05/06/2022 - GREAT AND AWESOME GOD

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And I said: “I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments. Nehemiah 1:5

Nehemiah began his prayer by calling upon the Lord. He expressed in a direct and productive way what he knew about God. When we decide to address the Most High, we speak to who He is: sovereign over all things, whose power can change any situation contrary to us (Isaiah 43:13). If we call upon Him and believe that He is mighty, we will soon see Him helping us in a simple way. This happened to Nehemiah days later. God is faithful!

King Artaxerxes’ cupbearer knew that the Lord is God of Heaven, of the world of perfection, with the ability to deliver anyone from the hands of the enemy. The Israelites were warned by Jeremiah, but before him, Isaiah had also predicted slavery. However, as it usually happens with those deceived by the devil, those who suffer, God’s people neither perceived their mistake nor prayed to the Most High.

Nehemiah addressed his prayer to the Almighty, calling Him the great and awesome (fearful) God, knowing that He does not run away from battles, but delights in helping those who trust in Him. The greatness and strength of the Lord cannot be measured or explained in words, for it transcends anything man can use to discover. God is known for His extraordinary deeds.

A positive fact in Nehemiah’s outcry was to say that the Lord keeps the covenant, the Covenant made with the patriarchs. He knew why God allowed His own to be taken and delivered into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar: they did not keep their part of the Covenant and feared the gods of the nations that did not protect them. Perfect confession within prayer. Be vigilant!

Nehemiah also spoke about God keeping mercy – the loving kindness toward Jacob’s descendants, or the kind hope. The Israelites were part of the divine plans; then, after the years of servitude, they could return to their land. Not because of the benevolence of their masters, but because the Eternal would work in their favor. When man has this understanding, he will be blessed in his petitions to the Sovereign of the Universe!

One of the conditions for God to keep the Covenant and His lovingkindness is for us to love Him by keeping the commandments. This was known to Nehemiah, so he declared it to the Lord when he was asking for Jerusalem. Loving God with our lips is no good, but when we obey Him, we can cry out with all our hearts and see His loving kindness come into action (John 15:7). Pray about what God speaks!

The king’s cupbearer did not expect that his time to be used by God was coming. However, when he heard the news about the Promised Land, he decided to pray to the Lord for guidance. In a wonderful way, he became a man of such importance when he returned to Israel. God knows how to choose and use those who fear Him!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares