God Is

   Isn’t God wonderful! Words seem to fail to describe how truly incredible He is. Reflecting on His character is a joyful activity. Sadly, we don’t do that often enough. In a theology class, one of my favorite professors challenged us to pray through the attributes of God and praise God for His amazing essence. So, below I have a list, a sample, and a challenge. I have listed what theologians have put together as a standard list of God’s attributes. Also, I have included a sample prayer. I want to challenge you to pray prayers of awe and thankfulness over God’s character for the next 7 days. Pray through these attributes every day and let your heart take that time to delight in God and his perfections; then your heart can overflow with gratitude to our astounding triune God. 

Independence–unchangeable–eternity–omnipresence–unity–spirit–invisibility–wisdom–omniscience–providence–sovereignty–truthfulness–faithfulness–goodness–grace–mercy–love–patience–holiness–righteousness–justice–wrath–jealousy–peace–free–willful omnipotence–perfection–blessedness–beauty–glory

   Thank you Lord for being totally sufficient and independent. You rely on no one. Nothing upholds your existence. You need nothing, but rather You are the one who gives all things life and breath. You sustain all reality by your power. Thank You Lord for never changing. Nothing else in the world remains the same. Your being, your perfections, your promises never change. Who you have been, you will always be. You stay the same eternally. Thank You for being eternal. You are not bound by time because you created it. You are outside of time. You have no beginning or end. Thank You for knowing the past and future and present with vivid clarity. Nothing in our lives is unknown to You. You see it all. You see every sin we would ever commit and yet You freely and lovingly chose us before time began. Thank You that You are omnipresent, not bound by space. You are present with us here and everywhere we could possibly go. You are present in every moment. Thank You for your amazing being. You are united. You are one. You are wholly loving, completely merciful, and always just. You are spirit; nothing in the entire universe can enclose You.  Your essential realm of existence is starkly different from all of creation; You are invisible. It is mind boggling to comprehend. Thank You for allowing us to worship you in spirit and in truth. Thank You for your omniscience, knowing all things actual and possible. You have always known everything. You cannot learn anything. Thank that in perfect wisdom You know the best course of action that leads to the best result. Thank You for Your sovereignty. Thank You for Your providential care over all of creation. Thank You for your providence in our lives. Every moment of our lives is held in Your hands perfectly, and known perfectly. Thank You for your providence in salvation. We would never come to You if not for your sovereign divine intervention. Thank You for always being faithful and true. Thank You that your words can be trusted. When You promise something it will come to pass. You set parameters for what is true and good. Thank You for being good and showing us what goodness truly entails. Our lives are saturated with Your compassionate goodness. From morning to evening, everywhere we look, everywhere we go, we can see the evidence of Your goodness to us. Thank You for being loving. Thank You for Your saving love that draws us to You. You loved us before anything was created. And nothing in this entire world can separate us from Your great never ending love. Thank You for Your saving mercy and grace. You show us grace and mercy that we could never deserve. Out of Your mercy and grace You bring salvation. You are so patient with us. We fail many times, yet You patiently seek our hearts, and draw us  to You. Thank You for Your holiness. You are completely separate from sin. Nothing evil comes from You. Thank You that through Jesus, we as sinful human beings are allowed into the presence of the holy God. You are holy holy holy…You are holy to the highest degree. Thank You for Your righteousness and justice. You always do what is right and just. You are the just judge. Left to ourselves, our righteousness is like dirty rags. Thank You that Jesus’ righteousness is counted on our behalf because we could never match the standard of Your righteousness. Thank You for being wrathful. You would not be good if you did not punish evil. Thank You that through Jesus we never have to face Your never ending wrath in hell.  Thank You for being jealous. You are jealous for your people. You are jealous for Your holy name. You are jealous for your people’s wholehearted worship. Thank You for being the God of peace. You are a God of order. You never act carelessly or recklessly. You are separate from disorder and confusion. Thank You for being the God who fills our hearts with perfect peace.  Thank you God for being free. You are not constrained by anything or anyone. No one can thwart You as You accomplish your will and purposes. You are free to carry out Your perfect plans. Thank you for Your omnipotence. You have all power. Nothing is easy or hard for you. Often we are tempted to only bring You “easy” prayers. Or we feel as though we should only bother you with “hard prayers”. What a false dilemma! You are able to handle it all. You are able to perfectly execute Your will and do whatever is good in your sight. Thank You for being perfect. You need no changes. Nothing needs to be added to your nature. Nothing needs to be removed from Your nature. Who You are is perfect and everything You do is perfect. Thank You for being blessed. You are eternally happy within the Trinity. You take delight in us. You delight in all that reflects Your character. Thank You that out of Your blessedness You freely bless others. Thank You for being beautiful. Thank You that we see glimpses of Your beauty in creation. Every part of Your being is beautiful. Your beauty shapes what we should see as beautiful. Thank You for Your radiant glory.  Your glory displays the excellence of Your character. Your glory is what we live for. Your glory is why we want others to know You. Nothing and no one else is worthy of worship and honor and glory.

  God thank You for who You are. Help us remember to take time to think deeply about You and honor You for who You are. Thank You for revealing your character to us in Scripture; help us be more like You, reflecting Your character in our daily lives and interactions. God, let us always be shaped by who You are. Amen.