Tropical Storm Hannah: Prayer Of Protection

Tropical Storm Hannah is moving through the Bahamas. She has killed over 90 people in Haiti due to floods and mudslides, in addition to the 75 Haitians killed by Hurricane Gustav.

Haiti, an impoverished nation of 9 million souls, was already on the edge of starvation before these two storms. Most  Haitians live on less than $2 a day and the meteoric rise in the price of oil, along with manipulation of global markets by hedge funds, had already caused food shortages. As in other poor nations, Haitians rioted over skyrocketing food prices in April.

According to Reuters, the humanitarian group ActionAid has said that a major relief effort will now be needed in Haiti. The group’s director, Raphael Yves Pierre, advised that “The whole country is under water and Hanna has devastated crops everywhere.” President Rene Preval called the situation “catastrophic.” 

Please pray for these people in this, hour of their need, and make a donation, however humble, to ActionAid.

In regard to Hannah, she has the potential to strengthen into a Hurricane and head up the East Coast. If she does, she could make landfall anywhere from Florida to the Carolinas.

Meanwhile the National Oceananic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stormtracker map shows two other tropical storms, Ike and Josephine, in the Atlantic and headed west toward the Caribbean. 

It’s clear from all His parables, and from everything He said, that Jesus was telling us this crucial message: We create our reality.

God powers it, but we tell God what to create for us through our thoughts and emotions. That’s what free will – free choice – is all about. Jesus said, after all, that we would be saved or condemned by our words – the affirmations we speak. ["For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." - Matthew 12:37]

Yet most of us live in ignorance of this fact, that we are literal co-creators with God. Yes, once you realize the situation, you realize how very important it is to monitor your self-talk and make sure you are asking for what you want, not focusing on what you don’t want or what you are afraid of. ["Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" - Matthew 6:27]

We have to know the dangers and know our fears to take the necessary action of filling our minds with thoughts of the opposite. Yet, to worry is the anti-thesis of faith.

With this in mind, I prayed for guidance in regard to what scripture would help illuminate the prayer below. With my hand on my heart and my eyes closed, I opened to this Bible passage:

“Tossed to and from, and carried about with every wind of doctrine. . .” - Ephesians 4:14

This confirms for me – in an intuitive and faith-based way – that our own internal storms have a bearing on the world. And so my prayer reflects that.

PRAYER OF PROTECTION FROM TROPICAL STORM HANNAH

Dear God, 

I am willing to admit:

There are a lot of swirling emotions in the world right now.
There is anger about the economy, fear about survival, pain over the war.

You told us that we have the power to uproot trees with our faith.

Help us use our faith to keep them rooted.

Let us focus our angers, our fears, our pain on creating positive change.

Help us turn our vision
From believing that things can only get worse
To believing they can only get better.

You sent Your Son to teach mercy, not vengeance.
You work to bring us joy, not pain.
You do not raise Your hand against us,
But ask us to be willing to be healed.

Oh, Lord, let all negative energy end here.

If there is anything within me contributing to this storm,
I am willing to release it.

I affirm that the people in the Caribbean
And along the East Coast are innocent.
They are intelligent, spiritual beings.

If they or I need some sort of “message”
Or life changing event,
I affirm You give it to us through positive revelation.

For it is not Your will that we suffer.

Lord, there is one power in this Universe, Lord, and it is You.

By Your grace,
You protect the people up and down our coasts.
For You are stronger than any tempest;
More powerful than any anger.

Magnificent and Omnipotent Protector,
Bend us to Your will.
Align our minds with You.

Remove everything that contributes to this disturbance.
In the name of Jesus Christ, You focus our minds on healing.

We clearly see Hannah weakening.
Her winds die down and she moves out to sea.

We picture Ike and Josephine idle in the Atlantic.
We see them grow tired and dissolve.

Thank You for changing our lives through love, Lord,
Not natural disaster.

By Your grace, the news reads:

HANNAH DISSOLVES

EAST COAST SAFE

IKE WEAKENS – NOT A THREAT

JOSEPHINE STALLS
AND DRIFTS OUT TO SEA

Thank You, Lord, for this blessing.

And so it is.
Amen.

“He walketh in the circuit of heaven.” - Job 22:14