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CALLING FOR DIVINE INTERVENTION
In their New Year messages, most of the leaders of the Caribbean, including our own President Granger have asked for prayers to stem crime, especially murder and curb some of the other ills in society. 
Guyana is a spiritual nation comprised of Christians, Hindus and Muslims, many of whom believe prayers are the answers to many of the country’s problems in 2018. Prayer is simply defined as an act of beseeching a higher power to solve problems when everything else seems to fail.
Prayers are offered almost every day in churches, mandirs and about five times daily in mosques and in homes. However, some say the call for divine intervention, particularly by the Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica to solve crime is an admission, unconscious or otherwise, that they are bereft of ideas to deal with the crime situation in their countries where the murder rate has exploded in the New Year. For example, in Jamaica, more than 60 persons have been murdered in the first two weeks of the New Year. In Trinidad, it is about 35.
While some are outraged at the idea that prayers have caused us to be docile or pliant; others, mostly Christians, believe that prayers could motivate us to solve our problems, which are man-made.In the New Year, it is possible for us to become kinder and gentler people, respect the sanctity of life and the life-style choice of others, even though they conflict with societal norms.
We need the blessings and guidance of the Almighty to heal the nation’s wounds and solve our problems. We must pray for our transgressions and do not let iniquity become an integral part of our lives.
We must pray for an end to injustice against the poor and the recognition of the rights of others. We must not remain silent when their rights are being violated by others, including public officials.
It is wrong for us to condone injustice and call for the hanging of prisoners while at the same time asking for the blood of Christ to cleanse us from our sins. If we believe in the Bible which Christians deemed to be the word of God then we should obey the scriptures, particularly the Ten Commandments which say: “Thou shalt not kill, and Thou shalt love thy neighbours as thyself.”
We must challenge ourselves to adopt virtuous practices and pray for a just society in the new year. It is an injustice to keep prisoners on remand for a long time and to have an over-crowded prison in which they are forced to sleep on cold concrete floors as they wait for trial. How could we pray and ask for forgiveness, when a large segment of the population are poor and are surviving on pittances while the rich has plenty to spare. It shows that we are an uncaring and unjust society.
We tend to invoke the scriptures to justify that prayers are the only solution to our problems while we support all sorts of injustices against our brothers and sisters. If we expect our prayers to be answered, our needs met or to receive blessings from the Almighty, we cannot pick the scriptures that suit our circumstances, quote them out of context and ignore the rest.
We need prayers to help our ailing economy, reduce unemployment among youths who see crime as the only alternative to their problems. If we as a society continue our depraved and wicked actions, how in God’s name can we expect to be blessed or our prayers answered?
Many, including some religious leaders treat religion as if it can be consumed in furtherance of their causes. We must pray for our less fortunate in society and our leaders so that they can govern the nation righteously and solve the problems in the country.
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