An urgent call is going out from Trinity 'City of Praise and the Commonwealth and Global Prayer Grott to all intercessors in the Body of Christ. It's time to pray! God's army of prayer warriors must unite together to pray for the nation of Haiti and for our nation.

In April of this year, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide sanctioned Voodoo as an official religion in Haiti. This means that the Voodoo Priests' in that country can legally perform ceremonies from baptisms to marriages. They can also establish their own churches, schools and hospitals. Voodooism is the idol worship of other gods and spirits and involves black magic and witchcraft. This religion is practiced by approximately 90 per cent of the Haitian population. There is a common saying that Haiti is 70 per cent Catholics, 30 per cent Protestants and 100 per cent Voodoo. The religion evolved from West African beliefs and was further developed by Caribbean slaves who incorporated elements of Catholicism. In fact it is common for voodooism and Catholicism to be practiced side by side in Haiti.

This bold stand taken by the Haitian President calls for action by the believers in the Body of Christ. It calls for us to fight against what is obviously a plan of the enemy to control the inhabitants of that nation and to take it as its own. We must therefore engage in militant intercession against the principalities of darkness ruling over that country.

Haitian Christian leaders, along with their congregations have joined forces to take a stand against this frontal attack of the enemy. They have voiced their opposition via radio and television broadcasts and have sent a petition to the government officials. Because of their boldness and courage, they have been targeted for attacks. There have been reports of christians in Haiti being the victims of brutal beatings and gunshots because of their beliefs and the stand they have taken against voodooism. Many of them are being persecuted for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

The Bahamian and the Haitian believers must unite, for there is strength in unity. The Body of Christ in The Bahamas must therefore show support for our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ, not only in prayer but also in our words, actions and attitudes. There is also a shared concern that the Haitians in Nassau and Miami will establish their churches, now practicing Voodooism more openly and to a larger degree. This cannot be allowed to happen! As warriors and watchmen of the city, we must protect our borders through spiritual warfare. We must unite our efforts with the christian Haitians whose earnest prayers are that their homeland will become a true christian nation.

An urgent call therefore has gone out to all intercessors. It is indeed time to pray!

We must stand in the gap for the nation of Haiti. A time of fasting and prayer has been called that has begun today, August 14 and will continue through Saturday, August 16 2003. Corporate prayer times will be held twice a day, at 6:00 am and 7:00 pm at Trinity 'City of Praise' located tip top of the hill on Chapel Drive, off Harrold Road. We must come against the ruling governmental order and structure within that nation, that is, President Aristide and the forces behind his government. We must pray against the renewal of Haiti's commitment to the practices and beliefs of voodooism as an official religion. We must decree and declare salvation, deliverance, restoration and a new Godly governmental order within the nation. We must pray that Haiti will be a Christian nation.

We are also praying for the resolution of the case of the missing boys in Freeport, Grand Bahama. We are praying that there will be no more abduction of our boys and girls. The final prayer focus are for the injured and the families of those involved in the boating accident as well as for the protection of our seas. For the remaining of the year, let us remain diligent in prayer for our nation and the nation of Haiti until we see the transformation. We can not just sit back and let the enemy have his way. We must fight!

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Eph. 6:12) And we know that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds." (2 Chron. 10:4) My fellow prayer warriors, "Let us war a good warfare !"

Caption: The Commonwealth and Global Prayer Grotto. The Bahamas' first 24-hour prayer center. A prayer ministry of Trinity city of Praise', located on the top of the Hill on Chapel Drive off Harrold Road.

Posted Thursday 14 August, 2003