Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him
and said to him,
“I am God Almighty,
walk before Me and be blameless.”
Genesis 17:1
“El Shaddai” is one of my favorite names for God. So much about God is revealed to us in the first seventeen chapters of His Word. We discover that He is our Creator, our giver of life. We learn that our sin grieves His heart. We are shown that He keeps His promises. We are taught that He is the Most High God. We have seen that He is El Roi, a God who sees. We have also learned that He is our shield and our reward. Now we learn that He is God Almighty and that we can walk before Him and be blameless. Walking before God blameless seems like an impossible feat, but Jesus assures us in Luke 18:27 that “the things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
In Genesis 17:3 we read that “Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him.” I believe this is a key verse as to how we are able to walk before God blameless. God came to Abram and announced Himself. Abram responded by falling on his face before Him, and then God talked with him. I wonder if it is even possible to really talk with God if we do not spend time on our face before Him—humbled in his presence.
We need to be bowed before our El Elyon, ready to submit in complete obedience to whatever He tells us to do. The great men and women of faith in Scripture and in history spent time on their faces.
I know that I do not spend enough time on my face before him. I think our position in prayer may matter more than we want to realize and admit. We want to say we are on our face in our hearts; we are bowed before Him spiritually, but are we really?
When we look at all that we know about our Creator, when we let these truths sink in, how can we not fall on our faces and worship Him? When we look at who He is, compared to who we know ourselves to be, why would we even consider that we could look Him in the face? Even the seraphim who stand before the throne of our Lord cover their faces with their wings (Isaiah 6:2).
I want God to talk with me. I want to be in His presence. I want to walk before my El Shaddai and be blameless. Acts 10:34 declares that “God is not one to show partiality,” so if Abram could walk before Him and be blameless, then so can we. The question we must ask ourselves is do we truly desire to walk blameless before our God? Do we truly desire for God to talk with us? If we do, then we must first humble ourselves before Him.
Abram demonstrated the humility of his heart by falling on his face when he was in God’s presence. This simple act shows so much. It shows that we are acknowledging the holiness of our God. It shows that we are submitting to His authority in our life. It shows that our hearts’ desire is to be obedient to the One we call “Master” and “Lord.”
Oh, precious one, our God knows our hearts. We can’t pretend humility before our Creator. In Philippians 2:8 we read that Jesus “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Abram demonstrated the humility of his heart before God. Jesus demonstrated the humility of His heart before the world. So maybe we too need to demonstrate the humility of our hearts by humbling ourselves physically. We need to fall on our faces before Him. He is, after all, deserving of our wholehearted, face-down devotion.
Oh Father,
This is my desire: to honor You, my God and my King. Oh Father, forgive me for the many excuses I have made for not being on my face before You. I long to know You as Abram knew You. I desire for You to talk with me. I do not want to come to You and just lay out my list of requests and complaints and say amen. I wish to hear Your voice. I desire to know Your ways and to be in Your presence and rest in Your Word. I need You not as just my God, not as just my Savior, not as just my Lord, but as my Friend.
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen.
I read this today (today being November 17th 2011) and wanted to add it this post...
Perhaps Job lay under the stars until he was wet from the dew. Finally, he spoke. And when he did, what a remarkable response! Verse 20 comprises nine words in the Hebrew text. These words describe what Job did before the text goes on to tell us what Job said. Five of the nine words are verbs. When you read your Bible, always pay close attention to the verbs, because they move you through the action of a narrative, helping you vicariously to enter the event.
First, Job peeled himself off the ground. He "arose." The next verb tells us something strange. He "tore his robe." The word translated "robe" is a term describing a garment that fits over the body loosely, like an outer gown that reaches below the knees. This is not the undertunic; it's the outer robe that kept him warm at night. Job reached to his neck and, not finding a seam, he seized a worn part of the fabric and ripped it. In the ripping of the robe he is announcing his horrible grief. It was the action of a man in anguish. It's used several times in the Old Testament to portray utter grief.
And then we read the third verb. He "shaved his head." The hair is always pictured in the Scriptures as the glory of an individual, an expression of his worth. The shaving of the head, therefore, is symbolic of the loss of personal glory. And to carry his grief to its lowest depth, his fourth action is to fall to the ground. But, let's understand, this was not a collapse of grief, but for another purpose entirely. It's this that portrays the heroism of Job's endurance. He doesn't wallow and wail, he worships. The Hebrew verb means "to fall prostrate in utter submission and worship." I dare say most of us have never worshiped like that! I mean with your face on the ground, lying down, full-length. This was considered in ancient days the sincerest expression of obedience and submission to the Creator-God.
Before moving on, I'd like to suggest you try this sometime. Palms down, facedown, knees and toes touching the ground, body fully extended, as you pour out your heart in worship. It's the position Job deliberately took. Complete and humble submission.
I read this today (today being November 17th 2011) and wanted to add it this post...
Humble Submission
by Charles R. Swindoll
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 1:20
Perhaps Job lay under the stars until he was wet from the dew. Finally, he spoke. And when he did, what a remarkable response! Verse 20 comprises nine words in the Hebrew text. These words describe what Job did before the text goes on to tell us what Job said. Five of the nine words are verbs. When you read your Bible, always pay close attention to the verbs, because they move you through the action of a narrative, helping you vicariously to enter the event.
First, Job peeled himself off the ground. He "arose." The next verb tells us something strange. He "tore his robe." The word translated "robe" is a term describing a garment that fits over the body loosely, like an outer gown that reaches below the knees. This is not the undertunic; it's the outer robe that kept him warm at night. Job reached to his neck and, not finding a seam, he seized a worn part of the fabric and ripped it. In the ripping of the robe he is announcing his horrible grief. It was the action of a man in anguish. It's used several times in the Old Testament to portray utter grief.
And then we read the third verb. He "shaved his head." The hair is always pictured in the Scriptures as the glory of an individual, an expression of his worth. The shaving of the head, therefore, is symbolic of the loss of personal glory. And to carry his grief to its lowest depth, his fourth action is to fall to the ground. But, let's understand, this was not a collapse of grief, but for another purpose entirely. It's this that portrays the heroism of Job's endurance. He doesn't wallow and wail, he worships. The Hebrew verb means "to fall prostrate in utter submission and worship." I dare say most of us have never worshiped like that! I mean with your face on the ground, lying down, full-length. This was considered in ancient days the sincerest expression of obedience and submission to the Creator-God.
Before moving on, I'd like to suggest you try this sometime. Palms down, facedown, knees and toes touching the ground, body fully extended, as you pour out your heart in worship. It's the position Job deliberately took. Complete and humble submission.
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