The Poet’s Prayer: A Prayer for Jamaica and Jamaicans, After Hurricane Melissa

By: Minister Denise N. Fyffe

Jamaica, since the storm, we have all felt the ache in our bones and the pull of intercession. We plead “Jesus, cover Jamaica.” I know many of you have done this—peeping through broken shutters, checking on neighbors, sweeping out mud, counting the little that’s left, and still saying, “God, You are good.”

Tonight, I lift a prayer like incense for our island—raw, repentant, full of faith—because the same God who rides upon the storm (Psalm 29:10–11, NKJV) is the God who rebuilds, restores, and resurrects.

Let’s pray.

Prayer for Jamaica After the Storm

Abba Father, Lord of heaven and earth. God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—our Father through Jesus Christ, we come before you. We come trembling yet trusting; weary yet worshipping. We come with salt on our cheeks and praise on our lips. You said, “Call to Me, and I will answer you” (Jeremiah 33:3, NKJV). So we call.

We call for Jamaica—our rock in the Caribbean Sea, our little nation beloved by a great God.

Father, we acknowledge Your sovereignty. The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood, and the Lord sits as King forever (Psalm 29:10). You command the winds and the waves, and they obey You (Mark 4:39). You know every zinc sheet that flew, every board that broke, every mango tree uprooted, every child who cried. You number our hairs (Matthew 10:30), and You have not forgotten us. We confess we are small, but Your mercy is vast. We confess we are shaken, but You are unshakable. Be our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

Lord, we repent. As a people we turn our hearts back to You. Where we have grown cold, forgive us. Where we have neglected the poor and the vulnerable, forgive us. Where we have cut corners, loved money, honored corruption, ignored wisdom, polluted the land, hardened our hearts, or mocked Your name—have mercy on us, O God, according to Your lovingkindness (Psalm 51:1). Your Word says, “If My people… will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear… forgive… and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). We humble ourselves. Heal Jamaica.

God of comfort, walk the lanes tonight. Step into the shelter and the one-room, the scheme and the board house, the hospital and the hilltop. Carry those who mourn; calm those who wake at every gust, who hear phantom winds in the night. Bind up the brokenhearted; give the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:1–3). Let Your peace—Your shalom—sit upon our parishes like a soft rain, in the mighty name of Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

Jehovah Jireh, provide. Open the storehouses of heaven. Let bread multiply and water be sure. Remember the farmers in St. Elizabeth and Clarendon whose fields lies flat; remember the fishermen whose boat is splintered; remember the market vendors whose stocks are spoiled. Send creative strategies, quick relief, fair prices, honest scales. Give us daily bread (Matthew 6:11), and give us grace to share it. Teach us to be like the early church who held all things in common so none lacked (Acts 2:44–45).

Lord, strengthen the hands that rebuild.

Bless the linemen, NWA crews, parish councils, soldiers and police, the nurses and doctors, the drivers and dispatchers, the pastors and volunteers. Keep them from injury; keep them from despair. Let angels encamp round about them (Psalm 34:7). Give them supernatural stamina. Establish the work of their hands (Psalm 90:17). Let power be restored safely and swiftly. Let roads be cleared, bridges secured, pipes mended, classrooms reopened.

Father, we pray for wisdom for our leaders—national, parish, community. Endow them with the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). Let decisions be righteous, transparent, and timely. Frustrate every plan of exploitation. Expose graft and greed. Raise up Nehemiahs who can pray and plan, who will build and guard at the same time (Nehemiah 4:17). Give our nation a long memory—to build stronger, wiser, more just; to plant trees, preserve watersheds, and honor the land You gave us.

Lord Jesus, protect our children. Calm their little hearts. Give them rest at night. Restore routine and joy. Provide schoolbooks, uniforms, meals, and safe commutes. Let classrooms become healing spaces, principals become shepherds, and teachers become oaks of righteousness (Isaiah 61:3). Hedge our youth about with favor as a shield (Psalm 5:12) in the mighty name of Jesus.

Holy Spirit, breathe upon the churches. Make every sanctuary a city of refuge—shelter, kitchen, counseling room, prayer altar. Let pulpits speak truth with tenderness. Let worship rise and trauma lift. Teach us to lament without losing hope, to weep and work, to fast and to feed. Unite pastors and congregations across denominations—one church for one Jamaica. Pour out gifts of mercy, helps, giving, leadership, and administration (Romans 12:6–8; 1 Corinthians 12).

Warrior God, we resist the enemy in the name of Jesus. We renounce the spirit of fear, confusion, and despair (2 Timothy 1:7). We rebuke every opportunistic spirit that would prey on our people—violence, theft, exploitation, hopelessness. We plead the blood of Jesus over every household, neighborhood, and parish. Let the banner over us be love (Song of Solomon 2:4).

Let the song over the island be “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39).

Great Physician, stretch out Your hand to heal. Touch the injured, the elderly, the immunocompromised. Protect against water-borne illness and post-disaster outbreaks. Supply medications, oxygen, dialysis, and stable power for medical facilities. Guide clinicians in wisdom; grant rest between shifts. Renew those who wait on You; let them mount up with wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31) in Jesus name.

Father of lights, we thank You even now. Thank You that though the winds roared, You spared many lives. Thank You for neighbors who became family, for strangers who shared bread, for first responders who never slept, for diaspora who sent barrels and bank transfers. Thank You for the mercies we saw and the mercies we never saw. “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 107:1).

And now, O God, give us the grace of Nehemiah to rebuild—with a trowel in one hand and a trumpet in the other (Nehemiah 4:17–20). Give us the double portion of Job—beauty for ashes, restoration after loss (Job 42:10). Give us the Joseph anointing—wisdom in lean times, systems that preserve life (Genesis 50:20). Give us the faith of the disciples—to call on Jesus and watch Him still the storm (Mark 4:35–41). Make Jamaica a testimony of Your kindness, a lighthouse on a hill, a people who rise singing, “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad” (Psalm 126:3).

We seal this prayer with hope. We declare over Jamaica: The Lord is our shepherd; we shall not want. He makes us lie down in green pastures; He restores our souls. Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow, we will fear no evil, for You are with us (Psalm 23). We declare: No weapon formed against us shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). We declare: They will fight against us, but they shall not prevail, for You are with us to deliver (Jeremiah 1:19) in the mighty name of Jesus.

Now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20), to Jesus Christ be glory in the church and across this nation, now and forevermore. Amen and Amen.

And if this prayer touched your heart, share it with others. You never know who is silently crying out to God, waiting for the reminder that He still sees them and He still provides.

Be blessed and be encouraged in the mighty name of Jesus,

Amen.

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Be encouraged.

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About the writer:
Minister Denise N. Fyffe is a published author of over 50 fiction and non-fiction books. She started Revealing the Christian Life Ministry to help other Christians and provide support. She is also a trainer and mentors aspiring writers towards achieving their goals.