In case you haven’t gotten a chance to read the first four parts to this series, see the links in the side bar.

V. Charting His Attributes
Now comes the final step – the putting into practice of all that we’ve been talking about. It wouldn’t do to spend all this time discovering the attributes of God and then forget what they are when it’s time to pray. So we must devote time to keeping a record of God’s attributes – and when we do, we will have a ready-made resource to aid in our prayer time.

Certainly you can buy books that list out all of God’s attributes – and there’s a great one that I read part of in preparation for this seminar called Praying the Attributes of God by Rosemary Jensen (loaned to me by my dear friend, Katelyn). However, I think that our own written account of God’s attributes will become even more valued and treasured by us because we explored and discovered them on our own.

The idea is simple – get a small notebook solely for the purpose of charting the attributes of God, and then divide it into sections based on the different attributes that you come across in your daily reading. You could divide it up ahead of time or you could divide it up as you discover the different attributes, but having separate sections available will make it easy when you discover a verse that fits with a category you already wrote down.

Let me demonstrate how I did this with Psalm 40. I simply read through the psalm, and after each verse or two, I asked myself – “What attribute of God do I see in that verse?” or “What does it say about God in that verse or two?”

Compassionate – verses 1-2
Giver of Joy – verse 3
Sovereign – verse 5
Performer of Wonders – verse 5
Author of Grace, Not Works – verse 6
Righteous, Faithful, Saving – verses 10, 16
Merciful, Loving – verse 11
Help & Deliverer – verse 17

Eleven attributes in a 17-verse Psalm! Not every passage that you read will have this many attributes so readily available, but you don’t need to write down an attribute from every single verse that you read. After your morning or evening Bible study or reading, just ask yourself, “What attributes of God did I see in my reading or study today?” And add them, with the verse references to your “Attributes of God Journal.”

That way when you go to pray, you will have an instant reference point. Simply pull it out, and turn to a section and use it to fuel your prayers. Turn to the verses that you wrote down and pray through the attributes:

God, You are a God of compassion. You have a tender heart of mercy toward your children at all times, but especially when we are in “slimy pits.” You delight in rescuing us so that Your name may be honored. I thank You for rescuing me out of my slimy pits this week. Thank You for lifting me out of despair and setting my feet on a rock. Thank You that You teach me how to be compassionate towards those that also may feel like they are in slimy pits. I confess that I have not been dependent on Your compassion, and I have tried to “rescue” myself. I’m sorry for relying on myself instead of turning to You and Your never-ending compassion. May this tender compassion of Yours become ever more dear to my heart.

To conclude, my deepest prayer throughout all of this study is that our hearts would be drawn towards prayer as a means to becoming ravished by God. We can get caught up in steps and acronyms and outlines – all of which are good and necessary – but more than anything, God just wants us to throw ourselves before Him daily and express our love and our worship for who He is.

The better we become at it, the more we will desire to spend time with God in prayer, and our lives will become prayer-centered lives, which in turn will mean they are God-centered lives.

His glory. Our joy. Always the purpose. Always the reward.