Names have always mattered to me. Having been given a name that required pronouncing and resaying to people and spelling it out, it has really given me an appreciation for names, not mine per say, but names none the less.
When the Lord began to teach and reteach me certain grace practices, I realized that one of the most foundational practices I needed to soak in is adoring His names. God makes Himself vulnerable by revealing many names in Scripture. This gives us insight into His ways and His character. His names and attributes are an exposure of Himself, of His heart, to us.
God offers titles as well as names for Himself in His word. I have found that when I open my quiet time meditating and adoring His names, then my heart is reminded of Who it is I am coming to and my problems are reminded of Who my God is. It helps to rightly shift my perspective.
Grace practices are simple and effective ways to draw near to the heart of God. Of the five grace practices God has been teaching me, the practice of adoring God’s names has been foundational to changing my perspective at any given moment. When I call to mind a name of God, I quickly see my trial, problem or fear shrink in size and power. It helps me remember that He is a “with me” God my Immanuel, He is Healer (Yahweh Rapha), Provider (Yahweh Yireh), God who Sees (El Roi) and the Banner of Love over me (Yahweh Nissi).
Whether it is His names or attributes, adoring God as He reveals Himself will draw your heart near to His. One simple way I have practiced this is by writing the alphabet down the left side of a piece of paper. Then each morning I take 1 letter and I praise Him for all His names and attributes I can think of that start with that letter.
For example, for “A” He is Abba (Father), Awesome, Amazing and Awe-inspiring. I write these on the paper by the letter A and I praise Him out loud for these truths. Regardless of my circumstances, it helps my heart to focus on what is true about God all the time, no matter what my human eyes can see and not see.
Then throughout my day, I return to those words of truth that the Holy Spirit brought to mind in the morning. In the midst of a stressful moment I call to mind that He is Awesome, He is my Abba Father and He is the Awe-inspiring One. My confidence is boosted, my mind is shifted and my stressful trial begins to take its rightful place under His feet.
I love this grace practice you use, Mariel. When I can focus on God’s faithful character, it does help. Thank you for this idea of using the alphabet. Love and blessings to you!
grateful it blessed you, Trudy! thank you for the comment.
What a great practice to focus on His names. I love the idea of thinking about one letter each day. Also, I wonder if we pronounce our names the same!? (Mine can be a tough one for people too. It’s mar like Mark and then say the letter E the letter L. 🙂 How about you?)
yes focusing on His names each day makes all the difference!
Yes my name is always difficult for people too😂 mine sounds like “Mary” “L”
What a neat practice! I’ve heard sermons on the names of God, but had not thought of purposefully meditating on them with my quiet time.
it makes such a difference for me to start with that focus. I pray it blesses you to consider starting with His names as well. ❤
I love your idea of focusing on God’s names as a method of worship. There are so many aspects of our God. So many different attributes to meditate on.
You’re right, there are infinitely many attributes to meditate on. That’s why a letter per day works best for me, A= Abba, Amazing, Able… it helps me to keep focus. Thank you for reading and commenting, Laurie <3
Nice tip using the letters! Thanks for sharing
Grateful it blessed you! Thanks for reading!
glad it blessed you, Sarah, thanks for stopping by!