“God is Great, God is Good”

“God is great. God is good…” So begins the little blessing prayer that I was taught as a little boy. It continues, “Let us thank Him for our food. By His hand we all are fed. Thank you, God, for daily bread. Amen.”

There was a time, when as a young boy and I was hungry, that I could say that little prayer so fast you would have great difficulty understanding one word of it. I’m not proud of that, but it was the case. Like so many other things, this prayer was a good thing for me when I was young. It taught me some basics in prayer. But it is not enough. I needed to grow and mature in my prayer life, and I certainly needed not simply to repeat words without thinking about them.

The fact is, even as an adult, I did not realize the full significance of this prayer until I took the time to study it with care. “God is great. God is good.” At first, these two phrases seem to say the same thing. They are merely repetition in order to emphasize the fact. But, as the football commentator sometimes says, “Not so fast, my friend.”

“God is great, God is good,” actually points out two separate things. That God is great means that He is magnificent and powerful and strong. He is the creator and sustainer of all that is. That God is good means that He is loving and kind and wants the best for us. Yes, God is both great and good, and that is good news for us all.

The greatness of God means that He is able to help us. The goodness of God means that He is willing to help us. And I am without words to contemplate the reality of both of these statements. I pray that you will celebrate with me the greatness and the goodness of our God.