Praying His Attributes

“But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I will always trust in God’s unfailing love. I will praise you forever, O God, for what you have done. I will trust in your good name In the presence of your faithful people. “ (Psalm 52:8-9 NLT)

At the end of the year, I always feel some trepidation of things left undone or spending too much time on things that don’t matter. Those of you who know me well or know what I’ve been up to might be smiling right now at how ridiculous it may sound. And what I choose to do depends on how in tune I am with following a good, good father. God is good all the time.

What I find helps in times of doubt—whether of where I’m headed or what I’m doing, or if I’m feeling overwhelmed by the state of the world—is to pray God’s attributes. The last few weeks I’ve been reading through the Psalms with my Bible study, specifically those that David wrote as he was fleeing from King Saul (1 Samuel). Psalm 52 was written when David was betrayed by Saul’s herdsman.

What strikes me is that through these prayers of rescue and uncertainty, David ends with worshiping and speaking God’s attributes. Another example is Psalm 54, where David ends with, “I will sacrifice a voluntary offering to you; I will praise your name, O Lord, for it is good. For you have rescued me from my troubles and helped me to triumph over my enemies” (NLT).

It hasn’t been the easiest year, both locally and globally. There are many things left undone, and many things that we’ve spent time on that don’t necessarily matter. But the truth is, God is good all the time, and there is power in the name of Jesus. Knowing God’s attributes, and ending my prayers repeating them out loud, have helped me say in those times of uncertainty, “I will trust in your good name, in the presence of your faithful people.”

Miel can be reached by email here.