Is it any wonder that the Lord’s prayer we find in (Matthew 6) begins with the following words: “…Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.” (Matthew 6:9). You see, I believe, when we go to the Lord in prayer, we first need to acknowledge and reverence His awesome nature. God is holy and when we come to Him in prayer we need to treat Him with the utmost reverence and awe.
And when we try to tell God His character is beyond awesome it shows Him we plan to treat Him, as He deserves, and that is deserving of our highest praises! Jerry Bridges shares three of God’s characteristics in the following quote that if we share these with our Heavenly Father, before we come with our needs, I believe, it lets God know how much we respect and love Him: “God is completely sovereign. God is infinite in wisdom. God is perfect in love. God in His love always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty He has the power to bring it about.”1
Let’s briefly look at each of these three characteristics of God’s nature.
God is completely sovereign
God’s sovereignty tells us that He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. In other words He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere! He rules the universe and nothing can take place without it fitting into His perfect plan for His children. Yes, we have a free will, but even when we disobey God, He can use what we meant for evil for ultimate good. (see the story of Joseph and especially, Genesis 50:20). In the economy of God knowing that he is completely sovereign is so comforting because it tells us He has the power to bring about His perfect will in all situations. And the more we fall in love with Jesus shouldn’t this be the driving passion of our hearts.
God is infinite in wisdom
A second quality that our Lord possesses is infinite wisdom. He always makes the best decisions because His wisdom is perfect. And having perfect wisdom allows Him to never make mistakes and He always knows what is best for His children. Wouldn’t you want to have such wisdom to always make the right decisions in every difficult situation in life. No wonder we read in (Proverbs 3:13-15): “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.”
God is perfect in love
I like what Bridges shares on this point: “God in His love always wills what is best for us.” Now that to me is a wonderful definition of perfect love! As a parent, we try to always do the right thing for our children, but sadly many parents fail quite often here, and that is because our love for them is far from perfect. We try to balance our needs and desires with those of our children but oftentimes our needs trump theirs. With God, His sovereignty, wisdom, and love makes it possible for Him to always balance His glory with what is best for us. How He can do this is clearly beyond our human comprehension.
I don’t know about you but the more I see how God works in my life the more I want to hallow His name and do everything to walk in His will and bring Him glory. My friends, our God is simply beyond awesome!
A few years ago, while studying the 10 Commandments, it occurred to me that Jesus reflected the first three in the Lord’s prayer. He loved and lived the Moral law, which shaped His thinking, especially, in prayer. Read along:
“Our Father”- You shall have no other gods before me.
“Who art in heaven”- you shall have no earthly idols.
“Hallowed be Thy name”- you shall not use God’s name in vain.
Try praying, incorporating the Law of God. Ask God to help you love and respect parents and elders. Command 5
Pray you have a heart that loves your enemies. Command 6
Ask God for a pure heart in your friendships and marriage. Command 7
Plead with the Lord to defeat temptation and give respect of private property that doesn’t belong to you. Command 8
Pray unceasingly for an honest tongue in all conversation. Command 9
Give thanks for what you have and a contentment that brings peace. Command 10
Now, can you recite the Commandments from memory? If not, how else will you see and praise the character of God and thank Him that we are made in His image?
Hallelujah 🙏