Dear Editor,

Jamaica’s national anthem is a prayer to Almighty God, and our pledge before God and all mankind. Our forefathers knew that the land was a gift of our benefactor, God Almighty, hence our anthem and pledge.

The prayer calls for justice and truth to be the tenets on which this nation would rely. Great revelation guided them to place a prayer in our statutes that appeals for the intervention of divinity to help us because we would not be able to keep free from evil powers.

In many, if not all, of our prime minister’s messages to Jamaica at the beginning of each new year, he gives thanks to God for what has been accomplished. The prime minister recognizes the need for God’s involvement, and that the results are not solely his Government’s ability to succeed.

In his 2024 new year message, Holness stated that murders were down by about 7.5 per cent – that is approximately 120 lives saved. And serious crimes overall were down 10 per cent, in fact, the total number of reported serious crimes (murder, shooting, rape, robbery, break-in) was the lowest in 20 years.

Now, here we are, at the end of 2024, it is evident from the daily reports in our newspapers that we have exceeded those statistics. We have committed the most heinous crimes against children and adults in broad daylight.

There seems a frenzy to destroy Jamaica, and it is aided by the songs being played in some communities and in public transportation daily. We need to pray for divine intervention for this nation for the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective; hence, we must permeate the airwaves with prayer.

As Jamaica pushes to become a republic in 2025, the Constitutional Reform Committee faces the monumental task of determining exactly what type of nation Jamaica will become. Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte said: “It is our intention to transition Jamaica from a constitutional monarchy to establish the Republic of Jamaica, within the Commonwealth, as a parliamentary republic with a non-executive president.” Let us pray that God will guide our leaders and grant true wisdom, so that justice, truth will be ours forever. Pray the anthem.

I appeal to you, government ministers, Opposition ministers, the private sector organisations, schools, churches, sing the anthem to commence your meetings. Then you would be soliciting God’s wisdom, and he would grant it. For His word said: If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray, I will hear. Do not just play the tune; that is not enough. It is the word spoken that creates. Similarly, we must speak the words of life, appealing to God daily for intervention in all the nation’s undertaking.

Jamaica! Pray again that the eternal father will advance the welfare of the whole human race.

Ouida Williams

gideon300trailblazer@gmail.com