121 Days of Prayer

No, I Will Not Unleash My Fierce Anger

The purposes of this prayer are: Holiness/Righteousness, Mercy and Lovingkindness.

Merciful God, your prophet Hosea told the Israelites of the complete destruction you intended to inflict on them as punishment for their apostasy, idolatry and wickedness. But then, in the same prophecy, he foretold of your mercy and intense love for them: “For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they don’t truly honor me. Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows. No, I will not unleash my fierce anger. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy One living among you, and I will not come to destroy. For someday the people will follow me.” Hosea 11:7–10 (NLT). Lord, we know that your great compassion overflows for all people. The apostle John wrote, “God is love, and all who live in love live in God.” 1 John 4:16 (NLT). You sent your Son into the world as a living sacrifice, so that all who would believe in him would not die, but would have eternal life. Praise God! Amen.