"LORD, no one is like you! You are great, and great is your mighty name." (Jeremiah 10:6 CEB)
"Praise is always appropriate."
This is one of my favorite quotes from a dear friend who is a wellspring of wisdom.
Praising God is always a good idea. When in doubt, praise. When in certainty, praise. When you don't know what else to do, praise. When you do know what else to do...praise.
I'm trying to teach myself to get in the habit of praising God from the get-go when I pray. This helps me not default to immediately asking Him for things. Don't get me wrong: God wants us to ask. But when we praise Him first, it shows reverence, and it reminds us of the qualifications, so to speak, of the One whose help we're seeking.
Praising God with His names is especially powerful, and in fact, that's how this journey started in the first place: I felt like I needed to have a name of God at the ready first thing in the morning to plug into my brain (and, maybe, to short-circuit some of the other "stuff" floating around in there).
Throughout the month ahead of us, we'll be taking a side trip to visit what God's name is like, what it represents, what the Bible compares it to. I can think of no better place to start than with the description that's been part of this series from the beginning: His name is great.
"Great" conveys both quantity and quality. God's name is big in its scope and depth of meaning. And it is the name above every other; not only is it without equal, it is without rival or comparison. The enemy has no answer when confronted with the greatness of God's name; he knows it is his undoing.
Oh God, Your name is great. Help me to make it known.
"Lost are saved, find their way,
(From "Your Great Name;" songwriters Michael Neale and Krissy Nordhoff; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6vHHbUOCQA.)
"Great" conveys both quantity and quality. God's name is big in its scope and depth of meaning. And it is the name above every other; not only is it without equal, it is without rival or comparison. The enemy has no answer when confronted with the greatness of God's name; he knows it is his undoing.
Oh God, Your name is great. Help me to make it known.
"Lost are saved, find their way,
At the sound of Your great name.
All condemned feel no shame,
All condemned feel no shame,
At the sound of Your great name.
Every fear has no place,
At the sound of Your great name.
The enemy, he has to leave,
The enemy, he has to leave,
At the sound of Your great name.
Jesus, worthy is the lamb that was slain for us.
Son of God and man, You are high and lifted up,
That all the world will praise Your great name."
(From "Your Great Name;" songwriters Michael Neale and Krissy Nordhoff; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6vHHbUOCQA.)
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!