Holy Father, in Jesus' name, I praise You for Your sovereignty. You are the Sovereign King who is in total and complete control over all things. You reign and rule over all and this has been true for all of eternity. You have never had to reestablish Your control or regain Your throne. For You have never lost either.
Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and Your dominion endures throughout all generations. Nothing ever surprises You or catches You off guard. You never need a contingency plan (plan B), to call together a council or strategy session, or to rally help to Your side. You are the God who ordains the end from the beginning. What You've purposed that shall You do and what You've planned that shall You bring to pass.
God, it blows my mind to think that the Holy Son of God (Jesus) would willingly come down from His throne and the glory He shared with You before the foundation of the world to reconcile all things in heaven and earth to Himself by the blood of His cross. Christ was set apart as the lamb to be slain before the foundation of the world. You chose a people in Christ before the foundation of the world who were predestined to be adopted into Your family as dearly loved children. You set the appointed time for Christ to come into the world to rescue people from the slavery of sin and the captivity of the devil. Before You created the world, You already set plans in motion for the redemption of the world. There are no plans or schemes of the evil one or mankind that could block, hinder, stop, or thwart what You decreed from eternity past. How awesome are You God?
God, You have shown us that You are able to take the greatest act of evil in the history of the world, the murder of Jesus Your Son, to bring about the forgiveness of sins and life for all who trust in Him. In the midst of all that is going on in our world today You are still in control bringing about Your purposes in the earth. All of the things that are happening, even the gross immoralities, great injustices, and grave inhumanities, are puzzle pieces being put in place that are moving us towards the return of Jesus Christ and the consummation of Your Kingdom. As much as I do not understand it, there is nothing that has happened, is happening and will happen without You causing or permitting it.
God, though You may use evil to bring about Your purposes, You are the infinite opposite of evil. You are the omnibenevolent One who possesses perfect and unlimited goodness. You are absolute moral purity. You reject all impurity, sin, wickedness and will ultimately do away with it at the final judgment. Yet in this age where Your Kingdom has not yet fully come in this fallen world of sin, You are still bringing about Your will and purpose in spite of acts of evil perpetrated by those taken captive by the devil. What is the reason that You have not rid this world of evil yet? It is Your great love and patience for humanity. You are longing for more people to know the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of eternal life with You. We wrongly perceive what appears to be inactivity to us as You not caring. Yet the reason Jesus has not returned to judge the world yet is because You care more that we could ever imagine.
God, we need a mighty outpouring of Your Holy Spirit in this hour. Use Your Church greatly in this age of grace to partner with You in the coming of Your Kingdom through the faithful living and proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Give us Your heart of compassion, Lord Jesus, and use us to take You to our neighbors and the nations. Grant us boldness and an urgency and send us to them to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of satan to God that they may receive the forgiveness of sins and a place among those set apart through faith in Jesus Christ. Burden our hearts with people that You want to use us to pray for and to share Jesus with. Help us to obey You. May our motivation and expectation be to glorify Your name and please You as You strengthen the body of Christ and grow us in numbers daily. In Jesus' name, Amen!!!
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