Last Thursday, about an hour before tropical storm Emilie was to make landfall in Haiti, I felt led to publish a public prayer on behalf of Haiti’s people. So I did. (Here is the post.)

Written public prayer on this column are not a normal practice for me, nor an easy one. I thought, “What if the storm hits and people die? Won’t my little prayer look ridiculous? Won’t I be giving God a bad reputation rather than a good one?” But I took the chance.

Thursday passed with a quick workday and family activities. Friday morning, I looked up the news report for Haiti and read:

Businesses reopened Friday in the Haitian capital after the threat of heavy rain and potential flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Emily failed to materialize.

“Everyone has gone back to work,” said Yvetot Gouin from Port-au-Prince. “I was just downtown and everything seemed normal.”

The dry day was a relief to hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in temporary quarters in the aftermath of the country’s devastating 2010 earthquake.

…The storm degenerated as it hit the mountains of Hispaniola Thursday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said. All storm warnings were canceled as a result.”

Not sure what you would call it, but I’m going to call this one an answered prayer. You might even call it a miracle.

After all, we’re talking about the same God who parted the sea so Moses and his people could walk across on dry land. The same God who walked out of a tomb after being dead for three days. The same God who lives in those who believe in him today.

This is a small matter for him, though a huge praise from me.

Thank you, God!

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
   and he brought them out of their distress.
He stilled the storm to a whisper;
   the waves of the seawere hushed. –Psalm 107:28-29

+++

DILLON BURROUGHS is an author, activist, and co-founder of Activist Faith. Dillon served in Haiti following the epic 2010 earthquake and has investigated modern slavery in the US and internationally. His books include Undefending Christianity, Not in My Town (with Charles J. Powell), and Thirst No More (October). Discover more at ActivistFaith.org.

More from Beliefnet and our partners
Close Ad