Context No. 4178 of 4322 · 2 Maccabees

2 Maccabees 1:24-29: in context

24The prayer was like this: “O Lord, Lord God, the Creator of all things, you are awesome, strong, righteous, and merciful, you alone are King and gracious, 25you alone supply every need, you alone are righteous, almighty, and eternal, you who save Israel out of all evil, who chose the ancestors and sanctified them, 26accept the sacrifice for all your people Israel, and preserve your own portion, and consecrate it. 27Gather together our scattered people, set at liberty those who are in bondage among the heathen, look upon those who are despised and abhorred, and let the heathen know that you are our God. 28Punish those who oppress us and in arrogance shamefully entreat us. 29Plant your people in your holy place, even as Moses said.”

This passage records a prayer, and before it asks for anything, it dwells on who God is. O Lord, Lord God, Creator of all things, it begins, awesome and strong and just and merciful, you alone are King and kind, you alone are bountiful, you alone are just and eternal, you who rescue Israel from every evil. Only after this rich naming of God's character does the prayer turn to its requests: gather our scattered people, set free those in bondage, and let the nations know that you are our God.

There is wisdom in how this prayer begins. It grounds its requests in who God is. Before asking God to act, it recalls his character and his great acts of deliverance. And this shapes the confidence of the requests; because God is who he is, the Creator, the King, the merciful Savior, the prayer can boldly ask him to gather the scattered and rescue the oppressed. It is good to begin our prayers, as this one does, by dwelling on who God is. This is not flattery but truth, and it builds our faith; the more we remember who God is, the more confidently we can bring our requests to him.

Do I ground my prayers in who God is, dwelling on his character, his power, kingship, justice, and mercy, before I bring my requests, so that remembering who God is builds my confidence to ask him boldly?

Sources

2 Maccabees 1:24-25: "O Lord, Lord God, the Creator of all things, you are awesome, strong, righteous, and merciful, you alone are King and gracious, you alone supply every need."
2 Maccabees 1:27: "Gather together our scattered people, set at liberty those who are in bondage among the heathen... and let the heathen know that you are our God."
2 Maccabees 1:26: "Accept the sacrifice for all your people Israel, and preserve your own portion, and consecrate it."