By Joseph Ametepe
Loving and Living God, many will be celebrating “love” in February 2022. Unlike “the love” the world will be celebrating in February 2022, You are the true embodiment of love. A love that is selfless, sacrificial, special and seeks Your very best for those You love. The Bible faithfully attests that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16). It also firmly asserts that “God so loved us” (1 John 4:11). It further affirms that: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16; NASB).
You are the Loving God
Yes, indeed! You are the Loving God, whose love for us is unceasing, unchanging, unconditional, undying, unending, unfailing, unlimited, and unwavering. No one, yes, absolutely no one, loves us like You do, both in this present life and in the life soon to come. O Loving Father, grant that through the working of Your Spirit, we, who believe in Jesus Christ, “may have the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:18-19; ESV).
Your love, Loving Father, is all encompassing and enduring
Although, Your love, Loving Father, is all encompassing and enduring, many in our world live in so much fear. Some are gripped by the fear of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and its Delta and Omicron variants. Others are fearful of the future. Still others are plagued by the fear of failure, financial fallouts and family feuds. Righteous Father, You love all these people. In fact, Your desire for them is that they experience and enjoy Your perfect love that casts out all kinds of fears within our hearts. Your Word confidently assures us of this truth. For it says: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (1 John 4:18; ESV).
You love us
Because, You love us and desire for us to experience Your perfect love that casts out fear, we cry out to You, our good and gracious Father, to remember all those who are full of fear and paralyzed by fear in this new month of February 2022. Please Father, come to them. Calm their fears. Comfort them. Touch their fearful hearts! Talk to them in a loving manner to assure them that You really do care about them and are concerned about them. Teach them Your ways. Take away the fears from their hearts and transform them. Abba Father, we know that “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26b; NASB).
You are able to do all things
Since all things are possible with You, we are certain that You are able to do all things that are according to Your will and will bring You glory and be for our good. It is precisely because of this that we “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16; NASB). We confess that, without Your special and supernatural help, we will not survive, let alone thrive in the new month of February 2022.
We commit February 2022 to You
As such, with glad and grateful hearts, we commit February 2022 to You. You know its end from its beginning. Faithful Father, You are aware of all the challenges, crises, and conflicts we will encounter in February 2022. At the same time, You also know far in advance the blessings and benefits You have ordained to be ours as we walk humbly and obediently before You in February 2022. Also, You have prepared good works beforehand that we should walk in them (see Ephesians 2:10) in February 2022.
Merciful Father, carry out what concerns Your people Israel
Therefore, Almighty God, please accomplish all Your predestined desires appointed for February 2022, as well as what concerns our families, our friends and fellow-believers, and us. Also, please Merciful Father, carry out what concerns Your people Israel, whom You went to redeem for Yourself as a people and to make a name for Yourself (see 2 Samuel 7:23). Accomplish also what concerns Your Church – that is, the Body of Christ, and Your world – made up of all the nations and the lands You created under the heavens – for the praise of Your mighty and marvelous name!
You are the God who accomplishes what concerns us
Since You are the God who accomplishes what concerns us, we call upon You on this first day of February 2022. Please, Righteous Father and Ruler over all the nations, reveal more of Yourself to us. O Lord of our life, remember us and act graciously on our behalf, even as You did for the people of old (see Genesis 8:1; 19:29; 30:22; 1 Samuel 1:19-20). Reign and rule in our hearts. Redeem our lives from all distress even as You redeemed King David’s life from all distress (see 2 Samuel 7:9). Rescue us out of the lion’s mouth and every evil deed and bring us safely into Your heavenly kingdom just as You did for Paul (see 2 Timothy 4:17b-18).
We continue to look forward and long for this gracious work of Yours
Gracious Father, as we prayed in January 2022, our utmost desire is for You to bring a renewal and revival among Your people and to restore us to Yourself. As such, we continue to look forward and long for this gracious work of Yours in Your Church. We know that revival cannot come without genuine repentance among Your people. We also know that repentance is a gift granted to us by You (see Acts 11:18b).
Dear Lord, make us willing to repent
Therefore, dear Lord, make us willing to repent and grant us genuine repentance to turn away from our sins of walking by sight, not by faith (see 2 Corinthians 5:7), of not making it our ambition to be pleasing to You (see 2 Corinthians 5:9), of not doing Your work Your way (see 2 Samuel 6:1-11), of calling You “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what You say (see Luke 6:46). Also, we need Your forgiveness for the sins of trusting in man, not in the Lord (see Jeremiah 17:5-7), looking at the outward appearance, not at the heart (see 1 Samuel 16:7), obeying You on our own terms, not on Your terms (see 1 Samuel 15:3, 13-15), and lacking zeal in carrying out the Great Commission (see Mathew 28:18-20).
God of forgiveness, we count on You, to forgive us
Indeed, God of forgiveness, we count on You, to forgive us these sins and others we have not mentioned here. The Word promises that: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 4:9; NASB). It also declares: “If You, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared” (Psalm 130:3-4; NASB).
We are certain that You will indeed forgive Your Church
Because of these blessed assurances, we are certain that You, our God and Guide, will indeed forgive Your Church and renew and revive and restore us to Yourself. We are therefore, looking forward with confident expectation that You will accomplish Your gracious work of reviving Your Church in all the nations, in our time for the praise of Your glory.
You are great, O Lord GOD
Now in anticipation to all that You will do in Your time and in Your way, in response to our praises, petitions, and penitence, we declare: “You are great, O Lord GOD; for there is none like You, and there is no god besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears” (2 Samuel 7:22; NASB). We pray and present all these things to You, our Faithful Father, in the beautiful and blessed name of Jesus Christ, You Son, our Savior. Amen!