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How Well Do You Know God?

Ava Pennington • March 8, 2022

Today I want to welcome author Ava Pennington as she shares with us about the names of God and her journey to a closer walk with her Lord.


Ava, you're on!

 

Are you content with your relationship with God? How well do you know Him? How well do you want to know Him?

 

I grew up reciting the Lord’s Prayer from childhood. And each time I came to “Hallowed be your name,” I wondered what that meant. As I asked questions, it soon became apparent people referred to God by many different names and had vastly differing ideas about who He is.

 

Studying the many ways God referred to Himself in His Word began an amazing journey. In the process, I realized my relationship with Him was based on who I thought He was or who others told me He was, but not necessarily who He said He was. I was hooked!

 

This was the beginning of a lifelong love of the names of God, as well as a desire to share what He was teaching me as I continued my own studies. That’s why I wrote Reflections on the Names of God. The subtitle says it all: 180 Devotions to Know God More Fully, an abridged gift book edition of the original one-year devotional on the names of God.

 

Still, it’s not enough to fill our heads with information if we don’t apply what we’re learning. To ensure this devotional would be more than a textbook on the names of God, I explored sixty names and attributes of God three ways. Each entry includes three separate devotions about who God is, who we are in relation to Him, and how this changes our earthly relationships.

 

The names of God tell us who He is. They reveal His nature and His ways using descriptions we can relate to and understand. The more we learn about who God is, the more we learn about ourselves—who we are in relation to the One who created us and redeemed us. Finally, we learn the priority God places on relationships, and the characteristics that will nurture those relationships in ways that glorify Him.

 

Learning about the names and attributes of God has especially impacted by own faith and relationship with Him three ways:

 

It changed the way I relate to God.

Faith in God is not blind faith—we can confidently rely on who God is by what He has revealed about Himself in His Word. Each name and attribute tells me not just who He is but also how He works. He is unchanging, which means the God of the Bible is the same today. While we cannot fully understand who He is this side of heaven, His names and attributes provide glimpses into His divine nature.

 

It changed the way I pray.

I’m not praying to an impersonal force out there in the universe, I am praying to our very personal God. Whatever the subject of my prayer—whether worship, thanksgiving, interceding for others, or asking for myself—there is a name or attribute God has revealed which helps me address Him in that area.

 

It changed the way I share and teach about Christ.

Learning the names and attributes of God gives me the confidence to share Christ on an individual and personal level. God is not some ancient or outdated theological concept. Everything about who He is and how He works is relevant to us today. Knowing His names and attributes gives me the specific words to describe who He is to others. It also helps me when others speak of who they think God is—because then I have a starting point to say, let’s look at who God says He is!

 

It’s difficult to trust someone we don’t know. The more we know about who God is and how He works, the easier it is for us to trust Him. If you and I want to get to know God intimately, doesn’t it make sense to learn what He says about Himself?

 

How are you learning more about who God is?

 

About Ava:

Ava Pennington is an author, speaker, freelance editor, and certified writing and speaking coach. She also teaches a weekly Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) class. Ava is the author of Reflections on the Names of God: 180 Devotions to Know God More Fully (Revell Books), an abridged gift book edition of her one-year devotional. Three devotions for each name/attribute explore who God is, and how this changes us and our relationships. Visit www.AvaPennington.com to learn more.

 

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