We Need More Words!

Our proud kindergartner-grandson’s homemade, get-well card to my mother-in-law, read:

“I HOP U FEBETSON” and, “I CANSPBLNAO”.

Translation: “I hope you feel better soon” and, “I can spell now.”

It is God’s unique gift to us to be able to communicate through language because words have power; it has been said that one kind word can change the course of someone’s day. And, the more words we know, the more power we have over our own lives. That is why the Bible provides words for us to search for the God who “knows and has good plans for us”, and to praise Him richly.

I have observed young people struggling with…words. It seems that texting has limited spelling and the ability to use any word that contains more than four letters. I witnessed this recently when a young person struggled with a prayer request and then finally blurted out, “I don’t know how to say it!” Clearly a larger vocabulary is needed.

Then I thought about my own limited prayer vocabulary. “God, you are Good.” “I love you, God.” Much like that struggling young person, I can be limited in my words for God and to God because I can fall into the habit of repeating the same words without knowing to whom I am speaking or for what I am really asking.

Several years ago, a friend introduced Praying the Attributes of God by Rosemary Jensen to me. An attribute is “a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something”. This small book is a monthly journal of thirty-one attributes of God, listed in alphabetical order along with Scriptures, a prayer and lines for requests. It took me months to learn of the importance and beauty in knowing a few of the myriad attributes of God and to see how my requests are altered by knowing more words that describe Him. And, with a Thesaurus and a dictionary I expanded my understanding of each attribute with synonyms and definitions.

For example, take the common word that we say about God - GOOD: righteous, upright, genuine, love, enough, just, blessing, reliable, valuable, virtuous, treasure, righteous. These words are found in Scripture, too: Psalm 25:8 - good and upright; Psalm 33:5 - righteous, just and love; Psalm 107:9 - satisfying. How different my prayers became when my vocabulary and understanding of Him increased. Knowing that God is exceptionally reliable and competent, I pray with confident praise for Him in my requests, instead of just hoping that God hears me.

There is beauty in journaling because we are fickle in our prayers and easily forget, moving on to the next prayer request. Regular journaling takes us back to our requests and builds our faith in seeing God’s answer…not always in the ways that we thought we needed. Years ago, I prayed repeatedly for God to provide in a certain situation...month after month I prayed for Provision as my request.

Finally, one day in going through the requests I realized that a better provision had already been given in a completely different way than what I had expected. And, I had neither seen nor had I thanked Him for his answer; I had passed over my request, on to new “asks”. I now “own” the attribute provider in that I have a personal history of seeing God’s provision in a way that displayed His Glory and Creativity. I KNOW that He is PROVIDER and my prayers are now prayed with a confidence that I did not have before I understood that He is dependable furnisher, supplier, preparer, keeper, all in His time and in His creative way.

Another attribute that struck me was invisible. How is the word INVISIBLE an attribute? I had prayed this attribute in adoration - He is the invisible God, confessing that I at times doubt His presence because He is invisible but still thanked Him for not being visible. It dawned on me after several months of running through this attribute: what am I saying here? I read Scriptures that praise Him for this attribute but had not given any thought to why I should be thankful that God is invisible.

Then, it was revealed to me: God is the I AM. He is all things to all races, nationalities, ages, sexes and the educated or uneducated through His Son, Jesus, “The image of the invisible God” - Colossians 1:15. He is to be praised for being “GOD”, not of our sight or in our image, not perceptible by the eye, but seen through the words, works and sacrifice of Jesus. My new praise was/is that He cannot be reduced to an image.

My request or supplication? Let your INVISIBLE love be seen in my words and actions...let others know that you are Real to me in how I live for you, Father. Guide me to pray for you, the Holy, Invisible God, to be revealed to young and old, male and female, African, Asian, Indian and Caucasian, alike.

Like a mirror ball with many facets of light, so is our multi-faceted, Incomprehensible, Infinite God, Accessible, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Provider, Savior; these are just a few of the many words that describe our Holy God. Life is so short and there are so many ways to see God if we take the time to increase our “attribute vocabulary”. How can we possibly believe that He hears our prayers if we do not know that our God is a Personal, Loving, Holy Father? If I know, really know, that Savior means “one who rescues us” or Freedom, Redeemer and Protector, I can see the magnitude of God in new ways and cannot help but worship Him.

Another reason to know (understand, be familiar with, comprehend, realize) more attributes of God, is that the more words we attribute to Him, the more our prayers change, which changes our thinking, which in turn changes us as we cannot help but display His attributes in our own lives.