Day 91: Nehemiah 9-13
The Israelites are slaves in Assyria, and they have gathered together. They are fasting and wearing sackloth. During this time, they read aloud from the Book of Law, confess their sins, and worship the Lord. They also thank and praise God for all that he has done for them and their ancestors. They praise God for keeping his promise. They tell him that they love him, and they tell him why: "But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love." They also tell him he is just and faithful, forgiving and merciful. They remind themselves of all that God has done for them, and they make promises to God. They tell him they will stay faithful, they will give him the best they have to offer. They "will not neglect the house of God."
The Israelites impress me, and I can learn a lot by the way they interact with God. Their whole approach to communicating with God (some of which I mentioned above) can teach me about how I, too, can approach and interact with God. I'm always looking for ways to talk to God and ways to be in relationship with God, and the reading from today gives me several ideas.
1. Prepare: The Israelites approach God with humility.
They wear sackcloth and ashes. They fast in preparation for meeting God and for communing with him. They prepare. They don't just show up and talk. They spend a lot of time readying for meeting God. They recognize that they are unholy and that God alone is holy, and their countenances and actions reflect this understanding. They are humble, and they don't take God for granted.
2. Praise God with specifics.
The Israelites, like us, praise God. However, I notice one key difference between how they praise God and how we (oftentimes, unfortunately) praise God: they use specifics. The Israelites don't just say, "We love you God," or "God, you are so good" (over and over and over again); rather, they tell God why they love him, and they tell him why He is so good.
Being specific has several benefits: 1) It allows them to process what God has done. They can remind themselves about why they love God and what God has done for them. They can remember specific instances in their lives when God has acted--when he has shown them grace, forgiveness, mercy, love, etc. Then, they can thank God for what he has done--all the while remembering for what they are thanking God. They are thinking in specifics rather than generalities. 2) Being specific encourages reflection. This one kind of goes with the previous one, but it's a little different in that reflection breeds remembrance and appreciation. Remembrance of the actual events and circumstances in your life in which God acted, and appreciation for him and who he is in these instances in your life. 3) Being specific in prayer and praise reminds them who God is--his characteristics and his nature. As the Israelites re-tell their story to God in prayer, they also interweave the characteristics of God during these times, which becomes a form of praise to God.
3. Promise: The Israelites tell God what they are going to do as a result.
The Israelites promise God that they, too, will act. They will love the Lord, be faithful to Him, and sacrifice offerings to Him. They have prepared, they have praised God for the specific things he has done for them, and now they make promises to God about what they will do, how they will act, live, and behave.
Next time you are in church and you sing a "praise" song, remember back to the Israelites and how they approach God: they prepare, they praise with specifics, and they promise. Maybe this can be a model for you as to how you can talk to God. I know it helps me concretize something that often seems so abstract.
0 comments:
Post a Comment