Praying the name of God and the power of His presence.

A few weeks back my three year old son, Maverick, started noticing how often people say “God” in their prayers. He would tell them, “you said God a lot of times!” He then started doing the same thing when he would pray, except, unlike an adult prayer, he would leave out all of the rest of the prayer. He would just say, “I want to say ‘God’ seven times!” and would just say God repeatedly. I did not know that Maverick was doing this with Kyle too, so for the last several weeks my three year old son has just been praying the name of God. Today I think he must be more sanctified than the rest of us. On Sunday our pastor spoke about how God had been showing him the importance of praying for the presence of the Lord in the midst of our hardships.

I cried in prayer, realizing that I often do not pray through something because I simply feel like words are not enough to bring before God. I prayed for His presence instead. I prayed the name of God and asked for His presence and that was all. It was so powerful. It was powerful because it is biblical and it was just what I needed.

In the exodus God promised his people, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Ex. 33:14). I am so thankful for the rest of God that can only be found in the peace of knowing His presence is with us.

The Psalms beautifully describe, “in your presence there is fullness of joy” (Ps. 16:11).

Praying the names and attributes of God reaffirms to us who He is and what He has done.

That He is Jehovah, the one who possesses all authority.

That He is Jehovah-M’Kaddesh, the God who sanctifies.

That He is infinite and omnipotent.

That He is good and He is love.

That He is Jehovah-jireh, the God who provides.

That He is Jehovah-shalom, the God who brings peace.

That He is immutable, transcendent, just, and holy.

That He is Jehovah-rophe, the God who heals.

That He is self-sufficient, omnipresent, and omniscient.

That He is merciful and sovereign.

That He is Adonai, master of all.

That He is Elohim, strength and power.

That He is Jehovah-nissi, God our banner.

That He is our comforter.

That He is El-Shaddai, God almighty.

That He is the answer to all of our prayers; In the name of God and in His holy presence.

Fruit

The word "gentleness" is normally used to describe an action... a gentle touch, a gentle hugs, etc. So it can be difficult to understand the word gentleness as a personal characteristic on its own. However, the Bible teaches us that the result of having the Holy Spirit is that we are gentle, along with peaceful, loving, joyful, patient, kind, compassionate, good, and full of self-control. 

For those who have been believers for some time the fruit of the Spirit can become commonplace and lose some of it's purpose. When we look into these characteristics, though, we more often seen a wish list of what we hope to find in the people who surround us. I've recently found that I am lacking in some of these areas. This is especially true for the way that I treat the people close to me. 

I am a Christian who loses patience daily with my children.

I am a Christian who responds unkindly to my husband at times. 

I am a Christian who strives for what's next rather than living in the peace of God's provision and protection.

I am a Christian who sometimes struggles with finding joy in my circumstances. 

I think I am good and I think I am loving but I KNOW that I am lacking. 

When I consider the times when I have been gentle, kind, loving, joyful, good, and peaceful, I see a pattern of what has lead me to be this way. 

When I think unkindly about someone, I do so in my fleshly human nature. When I pray for someone, I do so with the powerful intercession of the Holy Spirit.

When I lose my patience with my little ones, I do so out of human frustration. When I pray for them I do so with the powerful intercession of the Holy Spirit. 

I could go on, but my point is that when we intercede on behalf of others, we are more likely to view them with patience, gentleness, and kindness. When I attempt to work through something on my own I lose self-control, joy, and peace. But when I pray, through the power of the Holy Spirit, I suddenly possess these characteristics. 

The Holy Spirit is the forgotten God. It is just as important as God the Father and God the Son, but so often forgotten and unutilized. 

Our good Father gifted us with an intercessor and called us then to intercede for others. When we do so we possess the fruit of the Spirit. When we "pray without ceasing" as the Bible instructs us to in Thessalonians, we are constantly in communion with God's Spirit and we are peace, gentleness, patience, love, joy, kindness, goodness, and self-control. 

So as I feel like I am lacking I remember that He is not. I turn to Him, away from myself, bend my knee and bow my head for others and choose to possess the fruit that God so faithfully bestows.