All thanks we give You LORD, the Alpha and Omega for the beginning and the ending of this spiritual exercise.
“And in that day, you will say: Praise the LORD, call upon His name; declare His deeds among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted. Sing to the LORD for He has done excellent things.” Isaiah 12:4-5
EXPOSITION:
Utmost thanks, and high praise are befitting of our God particularly today for having proven to us again that He is God, the Alpha and Omega the Beginning and the End.
The Apostle Paul writes in Phil. 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” The spiritual journey of prayer and fasting that God led us into, He has, in His faithfulness brought us to its close today. Glory and honour to His name for ever. Amen.
Psalm 118 in NKJV Bible version is captioned ‘Praise to God for His everlasting mercy’. The writer of this Psalm, after haven recounted the multiple blessings of God to him in manifold ways, says in verse 21, “I will praise You, for You have answered me…” In this manner, we also should consider the faithfulness, mercy, loving-kindness and more of His goodness which we have enjoyed during the season of prayer ending today in addition to the fact that He has answered our prayers and for these reasons and more, we should give wholehearted praise to Him. ‘Praise indeed is due to God for His everlasting mercy that has endured for us during this long spiritual exercise’.
Hear again as it’s written in Psalm 65:1-2, Praise is awaiting You, O God in Zion, and to You the vows shall be performed. O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come.” I pray God will do all that we have committed to Him in prayers and by His grace, we will perform to Him our vows in whatever acceptable manner we deem fit and are able to do this.
In Job 8:7 it is written: “Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.” As it’s behoved of us, we have engaged in this Prayer/Lenten season with humbled hearts and meekness, seeking the face of God in prayer; connecting to another scripture in Matt. 23:12 which says, “…those who humble themselves will be exalted”, and because we have humbly approached the throne of grace, and in penitence, in reverence we have conducted ourselves, I declare that the end of this exercise will yield great increase for us in all realms in the name of Jesus. We have no doubt sown prayer seeds in pains, in sorrowful heart and perhaps in tears, by the power in the living word of the living God, these seeds, shall without doubt yield joyful, bountiful harvest for us in the name of Jesus.
It is praise galore in Psalm 150, one of the textual sources for today, in it the writer enjoins us to praise the LORD in His sanctuary and in His mighty firmament, we are enjoined to praise Him for His mighty acts that we have seen and will continue to see and experience, we are to praise Him according to His excellent greatness; this Psalmist recommends further that we praise the LORD with different instruments – trumpet, lute, timbrel, cymbals, and with our dancing. He concludes the Psalm with “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.”
I pray God will endow us the grace to hearken to this Psalm, and to wholeheartedly praise God with everything that still has breath in us as it is deserving of us and betting to Him, with our dancing, with musical instruments available. As we do this on this last day of this spiritual exercise, heaven will open, and showers of multiple blessings will come upon us in the name of Jesus. Amen and amen. God bless you. SHALOM. Pastor Jide Siwoku
Prayer Points:
1. In line with today’s topic, let us sing this song: “All thanks we give to You Lord/2x. All thanks we give to You, Lord, we give to You, Lord, we give to You Lord; all thanks we give to You, Lord, we give to You, Lord, we give to You, Lord.”
2. Our Lord, the Alpha and Omega, beginning and the end, we thank You with everything that has breath in us for bringing us to this glorious end. (Psalm 150:6).
3. Our souls, and everything within us bless Your name O Lord, for the conducive atmosphere You have granted us in the long journey ending today. Sing the song; “Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me bless His holy name…” (Psalm 103:1-5).
4. For all that You have done for us which will begin to manifest and translate into testimonies we are thankful and grateful O, Lord. Sing the song: “We are grateful O, Lord/2x. For all You have done for us, we are grateful O, Lord.”
5. For the heaven of multiple blessings that has opened for us which no evil power will be able to shut, our souls magnify Your holy name O, Lord. (Revelation 3:7).
6. For Your mercy that endures forever and will endure more for us after this programme, we give heartfelt thanks to You O, Lord. (Psalm 136:1-9).
7. Believing You have crowned us with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Your praise will continually be in our mouths O, Lord. (Psalm 103:5, 34:1).
8. Thank You Lord, for we are more than conquerors over principalities and powers in the name of Jesus. (Ephesians 6:12; Rom. 8:38-39).
9. Thank You Lord, because more than conquerors are our children and
youths through the Lord Jesus who loves them. They will be taught by the LORD, and great shall be their peace in the name of Jesus. (Isaiah 54:13).
10. Thank You Lord, because all our women are more than conquerors; they shall be virtuous women indeed and will not labour in vain over their children in the name of Jesus. (Proverbs 31:10-12; Isaiah 65:13).
11. Thank You Lord, because all men in our DCC are men of valour indeed. They are freshly empowered for great exploits; they shall be head and not tail in the name of Jesus. (Deuteronomy 28:13; Judges 6:12-17).
12. Thank You Lord, because all ministers in SDCC are freshly anointed and divinely covered with flaming fire in the name of Jesus (1 John 2:27; Psalm 104:4).
13. Thank You Lord, because we have freshly received divine empowerment. We are strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, covered in the whole armour of God in the name of Jesus. (Ephesians 6:10-11).
14. We thank You Lord, that this spiritual exercise will draw us closer to You and bind us tighter to You; forward ever, backward never in the name of Jesus. (Philippians 4:13; Luke 9:62).
15. Sing this song as many times as possible. “To You Lord be all the glory, to You Lord be all the honour, to You Lord be all the glory and adoration for evermore.” (Philippians 4:20; Ephesians 3:20-21).
