By Joseph Ametepe
Dear Holy and Heavenly Father, we acknowledge to You that we are greatly blessed to be brought to the new month of May 2022. Indeed, You are true and trustworthy! Not only that, Your “words are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:5b; ESV). Indeed, You are true to Yourself and to Your words. That's why You have graciously maintained our cause all throughout the month of April 2022. And now You have brought us to the very beginning of the month of May 2022.
Father, You have been mindful of us
Indeed, gracious Father, You have been mindful of us, and will bless us. Your word specifically assures us of that in Psalm 115:12. However, often, when the going gets tough for us, we erroneously think that You are not mindful of us. We confess this as sin against You Lord. We humbly ask for Your cleansing, correction and compassion in forgiving us of this sin.
Father, we also sin against You
Moreover, Father, we also sin against You. When hard times and hardships make life unbearable for us, we erroneously think that You do not know what we are made of. In other words, when the weight of the burdens of life become too much for us to carry, we secretly resent You in our hearts. We silently say in our hearts that “You don’t know what we are made of. For if You knew, You would not have burdened us so excessively.” But Your word strongly affirms that You Yourself know our frame; and that You are mindful that we are but dust (Psalm 103:14). Please, gracious and righteous Father, we acknowledge thinking wrongly of You and ask for Your pardon.
We are so blessed, yes, blessed beyond belief
Truly, we are so blessed, yes, blessed beyond belief to have You as our faithful and forgiving Father. In Your Holy Word, it is written of You. “If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared” (Psalm 130:3-4). The expected answer to the above question is that no one, yes, absolutely no one could stand. Certainly, not me. Again, Your Word says of You. “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You” (Psalm 86:5). In addition, it declares of You. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Indeed, none of the gods of the nations is so faithful as You
Indeed, none of the gods of the nations, is so faithful and so willing and ready to forgive our sins as You, Lord, do. Please, Holy Spirit, inculcate in us a holy reverence for our faithful and forgiving Father. In other words, enable us to revere Him for His gracious works of forgiving us of our sins and cleansing us from all our unrighteousness. O precious Father, eternity itself will not suffice for giving You heartfelt and overflowing gratitude for the blessing of Your forgiveness of our many sins!
Loving Father, we are grateful and glad
Loving Father, we are grateful and glad that, not only do You know the future, but also that You hold the future. Yes, Lord, we confidently acknowledge today that You are in control of the affairs of every individual as well as of every nation on earth. This is affirmed in Your Word. “The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all (that is, the universe)” (Psalm 103:19).
Your sovereignty rules over the entire universe
Having affirmed that Your sovereignty rules over the entire universe, we admit that You already know all that’s going to happen in May 2022. In fact, You are fully aware of all the events that will be occurring in May 2022 before it even begins. For You, Lord, are the God; “declaring the end from the beginning, and ancient things which have not been done” (Isaiah 46:10).
We humbly and heartily dedicate May 2022 to You
In the light of this holy and heavenly knowledge, we humbly and heartily dedicate the month of May 2022 to You, “the Lord of all the earth” (Joshua 3:11, 13; Psalm 97:5). We earnestly beseech You. Lord, accomplish Your own desires - which You had decreed in Your eternal counsel ages ago - for the month of May 2022! Please, perform also, all that concerns us, as well as what concerns our families and fellow-believers.
Living God, please, carry out Your divine purposes
Also, Living God, please, carry out Your divine purposes for Israel - Your people (Psalm 135:12b and Your own possession (Psalm 135:4). Also, accomplish what concerns Your Church, that is, born-again believers who are beloved by You. Please Father, perform Your will for Your world – made up of all the countries and lands You created under the heavens “that they would seek God” Acts 17:27a).
The Russian - Ukraine war continues
Loving Lord, the Russian – Ukraine war continues to dominate the news daily. Mass graves are being discovered. Thousands of lives have been lost since the war began on February 24, 2022. Lord, we have confidently affirmed that Your sovereignty rules over the entire universe. Therefore, please reveal Your mighty arm in bringing this war to an end before it takes many more lives!
Living God, rule amid this war
Living God, rule amid this war. In Your own time, please bring the perpetrators of atrocities to justice. Please do it for all to know that You alone are God, yes, the true God. O Righteous Father, for Your name’s sake, rescue those whose lives are in danger, both in Ukraine and in Russia! Release those who have been wrongfully taken as captives and are being tortured by both warring factions. Restrain the work of the evil one through evil men on both sides. Righteous Judge, right all wrongs in this war in Your own time and way.
We confess that we desperately need You
As a matter of fact, we confess that we desperately need You and Your help to survive and succeed in the month of May 2022. As Your believing and beloved children, we need Your supernatural help to focus on Christ, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), amid the many distractions around and within us.
We need Your steady help to follow Christ
Also, we need Your steady help to follow Christ, the author of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10b). Yes, we need Your special help to fear You. By that we mean, to have a holy and healthy reverence for You. For Your Word says: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7a).
We need Your sure help
And yes, Righteous Father, we need Your sure help to fight the good fight of the faith and finish the course (2 Timothy 4:7a). For we live in a time in which many are not enduring sound doctrine. They simply want their ears to be tickled (2 Timothy 4:3). Indeed, “God of gods” (Psalm 135:2), we desperately need Your assistance to flourish in serving Your purpose even as David did in his generation (Acts 13:38).
WE need Your strong and spiritual help
Finally, “Lord of lords” (Psalm 135:3), we need Your strong and spiritual help to forgive one another just as God in Christ also has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32b). To fulfill our ministry (2 Timothy 4:5b) in such a time as this. To forsake worldly passions (Titus 2:12), and find our satisfaction in You alone (Psalm 73:25). Fill us afresh with Your Holy Spirit as we anticipate celebrating Ascension Day on May 26, 2022. Holy Father, thank You that You are abundantly available for help (Psalm 46:1b).
We are confident
Therefore, we are confident. And yes, we are eagerly expecting that You will give us all the help we need, not only to survive but also succeed in serving Your purpose in May 2022. Dear Heavenly Father, we present all these prayers to You, in the precious and powerful name of Jesus Christ, Your Beloved Son, our Blessed Savior! Amen!