Listen
What is God saying to you through the text?
Reflect
Yesterday we introduced a prayer called the shema and we focused on listening and hearing from God as we recited this prayer that Jews have prayed for several hundreds of years morning and evening. This is the same prayer that Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for praying. Here is what struck me, Daniel had been praying that prayer for years, it was a consistent part of his life because he knew who his Lord was.
“Lord” simply defined means a person having power and authority over others but this is not the LORD that we find in Deuteronomy nor the LORD that we find Daniel praying to. The name of God was considered so holy that it was not to be said out loud. So Daniel continued to pray to the Lord or the original language of Yahweh.
There is an old song that some of you might know called KING of Kings and LORD of Lords that I used to sing when I was a kid. It had an old world feel to it that was fun for me and friends to sing but I missed the profound meaning in it. This is the Yahweh that Deuteronomy is referring to, The LORD of all lords, KING of all kings. Daniel, Jews, Jesus and Christ followers have all called God this name as a sign of honor and respect and supremacy. This song made me think of another verse found in Revelation 4:8 where it says that four creatures were repeating, “Holy, holy, holy, LORD GOD Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come!” We see it again from the beginning of man’s history to this letter by John that God is GOD. He is over all and therefore as we return to this prayer of shema we rightly listen, trust and pray to the GOD over all Gods who was and is and is to come.
Prayer
GOD… may we truly acknowledge you as Lord over all of our lives. Help us as we listen to you to trust that your ways are better than our ways and that you know what is best for our lives. We acknowledge you as Yahweh, Adonai, the one who was, who is, and who will always be. Amen.
Do
Maybe you have prayed a thousand times, this might be your first. Pray Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and ask that he would be the KING of kings and LORD of Lords over every area of your life.
