We pray to deeply and intimately know our gracious Abba, Father God. After I asked Jesus in my heart to be my Lord and Savior in February 1985, the Holy Spirit taught me how to pray by praying Scriptures out loud. During that time, He led me to pray Exodus 34:6-7 (NIV1984) “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”
This Scripture so touched me, humbled me, broke me to tears as He revealed to me Who He was, and what He did for me, a broken, messed up man, lost in sin. Since that time, probably more than any other Scripture, I declare who my majestic, loving and awesome God is praying out loud Psalm 103:8 (NIV1984) “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”, and Psalm 145:8 (NIV1984) “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” Oh, how can we not fall down on our knees and worship Him?!
I love the little extra that Psalm 86:15 adds: “But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” And reading Jonah’s complaint against God always puts a smile on my face: “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (Jonah 4:2).
Nehemiah knew Who He was when he prayed out “But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. Now therefore, O our God, the great, mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes—the hardship that has come upon us, upon our kings and leaders, upon our priests and prophets, upon our fathers and all your people” (Neh. 9:31-32).
The prophet Joel received an urgent and powerful word from the Lord in Joel 2:12-13 that was just as important for God’s people then, as it is today for us: “Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.”
Can we not actually know and feel David’s heart-cry in Psalm 51:1 as he cries out to his great God of compassion: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.” And Isaiah also sheds light on our gracious God in Isaiah 30:18-19 (NKJV) Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you…He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you.”
Oh Papa God, Abba Father, we stand in awe of You as we marvel at your great compassion for us. Help us to grasp in heart, mind and soul how very gracious You really are to us. That when we cry out to You, You hear and answer! Oh may we bow down in pure, unashamed, unabashed, worship of our faithful Lord, Who is overwhelmingly compassionate on us, immensely gracious to us, shockingly slow to anger to us, and so excessively abounding in love towards us. Oh, how deeply we love You, Abba Father, we really do; How can we not worship You?