Hello Mi Neighbour | Fasting and prayer produce results

Hello, mi neighbour! Fresh on my mind are the tough crackers my mother once used to break her weekly fasts. In layman’s terms, a fast is a deliberate abstinence from food or certain pleasures for a specified time for the deepening of one’s relationship with the Almighty. This enables the ‘faster’ to become more vulnerable and valuable to humanity.

Of course, one may also fast for the improvement of bad marriages, wayward children, wicked neighbours, and the like. Fasting outcomes are usually positive!

I recall the tough crackers because I’ve just completed a fast, which always reminds me of my mother’s fasting habits. Forgive me, but my association of tough crackers with fasting is deep-rooted, and my mother is to blame – a good blame nonetheless.

Other habits that can be associated with fasting, combined with prayer, include kind-heartedness, forgiveness, and intolerance with gossip and slander, etc. These all characterised my mother and stemmed from the discipline of fasting and prayer. Instead of ‘faasing’ in other people’s affairs, she would include them in her fast as points of prayer. What advice would she give ‘faasmout’ people?

Former entertainer Lieutenant Stitchie, now a gospel minister, has a point of view. Instead of condemning or despising his former dancehall colleagues, he fasts and prays for their transformation. Some things will only change through fasting and prayer. That weapon has far more power than the deadliest on earth, biological or otherwise. Please also research.

Just listen to Stitchie taking his stance:Mi fully saved under the blood inna di church hall.

Can’t forget about mi friends in di dancehall,

Joy and love mi have, and great peace of mind,

And a dis mi want mi dancehall friends dem to find. Mi a go fast and pray, go fast and pray,

Till Christ all a mi friends dem find.

Stitchie a go fast and pray, go fast and pray,

Until di devil get thee behind, me fast and pray, go fast and pray,

Till Christ all a mi friends dem find.

Stitchie a go fast and pray, go fast and pray,

Until di devil get thee behind…

He will may not see the fruit of his fasting and praying immediately, but as he perseveres. As we speak, there are relatives and friends fasting for loved ones who have gone afoul of the law, persons who need jobs, physical healing and protection from evil forces, etc.

What a wonderful world this would be if people would fast and pray about some of those issues that are wreaking havoc in their lives because of their misjudgments. People who fast and pray receive superior wisdom to handle trying and complex issues, with the added pleasure of watching God fight their battles for them.

So, instead of fussing, fighting an avenging your enemies, just fast and pray. Until the matter is resolved, you can be at peace, enjoying life and showing kindness to others, just like my mother did, because you know that Big Maasa taking care of business.Wonder if mother used tough crackers to break her fast because fasting and prayer, for her, could crack life’s toughest problems. Don’t worry, fast and pray – God will make a way!

THANKS TO NEIGHBOURS

- Rema, St Andrew, for contribution.

- Elliot, St Andrew, for contribution.

- John, St Andrew, for contribution .

- Jennifer, St Catherine for offering stove to Beverly, St Catherine.

- Neighbour, St James, offering a refrigerator to a neighbour.

- Miss Morris, Manchester, offering zinc to Camasha, St Elizabeth.

OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP

- Merdella, St Elizabeth, mother of five, badly needs a place to live. Needs second-hand ply to build a room

- Murica Kingston, mother of three, desperately needs a bed.

- Neighbour needs a sewing machine.

- Miss Christie St Catherine, needs a TV .

To help, please call Silton Townsend @ 334-8165 or 884-3866, or deposit to acct # 351 044 276, NCB. Alternatively, send donations to HELLO NEIGHBOUR c/o 53 Half-Way -Tree Road, Kingston 10. Paypal/credit card: email: zicron22@yahoo.com. Contact E-Mail: helloneighbour@yahoo.com. Visit hellomineighbourja.blogspot.com Mr Townsend exclusively manages the collections and distributions mentioned in this column and is neither an employee nor agent of The Gleaner.