From: Office of the Prime Minister TT Remarks for Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar at the launch of a national week of prayer, Sunday 26 January 2014 My fellow citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, today is a very special day … because it represents the start of a week of prayer for the benefit of each of us, and our blessed country. It is important because it is a recognition of the value of prayer as an essential component of our daily lives. At a personal level, prayer has always been important to me and you have heard me say over and over again that success depends on putting God in front and walking behind. Today I urge every woman, man and child in our country to commit to daily prayers for this week… and beyond. Pray in whatever way you know; God as our parent knows us and accepts our prayers when we do it with love and sincerity. When you pray from your heart, God listens. I urge you to never forget the power you have within you – love, prayer and forgiveness. These human elements coming together collectively would signal that we as a people want to change the course of our lives and the way we do things. Our country is going through a difficult period caused by greed, lawlessness, a lack of respect for our elders, the abuse of our children and a focus on materialism above everything else. These are symptoms of ungodliness. And so, today I ask you to reflect on where this is taking us … and to make a commitment to make prayer a part of your daily family life. Not just for this week but for everyday. If we as a nation make that commitment we would suddenly see the effect of prayer on our society. God, our Creator, has endowed us with great potential strength and ability. Prayer helps us tap into those abilities and allow us to develop these powers. Prayer is the most potent instrument of action that is available to each of us. There is no cost attached to it – just a genuine effort to make a change in how we conduct our lives. I have heard many people say, “I do not know how to pray”. There is no rule about what is right other than to be sincere in our communication with God. We must believe that God does hear us, and will answer our prayers no matter what language we use. Speak to God in whatever form you conceive God to be. Speak to God in whatever language you know. Speak to God wherever you are. And speak to God every day. And when you pray, be generous and pray for everyone. Ask God to make everyone happy; ask for the poor to have food, the children to have clothes and for everyone to have shelter. Pray for the sick to regain good health … pray for all of us to love one another and live in harmony. Pray for our children to be protected wherever they are. Pray for those who are sad to be happy again, and pray for those who have lost their way see the light of good. Pray for the weak to find strength… prayer for all beings to be enlightened and pray for peace to prevail in all our hearts If we want our nation to stand on its feet, then we must be prepared to get down on our knees before God. That is the strength of prayer. Today’s demonstration of belief in the supremacy of God over our lives, over our nation and over our future fills me with profound joy. I am deeply delighted to welcome you all this evening, to join hands, to bond with each other by sharing your respective religious beliefs and our prayers, as we bow before God in worship and appreciation for our blessings. Our nation-state is a microcosm of our world … in this small country that we call home reside people who are descended from many ancient cultures and traditions. The fact that we can gather here for this auspicious event is a tribute to the human spirit and the goodwill that we share in our own diverse beliefs in prayer and thanksgiving. It is an appropriate for us to give praise and thanks for the abundant blessings that God has showered on us as a nation. We must never take that for granted because what we enjoy today can be taken away from us when we banish God from our lives and choose the path of ungodliness. I know that during difficult times we may question our faith. That’s a common human weakness. But those are the times, my friends, when you need God most … those are the times to turn to prayer so that God will carry you instead of walking beside you. Today, we are seeing a decline in values but large sections of our society. That is why we have dedicated this week to prayer so that you would seize the opportunity to embrace prayer as an integral part of your daily lives. My sisters and brother, we are blessed with everything to make us a great nation. But there can be no great nation without great people, no great accomplishment without great purpose and no greatness at all without great humility. And the greatest form of humility is to bow before God. Let us pass these values to our children so we sow the seeds of that will enrich their lives and ensure the development of our society for generations to come. For us to achieve this, we need your help; you must get involved. You must pray for: • a reduction in crime • for families to live in harmony • for the protection of our environment • for all our national leaders • for harmony in our diversity • and for the spiritual revival of all of us Let us join hands in this; let us pray together, work together, aspire together and achieve together as a nation. Let us continue to build a society free from crime and violence, one in which we value our freedom and take pride in the liberty that our successive leaders have guaranteed for the good of our country. Let us thank God for all that we have. And let us pray together so that our country would enjoy peace and prosperity; let us pray so that God’s healing hand would touch us all. May God Bless you all, May God Bless Trinidad and Tobago. I thank you.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 23:37:07 +0000
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