A Prayer to Fear God and Serve Him Faithfully
By: Tiffany Thibault
Be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. - 1 Samuel 12:24
Be sure to. Those three words are often given to us as a parting reminder for something of extreme importance, something we must make every effort to do. Be sure to follow these directions prior to surgery. Be sure to file your taxes on time. Be sure to pay that bill. Those words are a reminder of what we must not forget.
Samuel the prophet used those three words in his farewell speech to the people of Israel. Be sure to. He wanted his listeners to remember, to never forget, to purposely determine what he considered to be the two most important things that we can ever do. “Be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart.”
What does that look like for us? That word fear can be, well, a bit confusing. In this verse, the word fear has two meanings. The first is what we would expect - to be afraid of. We are to fear the Lord and, in that fear, we are to take Him seriously. We should know that He means what His Word says, and that He will do what He has said He will do. He is not a God to be trifled with. In that word “fear,” we see that it also demands that we regard Him with respect.
But the word fear also has another meaning, which is to revere, to regard as worthy of great honor. We are to hold the Lord in great awe, understanding that He deserves ALL the honor and that He is worthy of all our respect, adoration, and worship. Fearing the Lord means that we take our relationship with Him very seriously, and in doing so we can serve Him faithfully with all our heart.
So as we go through our days, fearing the Lord and serving Him faithfully, it becomes easier to do when we remember, consider, contemplate, and ponder the great things that He has done for us. Many people keep track of the things that they are grateful for each day, but how life-changing it would be if we were to make the effort every single day to remind ourselves of all the great things that God has done! He has redeemed us, saved us, sanctified us, welcomed us, forgiven, healed, and provided for us. I challenge you to start putting down on paper, every single day, something that God has done for you that day. The more we look, the more we will begin to see how God works in so many ways in our lives, because He loves us. As our hearts fill with gratitude, serving Him will become easier. As we see Him moving in our lives, our fear (both respect and awe) for Him will greatly increase.
How different our lives, attitudes, and relationships would be if we were to “be sure to” put God first. Will you do this with me and see everything change for eternity as we draw closer to the Lord?
Dear Lord,
Thank you for all the things that you have done in my life. Thank you for always being there, guiding, and protecting me. Help me to learn how to fear you - in both respect and honor. Help me to serve you with all my heart, faithfully. Lord, help me to recognize and worship you for all the things that you have done and are continuing to do every single day of my life.
In your name I pray,
Amen
Tiffany Thibault enjoys living life with her husband, two teenage daughters and one very large dog. She is the author of the Bible study “Being Fruitful” and loves long walks, rainy days and a good cup of coffee.
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