Pray for Puerto Rico

Sing O Barren Woman (Your Blessings are Coming)

There's a strange story in the Bible. One that never made sense to me until I went through it. It's the story of Hannah and Peninnah. Hannah was fruitful and had 5 children, but Peninnah was barren. What's perplexing about this story is the Bible verse that reads, "Sing o barren woman, you who never bore a child for many are the children of the barren woman."

When we were preparing the "Pray for Puerto Rico" message, the Holy Spirit led us to this scripture about the afflicted, but it's the first part of the verse that is confusing. You see, it states to sing. But how can you sing when people have gone through great suffering. Just like Peninnah who was without children while Hannah laughed at her - How can the barren woman be told to sing? And be happy? It's because of God's mercy that's coming.

You see, when Peninnah was barren, it wasn't that God had closed her womb to make her suffer. He was setting the stage so that when she did bear a child and dedicated it to God, it would open her womb and she would then have several children after that.

The Plight of the Puerto Rican People

When you look at the plight of the Puerto Ricans and how they have struggled, a lot of people didn't know about corrupt government practices or how they were making below minimum wage and many were living in poverty, but that's where God can come in and shine a light to expose corruption. How do we know that corruption exists?

• When the news media detailed how much of the donated goods were left in rat-infested shipping containers, this helped address how the island didn't provide the aid the people needed. It was also a time when the Holy Spirit was speaking to us because we kept hearing every day "Pray for Puerto Rico" because there was so much going on that wasn't being shown in the news.
• We started receiving prayers to pray for Puerto Rico from the Holy Spirit and confirming messages would come in showing proof that the people weren't receiving their aid which we detailed in our prophetic prayer book Pray It By Ear.
• When people started posting on Facebook how instead of receiving relief aid to rebuild, they only received tarps and $200 loans, it exposed how the money wasn't being GIVEN to those with the greatest needs.
• When millions of dollars sat for months in a fund so the government could decide whether to give the money to the people or to use it for new parks, this exposed another problem where no sense of urgency was used to help those in need.

   

Thankfully, news reporters all over the world have been reporting on these activities and asking "Where is the money?" and why the people haven't received the aid they so desperately need. While some areas (in tourist locations), have been able to rebuild, there still exists a large population of people that have been overlooked. How do we know?

Little girl watching light come on as power is finally fully restored to the island. Image: PG Publishing

God is Shining a Light on Puerto Rico

The power was finally restored to 100% of the island as of August 16, 2018, almost one year after Hurricane Maria hit. The news reported that people are still without roofs because there are tarps clearly visible overhead. There are 2,436 Puerto Ricans who have been displaced and are in temporary shelters all throughout the U.S. FEMA is set to decide whether to extend or end their aid on August 31st.

We pray for the least of these and we pray for the sick and elderly. We pray for those displaced and those still trying to manage with barely enough to go on. When praying over how to send aid to those in need, the Holy Spirit said, "They will steal it right away from them", because the dire situation in some parts of Puerto Rico still exists. If you're unsure about this, turn to David Begnaud's Facebook page and read post after post from those still suffering.

God is shining a light on Puerto Rico for the better. It will come and Puerto Rico will be restored. Keep praying and praising God for what He's about to do to restore the island, make the people of Puerto Rico debt-free, and help the people of Puerto Rico to be respected. Just like Peninnah was able to give birth - - despite being ridiculed by Hannah - - because God heard Peninnah's prayers, we know God will help Puerto Rico not just stand, but stand stronger than ever before.