Dads, we thank God for you. We celebrate your godly leadership. We acknowledge the weighty responsibility you carry. We bring our petitions to the Lord on your behalf. We support you, we respect you, and we cherish you.

We thank God that you keep fighting. You realize that this is not peacetime, and the battle is fierce. In a world that seeks to destroy not only godly fatherhood, but even the very concept of manhood, you stand up as the man God made you to be. You strive to fulfill your calling as head of the household. Daily you resist the pressures of our culture and the temptations of the Devil. Rather than chase after every “opportunity” for yourself and your children, you spend time in God’s Word and with fellow believers. Rather than use God’s loaned resources on earthly treasures, you store up heavenly riches for your family. Rather than conform to society’s norms, you teach your children God’s code of conduct, and guide them in following it no matter the consequences. You do battle each day, under the leadership and protection of your own Head, the ultimate Warrior, Jesus Christ.

We thank God that you keep loving. You understand the need to show mercy and to sacrifice yourself. You convey your love through the words you speak to your children, and the time you spend with them. You communicate to your family, “You are valuable to me.” Your children know tenderness. They know what it means to be forgiven. As you live out your calling, you remember the mercy that God has shown you. Your self-sacrifice is modeled after Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice of a life lived perfectly in your place, and laid down at the cross for you. His sacrifice frees you from a guilty conscience over failures as a father. Your Heavenly Father has no memory of them, and He treats you accordingly. You embrace as your example His merciful love toward you, as you teach your family that they, too, have received mercy through Jesus.

Dads, we rejoice that God has called you to fatherhood. We praise God that you are carrying out this calling by His power. Whether you are our own fathers, our godly grandpas, our sons now raising the next generation, or brothers not by blood but by the Holy Spirit, we thank God for you.