What can you tell me about your God?

Let me start with a story about how predictable someone can be, or should be, when you really know them.  This was Scott’s birthday weekend and after volunteering all day at LoveOKC, I thought I would take him to the perfect place for dinner.  It was Heard on Hurd in Edmond which is something we have enjoyed in the past.  There are about 30 food trucks with greasy unhealthy food and a couple of live bands.  This is right up Scott’s alley and the perfect way to end a birthday.  What I forgot to take into account was the fact that we were starving from working all day and now Scott was not only  faced with making a menu selection, but first he had to choose a food truck.  If you know Scott, these food choices do not come easily.  See, I should know this.  I sit with him in the drive-through line as he mulls over the Wendy’s menu, the one that hasn’t changed in years, for what seems like an eternity as the kind worker awaits his decision.  Sometimes they even come back on the speaker to make sure we are still there.

Back to Heard on Hurd, normally, we could take our time, check out all of the trucks and menu options, but we were famished.  Time was at an essential point.  After the second trip past all of the food trucks, I could tell we were in trouble.  Luckily we found a factor that could limit our choices – the line length.  We got in line at the truck that had the shortest line, yet enough of a line for Scott to choose between the five items on the menu before we got to the window.  Problem solved and the food was great.   The thought that Scott puts into every decision is something I love about him.  See this also transitions to the thought he puts into buying me gifts and doing things for me around the house.  Again, how do I know this?  I know this because I see it in action during the time we spend together.

I am currently reading a study on the Lord’s prayer.  It has reminded me of the importance of a relationship with Christ in order to effectively pray.  We know the steps to the prayer Jesus modeled for us.  It begins with worship and praise before moving into submission and petition.  What has hit home the most to me is how do we worship or praise someone we don’t know or don’t have a relationship with?  In the classroom, I was once given a list of kind comments to use for praising students.  It was a great list, but I found if I really knew my students, I knew how to praise them with words that meant the most to them.  I feel this has to be the same when we praise our Lord.  If we really know Him, we can praise Him by reminding Him of what He has done for us, we can praise Him by calling out what difference He makes in our lives, or we can praise Him by telling Him just how much He really means to us.

Psalm 105 is a psalm of praise and gives us an outline for how to praise our Father.  I’m going to put it in bullet points.

• Give thanks
• Call on His name
• Tell others what He has done
• Quote scripture to Him
• Tell of His wondrous works
• Seek the Lord
• Seek the Lord and His strength
• Seek His face evermore
• Remember His works

Notice that seeking Him is repeated three times.  That tells me how important it is to seek out a relationship with our Father in order to better praise him.  In closing, I want to put a personal touch on the points in Psalm 105.

• Thank you for always being there when I call out to You
• You are my Jehovah-Shalom – God of Peace
• You have provided for my needs in times when I didn’t think there was any way it would happen
• You promised me in Matt 5:4 that “Blessed our those that mourn because they will be comforted.”
• When I have trusted You with a decision, You have never let me down
• I remember when you have even helped me with the smallest of problems such as finding my keys.

Take the time to praise our Lord in this way.  See how many ways you can fill in the bullet points.

Get to know Him so closely that you can praise Him over and over again.

Author: Angela Grunewald

Just a mom/wife/educator who loves the Lord and wants to share my thoughts. View all posts by Angela Grunewald