Praise to Our Great Deliverer: A Prayer
We praise you, O God, that all authority in heaven and on earth is yours (Matt 28:18) and that you, the preeminent one (Col 1:18), are for us and not against us in Christ (Rom 8:31). We have the greatest and best warrior on our side (Exod 15:3), the fountain of all blessing (Eph 1:3), the giver of all strength (Rom 16:25; 1 Pet 5:10), the source of all courage and comfort (2 Cor 1:3). You are with us, and we are safe (Ps 46:1; Matt 28:20). Though we lose, we will finish; though we get sick, our lives you will sustain; though we grow discouraged, your upholding hand defends and delights (2 Cor 4:8–10). You speak light into our darkness (2 Cor 4:6); you defeated death that we might live (Rom 5:21); you have turned your wrath from us that we might love (1 John 4:10–11). Today we have hope because in Christ we are no longer your enemy (Rom 5:10).
You part the waters (Exod 14–15) and carry us through our wilderness (Deut 1:31). You stand with us in the fiery furnace (Dan 3) and close the mouths of lions (Dan 6). You heal our diseases whether in this age or the next, and you stand by our side through suffering unto death into glory (Ps 103:3). We do not need to fear, for you have redeemed us and called us by name; we are yours. When we pass through the waters, you are with us; and through the rivers, they do not overwhelm us; when we walk through fire we are not burned, and the flame does not consume us. Why? Because you are Yahweh our God, the Holy One of Israel, our Savior. We are precious in your eyes and honored, and you love us (Isa 43:1–4).
Grant that our tasting of the curse would lead to more prayer and less complaining (Jas 5:13). Help us be bold to face opposition and to be faithful unto death, that we might enjoy the crown of life (Rev 2:10). Enable us to serve in your strength so that you who are worthy of all praise may be exalted in our lives (1 Pet 4:11). Thank you that even if our miseries increase, your mercy is fresh every dawn; abundant is your faithfulness (Lam 3:23). You are our God and our great deliverer, and by your grace we will forever praise you. Amen.
