From Praying the Names of God Week Fourteen, Day Four
The Name
What better word than "rock" to represent God's permanence, protection, and enduring faithfulness? When you pray to the Lord your Rock, you are praying to the God who can always be counted on. His purposes and plans remain firm throughout history. The New Testament identifies Jesus as the spiritual rock that accompanied the Israelites during their long journey through the desert. He is also the stone the builders rejected but that has become the cornerstone of God's church.
Key Scripture
Praise be to the LORD my Rock,
who trains my hands for war
my fingers for battle. (Psalm 144:1)
***
Thursday
PRAYING THE NAME
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. (Matthew 7:24-25)
For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." (1 Peter 2:6)
Reflect On: Matthew 7:24-27
Praise God: For his unshakable faithfulness.
Offer Thanks: For the security we have in Christ.
Confess: Any habit of worry that keeps you from trusting God.
Ask God: To help you put his words into practice.
A few years ago a friend told me the story of a dream his twelveyear-old son, Christopher, had been having—a nightmare that recurred several times during a monthlong period. Whenever the boy focused on an object in his dream, it would suddenly shrink and then start spinning counterclockwise at ever-increasing speeds.
The experience was so unnerving that when he woke up, he saw objects in his bedroom growing smaller and smaller and then beginning to spin uncontrollably, just like in his nightmare. Finally one night the dream changed.
"I was having the dream," Christopher explained, "when suddenly a slab of stone appeared right in front of my face so I couldn't see anything else. It looked like it was some kind of marble and had handles on either side and writing on it. As soon as I saw it, I grabbed on to the handles. When I looked closer, I realized the inscription read: ‘Jesus Is the Rock.' It blocked out all the stuff that had been scaring me, and I never had the dream again." Christopher's dream offers a wonderful image of how Jesus can deal with our fear. When Christopher was looking at the stone, he couldn't see anything else, not even the things that frightened him. Grabbing hold of the rock, he was at peace and the nightmare vanished.
What are you facing today that frightens you or shakes your confidence? Illness? Job loss? Trouble at home? Difficulties at work? No matter how out of control life may seem, decide to keep your eyes glued to Jesus—to his character and his faithfulness and not to the circumstances that disturb you. Recommit yourself not only to hearing his Word but to building your life on it, confident that when the rains come down, the streams rise up, and the winds blow and beat against your house, it will not fall because its foundation is securely built on the rock.
For more from Ann Spangler, please visit her blogspot on Christianity.com. And be sure to check out Ann's newest books on AnnSpangler.com.
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.
