Praying the Names of God - November 8
From Praying the Names of God Week Twenty-One, Day Five
The Name
Justice is ultimately rooted not in a collection of laws or rules but in the very character and nature of God. As Judge of the whole earth, he is the only One competent to measure the motivations of our hearts. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word "judge" is often parallel to the word "king." When we pray to God our Shophet (sho-PHAIT), we are praying to the One whose righteousness demands perfect justice but who has also provided a way for us to be acquitted of our guilt through the life, death, and resurrection of his Son.
Key Scripture
Judgment will again be founded on righteousness,
and all the upright in heart will follow it. (Psalm 94:15)
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Friday
PROMISES ASSOCIATED WITH GOD'S NAME
God's justice is tempered by his great mercy, which is most powerfully and eloquently expressed in the person of Jesus Christ. No matter what your life may have looked like before you came to Christ, there is no longer any condemnation for you. Today the Judge of the whole earth rises to show you compassion. Express your thanks by imitating his justice—feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the poor, visiting those who are in prison, and nursing the sick.
Promises in Scripture
Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
he rises to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him! (Isaiah 30:18)
I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. (John 5:24-27)
Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." (Matthew 25:34-36)
Continued Prayer and Praise
Pray for the leaders of your country. (Psalm 72:1-19)
Pray for God's judgment on oppressive rulers. (Psalm 94:1-15)
Pray that the Lord will establish his kingdom through his perfect justice. (Isaiah 11:1-9)
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Meet your spiritual ancestors as they really were: Less Than Perfect: Broken Men and Women of the Bible and What We Can Learn from Them.
