A Prayer of Thanksgiving to Our God of Strength, Hope & Encouragement

March 25, 2020 | 412

Dan Gehris, our Business Manager, wrote this prayer for our 4:12 Prayer Time on Wednesday, March 25

Our most holy, loving God who is right here with us every moment of every day, we praise your name and give you all glory and praise!  Father, thank you for filling our hearts and souls with strength, hope and encouragement at all times through your precious Word.  Especially in these days of uncertainty and unsettled feelings for so many, our hearts long for and deeply appreciate the truth that you alone can give.  Thank you for encouraging us in Isaiah 41:10 to “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Those words of truth bring great comfort to ours hearts.  Thank you for sharing with us in Deuteronomy 31:6 to “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Those words of truth bring great comfort to ours souls.  But you don’t stop there.  Lord, you remind us in Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Jesus, how wonderful is that, to know that you are indeed with us wherever we go.  You are with us on the mountaintops as we experience the joy and happiness life brings our way, and you are with us in the deepest valleys and in the unexpected detours that we must also go through at times.

And how amazing is it to embrace the realization of 2 Timothy 1:7, where you share with us, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” As the Jeremy Camp song goes, “The same power that rose Jesus from the grave, the same power that commands the dead to wake, lives in us, lives in us.  The same power that moves mountains when He speaks, the same power that can calm a raging sea, lives in us, lives in us.  He lives in us, lives in us.”  You have indeed given us a spirit of power and love.  Thank you for being our salvation, that wonderful truth shared in Isaiah 12:2 that says, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”  Jesus, you are our salvation.  Your name is above all names.  You absolutely assure us in Acts 4:12 that, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”  You, Jesus, are our all in all, you are all we need.  You also give us great encouragement and hope through David’s writings in the book of Psalms. Psalm 27:1 shares that, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” And in Psalm 31:24 you again encourage us to, “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!” You give us hope through Psalm 73:26, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Help us to always remember that you are a wise and gracious God, and that you know what is best for us.  May we make a conscious choice to rejoice in you, Lord, no matter what is going on around us.  You are the only One who has the power and the ability to meet our needs.  You are in control of all things and you are watching over the eternity of our lives.  May we filter everything that happens in our lives through the lens of your perspective.  Thank you for giving us a heavenly perspective that gives calm in the midst of chaos and trials.  We know that your light shines bright even in the darkest times, may we know that you are closer than we may think.  It is comforting to know that nothing happens to us that hasn’t first passed through your loving hands.  We are reminded that peace doesn’t mean that we will not have problems, peace does mean that our problems will not have us.  Thank you, Father, for being such an amazing God of strength, hope and encouragement.  In Jesus Name, Amen.