Simply Thoughts: My Prayer for Haiti: A Prayer of Confession & Repentance

My Prayer for Haiti: A Prayer of Confession & Repentance

My Prayer for Haiti: A Prayer of Confession & Repentance

I know I promised you guys a part 3 to "Bboys BGirls & BBall" but due to recent events I'll have to get that out to you in a few days. This is happening right now and this must come first.

BACKGROUND STORY

Currently, my church is engaged in a 21 Day Daniel Fast. This fast started at 6am on January 1st and will end at 6am on January 22nd. Each year, when we do the Daniel Fast, we follow along in a curriculum with our small groups. This year, the curriculum is called "Fresh Encounter: Seeking God Together For Revival In The Land" by Henry Blackaby & Claude King.

When I tell you that this book is RIGHT ON TIME, I still don't think I'm fully doing its content any justice. It lays a foundation for the patterns of revival so that we can get a glimpse into how God works.

THE PATTERN:
Phase 1 - God is on a mission to redeem a lost world. God calls His people into a relationship with Himself, and He accomplishes His work through them.
Phase 2 - God's people tend to depart from Him, turning to substitutes for His presence, purposes, and ways.
Phase 3 - God disciplines His people out of His love for them.
Phase 4 - God's people cry out to Him for help.
Phase 5 - God calls His people to repent and return to Him or perish.
Phase 6 - God revives His repentant people by restoring them to a right relationship with Himself.
Phase 7 - God exalts His Son Jesus in His people and draws the lost to saving faith in Him.

It takes us through the Welsh Revival that took place in Wales and the New England revival or Great Awakening of the 1740s.

Anyway, as I studied this book and the patterns in the Bible of God's revival regarding the children of Israel, of course my mind turned to thinking about my own life, family, church, city, and country. What stage are we in? Have we turned away from God? Have we departed from Him? Is He calling us to a place of repentance and if we don't, will we also perish?

Are the many ENORMOUS natural disasters that have been happening lately a result of sin? Are we or these other nations being punished?

Out of this study I prayed heavily that my church be revived. That Atlanta be revived. That the United States enter TANGIBLE revival (where crime goes down, people return stolen goods, police are bored because there's nothing to do, where homelessness decreases because we share all we have, where THOUSANDS get saved by the day, etc...).

Little did I know, that the main revival God was seeking...was in me. Hence my prayer for Haiti and my confession this morning (straight from my journal).

THE PRAYER:
Father, good morning. Thank you for Your Word today. Thank you for Your Word all this week King. You are amazing and awesome. There is no one like You. You are great and powerful. You are just and right in all you do. You are amazing and loving. You love for us is greater than anything we could ever imagine. Your love for the world is also greater than anything we could ever imagine. You do things that are above our understanding. When this happens Lord, help us to trust You and represent You properly. Help us to speak the right words and to place your wrath appropriately.

Father forgive me for any way in which I have misrepresented You at this time of disaster. For anytime I assumed this was about them and not me. I can see how you have been preparing me throughout the whole Daniel Fast to have the right heart and desire to serve. A desire to sacrifice, to deny myself, and to think more about others. Lord, well, something really different has been sparked in me. May it go all the way. All the way Father. Please.

Thank you for showing me what it really feels like to give {towards Haiti}, with a heart that is cheerful about it. With a heart that is truly broken by what caused this need. Father, to give when I didn't prepare for it, but just responded to the call. The revival is NOT for everyone else...but for me.

Lord, I pray for Haiti. Please show up in real way. I believe a lot of that {You showing up} comes from Your people going there and helping, and rebuilding and caring for people. I pray that Your children respond in the droves and that Your love is truly felt. That we go with the right heart and not with a heart that says "you deserved this".

Father, I'm hearing stories about singing and worshiping in the streets. What a response! How would have we responded? Come into hearts King. May people have a greater revelation of You. Father, may some look back at this "disaster" as one of the best things that could have ever happened, as out of it, they met The Living God.

Reunite children with their families. Lord, please restore the lines of communication. Reconcile broken relationships. Allow those who want it, to gain US citizenship if they've been trying to do so or desire to now. Protect those that are still buried beneath the rubble. Keep the singing going. May we show up better than we did for Katrina, better than we did for the Indonesia Tsunami...may this be a revival for us all. May this spark in us an overwhelming sense of love that we didn't know we had.

Thank you. May I think properly about you Lord. Properly about Your ways. May I fear you properly and fear no man. May I always remember that You are God and I am not and that Your ways are always right and good.

In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Confession: I have NEVER responded so promptly or in such an overwhelming manner to any natural disaster effecting another country as I have with this one. God is truly changing me from the inside out and I am being revived. Could it be that this whole thing was about repositioning people/Christians around the world to be conduits of His love & not about their sin? Who knows. God is so big that I think it would be improper to assume anything, either way, about WHY this happened. Our proper response now, is to just show out like His word says we should.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1) You can text "YELE" to 501501 and it will send $5 to the relief effort. This money will be added to your phone bill.
2) You can text "HAITI" to 90999 and a $10 donation will be sent to the Red Cross to help in Haiti.
3) In Atlanta, please see http://www.shoebox4haiti.com/ You can fill a shoebox with some necessary goods and drop it off to be sent to Haiti immediately.
4) Pastor Shaun King, of Atlanta, is organizing efforts if teams what to GO TO HAITI or just help in any way.
5) Destiny Metropolitan Worship Church is organizing a prayer vigil tomorrow for all Haitian Americans that want to get together and pray for their families.
6) Check out World Relief for more ways to help.

If you know of some local efforts please post them here also. I will be sure to send them along.

Thank you.

Posted by M.Celita Lewis at 1/15/2010 8:49 AM