Who is God? As We Worship, He Speaks

Genesis 17:3-4, 9: Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations ... As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations."

Who is God? In Genesis 17 ...
He is the great initiator who approaches and appears. (verse 1) 
He declares "I am God Almighty," and invites us to walk before Him blameless and without blemish.  (verse 2)  
As we bow in worship, He speaks covenant promise over us.  (verses 3-4) 
He reveals His name even as He changes our name. (verse 5)   
He initiates and establishes covenants that are everlasting. (verse 7) 
He is the God who knows what I will choose to do.  (verse 9) 
When His promise is greeted by laughter, He heart is still to bless and to give.  (verses 16-17) 
As we tell Him why He can't keep His promise, He establishes what is everlasting.  (verse 19) 
He is the beginning and end of every conversation.  (verse 22)

Prayer - 
Oh Father,  I long to be blameless before you and worthy of covenant trust.  I tremble because my response to your invitation affects generations of those who come after me.  You have made it so clear, "walk before me and be blameless."  Oh Father, forgive me when instead I walk away.  Where can I go from your Spirit?  What choice can I make  that is not already known by you?  I am prone to wander, and known to laugh at your promise.  No more wandering, no more laughter, only more of you.

Who is God? He Allows Us to See His Care

"So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said,“Truly here I have seen him who looks after me."  -Genesis 16:13

Who is God? In Genesis 16 ...
He allows us to choose who it is that we listen to.  (verse 2) 
He allows us to take matters into our own hands, and pay the consequences for generations to come.  (verse 4)  
He even sends His angels to those we have mistreated.  (verse 7) 
He commands us to submit to earthly authority.  (verse 9)  
He listens to our affliction.  (verse 11)  
He is the God of seeing, and allows us to see his care for us.  (verse 13)

Prayer - 
Oh Father, convict me of any voice that has your place in my heart.  Forgive my murmuring when I pay the price for going my own way.  Strengthen me for the discipline I endure.  Thank you for caring for those I mistreat.  I bow before your authority and any authority you place me under.  Hear my cry oh God.  Comfort me with your insight.  Give me glimples of your care for me.

Who is God? He Shows Us Hope Beyond Comprehension

Genesis 15:6 - "And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness."  

Who is God? In Genesis 15...
He continues to reveal His character and purposes as we walk with Him.  (verse 1) 
He commands us not to fear, because He is our shield and reward.  (verse 1) 
He brings us to a place where we can look up and see what He has spoken into being.  (verse 5)  
He shows us hope that is beyond our ability to count or comprehend.  (verse 5) 
When we believe Him, He declares that we are righteous.  (verse 6) 
He desires that we know for certain who holds the future.  (verse 13) 
He decrees and brings judgement.  (verse 14)  
After we believe, He answers our questions with a visible covenant.  (verse 18)

Prayer:
Oh Father, thank you for walking with me and revealing who you are along the way.  This is reason enough to journey with you!  Fear has no place in my heart in light of my shield and reward.  Oh the delight of looking up and not being able to count what you have spoken into being.  Thank you for showing me the familiar and visible, to help me trust the invisible. I believe You, and receive right standing from you alone.   Thank you for encounters that begin with a question, and end with a covenant.

Who is God? He Asks Us To Pursue People

Genesis 14:16 - Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.

Who is God? In Genesis 14, 
Earthly rulers plan and wage war, but His purposes prevail.  
He allows us to settle in a place of sin, but there is a day of reckoning. 
The enemy may think that they have captured everyone and everything, but He causes one to escape and bring deliverance.   
He asks us to pursue people regardless of the choices they have made. 
He honors the hard work of training for battle.  
He is able to rescue and redeem everything that was stolen away.  
As He rescues, it demonstrates that He is the creator and possessor of heaven and earth. 
As we give Him a tenth, we declare that He is our creator and possessor. 
When our enemies are delivered into our hands, it is because of Him. 

Prayer:
Oh Father, I rest under your prevailing purposes.  You are greater than any ruler or war.  Show me any place where I am settling for less than your best.  Open my eyes to any pit that I have moved near.  I wander and settle, and need rescue, but I look up and see you. 

Now train me for rescue Oh God.  Grant me your joy of purusing the undeserving, and seeing the look of freedom on their face.  I gladly give a tenth of everything to God Most High, my possessor, my redeemer. 

Who is God? He Invites Us to What He Prepares for Us

Genesis 13:17 - 
"Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you." 

Who is God? In Genesis 13, 
All of the livestock, silver, and gold that we possess, really belongs to Him.  
He brings us back to places where we worshipped Him long ago.  
He is Holy and our sin is against Him.  
He invites us to lift up our eyes and see what He has prepared for us.  
His blessing extends to generations. 
He invites us to walk through the length and the breadth of what He has prepared for us.  

Prayer:
Father, all that I have is a gift from you.  All of the gold and silver belongs to you.  Show me any place of worship that I need to return to.  Help me to remember things spoken long ago.  I could lift my eyes and choose for myself, but I choose you.  I can try to justify my sin, but it is against you.  I hear your invitation to lift my eyes in worship, and wonder at what you have prepared for me and my children.  Oh, the length and breadth of your promise.  Oh, the joy of walking with you.