life.
Part1
Fifteen Reasons to Praise God Now
Why We Need to Know God Better
One of the most powerful experiences I’ve ever had helped me gain a greater understanding about who God really is. It happened in a church service where Pastor Jack Hayford was teaching about the awesome attributes of God. In the middle of his teaching he asked the people in the congregation to spontaneously speak out a name or an attribute of God that had meant the most to them.
One at a time people spoke out loud enough for all to hear.
Savior,
said one.
Redeemer,
said another.
Healer,
said someone else.
Deliverer,
said yet another.
Lord.
Peace.
The Word.
All-Knowing,
All-Powerful,
Light of the World,
Creator,
Heavenly Father,
All-Sufficient,
God with Us.
Names poured forth in succession from every part of the large sanctuary. And with each name came a surge of joy from deep within the souls of those listening. With each name the light of hope glowed more brightly in our hearts.
It was not only hearing God’s name spoken, but we could tell that the person speaking the names either knew God as that name from personal experience, or they were hoping in faith to know Him in that way. I was the one who called out Deliverer
because God had delivered me from the hands of death and brokenness so many times that I knew I was alive because of His deliverance. He had set me free from the loneliness, sadness, fear, and depression of my childhood and restored me to wholeness. When I said, Deliverer,
I knew Him as my deliverer.
With each name spoken, everyone increasingly sensed the awesome greatness of God. It was as if each name brought a rising of faith regarding that particular attribute of God. It touched all of us so powerfully that many of us openly wept. When it was finished, the entire place erupted into spontaneous praise. No one was reluctant, no one had to be coaxed or invited. No one hesitated to raise their voice or their hands to God. In fact, we couldn’t stop ourselves. The praise went on and on. Hearing God’s names had filled us with new hope and increased our love for Him.
This happened more than 30 years ago, and I have never forgotten the full impact of it. It proved to me that the better we know God, and the more we understand all of who He is, the less we will be able to contain our praise for Him.
ATTENTION ALL READERS! What I am saying here is that we are to worship God. I am not saying we are to worship His attributes. I am saying that God is multifaceted, and we don’t understand all that He is. We could spend a lifetime alone just trying to fathom that He is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But He is also many other things.
In the Bible God has numerous names. If we were able to grasp all of who God is on our own, He would not have needed to inspire the writers of the Bible to speak of Him using His many names. It’s obvious that there is no way our finite minds can understand even a fraction of who He is without knowing these things about Him. The Bible wasn’t written so that God would have a record of who He is and what He has done in case He forgot. It is written for us in case we forget. The Bible was written to help us know Him better. To help us understand things about Him that we otherwise could not.
God doesn’t hide who He is and what He has done. We can clearly see Him if we will open our eyes with humility. We see Him in His Word. We see Him in His creation. Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened
(Romans 1:20-21).
In other words, when we know God and do not thank Him as we should, we become fools bathed in futility and darkness. It seems to me that we need to spend more time appreciating who God
