By Joseph Ametepe
Righteous and Reliable Father, to You alone be all praise and honor. We thank You for blessing us with “life and breath and all things” (Acts 17:25) in the new month of July 2022. Indeed, with glad and grateful hearts, we bless You for doing all that You intended to do in our lives in June 2022. In this month of July 2022, we join the prophet Jeremiah to exalt You above all. “There is none like You, O LORD; You are great, and great is Your name in might. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations, there is none like You” (Jeremiah 10:6; NASB).
There is none like You, O LORD
Truly, there is none like You, O LORD among the gods! You, the King of the nations, are in a distinguished class all by Yourself. And yet, You are so gracious and so good to us! We thank You for Your encouraging words to us through Your prophet Jeremiah. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11; ESV). Righteous Father, how kind of You to form plans for us long ago for July 2022. We rejoice and thank You that You will carry out Your plans for us without fail in the new month of July 2022!
Father, Your plans are better than our plans
Indeed, Father, Your plans for us are far better than our plans for ourselves. This is because You are the all-knowing God who knows what is good for us. You also have absolute power to carry out Your plans for us. In fact, Lord, Your word says of You: "Whatever word I speak will be performed, declares the Lord GOD" (Ezekiel 12:28b; NASB). Moreover, Lord, You always have our best interest at heart. Indeed, it’s Your delight to set Your eyes on us for good and to do us good in July 2022.
You...will visit us
Therefore, we are confident and certain that, You, the great and mighty God, who is great in counsel and mighty in deed, (Jeremiah 32:18-19) will visit us and fulfill Your good word to us (Jeremiah 29:10) in July 2022. By faith in Christ we declare: “Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You” (Jeremiah 32:17).
Nothing is too difficult for You
Because nothing is too difficult for You, the great and mighty God, with cheerful and consecrated hearts, we dedicate July 2022 to You. Please fulfill Your good word to our friends, families, fellow-believers and ourselves in July 2022. Also, please Holy Father, accomplish Your divine purposes for the nation of Israel, Your inheritance and Your Church, Your redeemed people. In addition, carry out Your plans for Your world – made up of all the nations and lands You have created under the heavens!
We desperately need You
Indeed, Lord of lords, we desperately need You in such a time as this! We, who believe in Your Son Jesus Christ, need Your revival, restoration, renewal, and refreshment. Therefore, we earnestly cry out to You. “Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?” (Psalm 85:6). “Restore us, O God of our salvation” (Psalm 85:4a). “Restore us to You, O LORD, that we may be restored” (Lamentation 5:21a; NASB). “Renew our days as of old” (Lamentation 5:21b). As we repent of our waywardness, may times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord (see Acts 3:19) to us.
The devil knows that his time is short
Of a truth, the adversary of Your people, the devil, “knows that his time is short” (Revelation 12:12). As such, he is working relentlessly doing what he does best – deceiving the whole world (see Revelation 12:9b). Therefore, Loving God, enable us by Your Spirit to strive together with other believers in our prayers to God for those who are in the frontline of gospel service (see Romans 15:30).
Empower us by the Holy Spirit
Also, empower us by the Holy Spirit, to stand firm, not only in the truth, but also “stand firm in the faith” (1 Corinthians 16:13). Speak the truth in love (see Ephesians 4:25) in these challenging times. “Speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen” (John 3:11). Serve one another through love (see Galatians 5:13b). Seek the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (see Colossians 3:1). Set our mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth (see Colossians 3:2). Share Jesus Christ and spread His good news with a fresh sense of urgency.
Thank You Father
Thank You Father that You desire “all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Furthermore, the Word assures us of this comforting truth. “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9; NASB).
You, Lord desire all men to be saved
Because You, Lord, desire all men to be saved and for all to come to repentance, we are confident that, our labor of sharing Christ and spreading His good news in such a time as this will not be in vain! We know that as we share Christ and spread His good news with people, as many as has been appointed to eternal life will believe (see Acts 13:48) and be saved. “Lord of the harvest” (Matthew 9:38), thank You that through our Spirit empowered sharing of Christ and spreading of His gospel, You will add to the church, those who are being saved (see Acts 2:47b).
You are great and do wondrous things
Indeed, Holy Father, “You are great and do wondrous things; You alone are God” (Psalm 86:10). In the light of Your greatness and ability to do wonders, we humbly ask You to have compassion on our world full of turmoil and trouble. Please Lord, bring relief to believers who are being persecuted in the nations. Bring the Russian – Ukraine war and other wars to an end according to Your own promise: “He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth” (Psalm 46:9a).
We earnestly seek Your special and supernatural intervention
Furthermore, we earnestly seek Your special and supernatural intervention in the global economy. Father, without Your miraculous intervention, inflation will continue to soar. And as a result, life will be tougher and tougher, if not totally unbearable, even for Your believing children! Therefore Lord, we look to You for help. Indeed, our help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth (see Psalm 121:2).
If we ask anything according to His will He hears us
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15; ESV). O Righteous Father, we stand on Your promise. We thank You now that we have the requests that we have asked of You. And it is in Jesus’ name we pray! Amen!