"The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love."
Psalm 145:8 (NIV)
Much of our praying is shaped by a guess about God. Some of us pray as if He is annoyed, so we keep it short. Some pray as if He is far away, so we keep our distance. Others pray as if He is a machine, so we put in the request and wait for the answer. Few of us have ever checked the guess.
What we picture when we pray decides how we come. A. W. Tozer argued that our idea of God is the most important thing about us. If you picture an irritated God, you pray in a hurry. If you picture a distant One, you pray without hope. Your words may be fine. The picture behind them is doing the talking.
Psalm 145 lets God describe Himself. David says the LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. He did not invent that list. God spoke nearly the same words to Moses in Exodus 34:6. That was after Israel had made a golden calf and turned away. Even then, God described Himself with mercy.
Praise means saying back what God has already said. We are not guessing, and we are not flattering. We are agreeing with His own description. That makes praise possible on days when you have no words of your own. You can borrow His. Every time we say them, His words correct our guess.
This does not make God soft. The same passage in Exodus says He does not leave the guilty unpunished. His mercy is never indifference. He takes evil seriously, and He is gracious. Both are true. We do not have to untangle that before we praise Him. We only have to pray to the God who told Moses His name.
Godseekers, you can come to God with confidence because of what He says about Himself. He told Moses He is gracious and compassionate. He is slow to anger and rich in love. That is not a script for earning His favor. It is an invitation to know Him. You do not have to guess at His mood before you pray. That confidence rests on who He is, not on getting the answer we want. Open your heart to Him, not only your requests, and keep learning who He is as you do.
Prayer
Gracious Father, I confess that I have often prayed to a God I only guessed at. Some days I pictured You as annoyed or far away. Thank You for telling me who You are in Your own words. You are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. Help me come to You with confidence in who You are. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Personal Reflection
- What do you expect to see on God's face when you come to Him after you have failed or asked for the same thing again?
- Who or what first shaped that picture of God, and how has it changed how honest you are when you pray?
Step of Faith
Read Exodus 34:6 slowly before you pray. Then talk with God with confidence, trusting who He has told you He is. Open up your heart to Him, not only your petitions.
