We begin our prayer time in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. + Amen.
“I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.” Martin Luther
‘Adoration’
1 Samuel 2:1-2; “Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.”
I was born, baptized, raised, educated and gainfully employed in the United States of America. This is the month that we, citizens of the U.S.A. celebrate our Independence from a foreign country that once called us their colony. And now centuries later, we American’s, enjoy and hold precious the freedom from the oppression upon the lives of our ancestors. As believers, we celebrate every day that this priceless freedom which was sacrificially given to us through the precious blood of Jesus Christ on the Calvary cross two thousand years ago. And although we celebrated that empty tomb months ago; Christ is RISEN!!! How blessed we are living here and being loved, comforted and blessed by our Triune God.
A time of ‘Adoration’ to our Triune God.
· Please take time to sit quietly and gaze at His creation and feel His presence in your life; guiding, forgiving, protecting and loving.
· Think about the provisions, protection and hope that surround you in these challenging times, because of His unfailing love for you.
· Give thanks for where God has placed you in this land where we have so many freedoms and the gifts that you were given to use for Him along your journey.
· Try to 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’
James 5:16; “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
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’
Sylvie Bertrand, the UNODC regional representative recently said, “It’s time for people in Haiti to live peacefully; for their kids to go back to school, for them to be able to eat every day.” And that means, she says, ensuring that “national authorities are well-trained, well-equipped, and ready to face and curb down the level of violence.” Fourteen years after the earthquake destroyed much in PAP and today, the Haitian gangs have brought chaos into quite a few neighborhoods and once again, much of PAP looks and feels like a ‘war zone’. When you see photos of smiling Haitian children with a bowl of food on their lap, try to imagine the many differences in their July and yours. In July, it is hot here in Normal and I have A/C, ice cubes without frozen bugs staring at me and food; some fresh, some frozen but always plentiful. Our first thank you should always be for having a Savior. Jesus secured a permanent home for us in Heaven. We give thanks for God’s planning and timing here in the U.S.A. and also in Haiti. We give thanks to our Triune God, because we trust in Him and know that one day soon, peace, children back in school and food will return to Haiti in His timing. He has been faithful to generations of His children since the beginning of time.
Psalm 20:4; “May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”
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 52,000 children who received a daily meal form Trinity HOPE this past year.
· We give thanks our providence; monetary, food, clothing, timely moisture, shelter and our freedom from oppressive foreign powers.
· As we give of our first fruits may we also give a portion of our best to His children in Haiti who need and are always thankful for the assistance we can provide because of You.
‘Supplications’
Psalm 139; “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand, when I awake, I am still with you. If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
I read an article recently in the Miami Herald and the author wrote that “It is getting harder to find hope in Haiti these days.” I have also read several articles where the authors wrote about how they were not recognizing our country as being a Christian nation. Too many of our leaders and their followers have turned away from God; the lack of hope in our nation is brought about by the distance we have turned and ran away from our Triune God. As you read in Psalm 139 the writer shares that when we turn and run;” You are there”. Our Triune God remains there with us; with Haiti. Be still and wait. He is with us. Lord, we seek your wisdom and deliverance from these challenges that bring harm to the freedom and peace of Your children.
Heavenly Father, we bring our supplications before You;
· Heavenly Father, please continue to lead and bless Trinity HOPE with Your loving hand; may our donor base grow this summer.
· Lord of the Harvest, please bless the efforts of the Haitian farmers, may their gardens and homes be protected from storms this summer and provide abundant crops.
· Heavenly Father, please protect Haiti from tropical storms this summer. Place Your mighty arms around Your children to protect them from the elements.
· Lord, may you direct, protect and watch over the Christian children and their families as satan would desire to harm them through violent actions by hopeless gangs. Please change their evil ways to repentant hearts.
· Father, bless Your children here in our nation. May we turn to You and draw others closer to Jesus during the many challenges we are facing.
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.”
“I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.” Martin Luther
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