Lord, I praise you not only for how you destroyed Israel’s enemies at the Red Sea, but for how you disarmed and put to open shame the enemies of my soul at the Cross.
Many of us knew you first as the God of our fathers, or the God of distant generations past. Cause us to see and to celebrate your power for salvation at work in our day, amid the very suffering and oppressions that convince our culture that you are distant or absent.
”Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?” Forgive me for looking for deliverance through created pleasures or from other people. I seek to escape or to win approval rather than crying out to my God. But you alone are “majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders!”
Lord, use us “whom you have purchased” as a sign and a portent in society. Let your protection and establishment of us declare your greatness to the world, warn them of impending judgment, and call them to repentance. Let dread give way to longing as they witness and hear testimony of your presence in our lives.
Sometimes the future seems so frightening. But you have committed yourself to me in steadfast love! Fulfill your promises to guide me by your strength to your holy abode. Lead me through troubled waters and the valley of the shadow of death. Plant me on your own mountain, safely kept until the day of Jesus Christ. Amen.