEGRITY IN DECISION-MAKING, AND A DEEP COMMITMENT TO SERVING PEOPLE ABOVE SELF.
WE PRAY ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO LOST REAL ESTATE—THE HOMES THEY BUILT, THE LAND THEY BOUGHT, THE INVESTMENTS THEY SAVED FOR. LORD, TOUCH THOSE FAMILIES WHOSE HOUSES ARE NOW ROOFLESS, FLOODED, CRACKED, OR SWEPT AWAY. REMIND THEM THAT WHILE A BUILDING MAY FALL, A PEOPLE WHO TRUST YOU CANNOT BE DESTROYED. HELP THEM FIND RESOURCES, COMMUNITY SUPPORT, AND GUIDANCE AS THEY PLAN THEIR NEXT STEPS. LET NO FAMILY FEEL ABANDONED, AND LET EVERYONE FIND A PATHWAY TO REBUILDING.
BLESS OUR FARMERS WHO LOST CROPS AND LAND. BLESS OUR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS WHOSE SHOPS WERE DAMAGED. BLESS OUR TENANTS AND RENTERS WHO NOW HAVE NOWHERE TO STAY. BLESS OUR SENIORS WHO ARE TOO TIRED TO START OVER YET MUST STILL FACE THE JOURNEY OF RECOVERY. AND BLESS THE JAMAICANS IN THE DIASPORA WHO STAND WITH US—THOSE IN THE UK, THE USA, CANADA, CARIBBEAN ISLANDS, EUROPE AND BEYOND—WHO CARRY JAMAICA IN THEIR HEARTS NO MATTER HOW FAR THEY MAY BE.
LORD, WE KNOW OUR COUNTRY HAS STRUGGLES—CRIME, VIOLENCE, CORRUPTION, POVERTY, UNEMPLOYMENT, HOUSING INEQUALITY, AND A REAL ESTATE MARKET THAT CAN BE HARD FOR MANY TO ENTER. BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT YOU ARE A GOD OF TRANSFORMATION. SO WE ASK YOU TO CLEANSE THE LAND, HEAL THE SYSTEMS, AND RAISE UP HONEST LEADERS IN EVERY SPHERE—PUBLIC AND PRIVATE—WHO WILL WORK FOR THE GOOD OF THE NATION.
BLESS OUR CULTURE—OUR MUSIC, OUR FOOD, OUR LANGUAGE, OUR HUMOUR, OUR SPIRIT, OUR RESILIENCE. BLESS THE WAY JAMAICANS CAN TURN PAIN INTO POETRY AND SUFFERING INTO SONG. LET THAT SAME SPIRIT LIFT US NOW IN THIS TIME OF RECOVERY.
AS WE REBUILD, LORD, COVER EVERY MASON, EVERY CARPENTER, EVERY LABOURER, EVERY ELECTRICIAN, EVERY PLUMBER, EVERY ROOFER, EVERY VOLUNTEER, EVERY FAMILY MEMBER WHO PLANS TO FIX EVEN A SINGLE ROOM OR A SINGLE BOARD. MAY OUR BUILDINGS BE STRONGER. MAY OUR FOUNDATIONS BE DEEPER. MAY OUR FUTURE BE SECURE.
WE DECLARE THAT STORMS MAY PASS THROUGH JAMAICA BUT JAMAICA WILL NEVER PASS AWAY. OUR PEOPLE WILL RISE AGAIN. OUR HOMES WILL RISE AGAIN. OUR COMMUNITIES WILL RISE AGAIN.
GOD OF OUR FATHERS, GOD OF OUR CHILDREN, GOD OF OUR FUTURE—COVER THIS BLESSED ISLAND. BLESS OUR LAND, OUR HOMES, OUR LEADERS, OUR COMMUNITIES, AND OUR NATION. LET YOUR HAND REST UPON JAMAICA, NOW AND FOREVERMORE IN JESUS NAME.
AMEN.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS PRAYER IS SHARED BY JAMAICA HOMES AS A GESTURE OF LOVE, UNITY, AND ENCOURAGEMENT FOR OUR NATION. WE OFFER THESE WORDS FROM THE HEART, NOT AS PROFESSIONAL ADVICE OR OFFICIAL GUIDANCE. FOR HOUSING, RECOVERY, OR LEGAL SUPPORT, PLEASE CONNECT WITH THE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS BEST EQUIPPED TO ASSIST YOU.