About HE

Like a multi-faceted diamond, God is altogether beautiful while each facet of Him is dazzling by itself. HE (Hebrew Names of God) is a 30-day devotional built to encourage you to magnify just one specific attribute of God every day, for 30 days.

On each of these 30 days, besides the selected attribute and the Biblical source of it, there will also be a piece of my calligraphy, music, and a prayer. May all these come together to enrich your quiet time and to create an inviting space for you to write your journal and your declaration (more on that below).

This devotional was born out of my own spiritual journey. During my battle with depression, persistently choosing to focus on God alone totally turned things around for me. (View my story: Overcoming Depression through Praise) Intrigued by the first line of the Lord’s Prayer, I was drawn to knowing His names as revealed in the Bible. That naturally opened me up to a world of compound names (e.g. Yahweh Nissi, Yahweh Yireh, etc.). I began taking Classical Hebrew lessons from a teacher (Dr Fiona Blumfield) in Jerusalem, and I soon discovered a delightful pathway to my inner peace and strength. That is writing God’s names in Hebrew calligraphy while meditating upon these names.

Please note this 30-day journey is not a word study series. It is not intended to fill your mind with knowledge and hard facts, but to facilitate a heart-to-heart connection with God, and to heighten our awareness of who He is, which will have a profound impact on how we interact with Him and on how we deal with our inner and outer worlds.

What it entails

His name or attribute of the day

30 names or attributes of God were selected for this devotional, based on the following criteria: the most commonly discussed and studied, the most popular purchase on this website, and what I call “prayerful consideration”. For example, the title “The LORD our Maker”(Day 14) may not be commonly discussed when we talk about His attributes, but after prayerful consideration, I recognized that many of us have difficulty embracing the way God has created us, and this definitely limits us from living out our calling. Thus, this title is included in this devotional.

Scripture

Biblical source of His name or attribute. Unless otherwise stated, the scripture quoted is from the Names of God Bible (NOG).

Calligraphy

On each of the 30 days, you will see a piece of my calligraphy. I discovered and developed this habit of writing His names in Hebrew when I was in the thick of depression. The comfort and peace it brought me were so immense and life-changing. This habit eventually led me to creating this website you are visiting. How I wish you could feel the joy and peace I had while creating calligraphy pieces for this devotional!

Each piece includes the name of God in Hebrew, in English, and also the transliteration of the Hebrew word, which gives you a rough idea of how it may sound in Hebrew.

 
 

Music

I have written 30 short pieces of music specifically for this devotional. Each piece corresponds to the theme of the day (i.e. the particular attribute of God). Each piece is written to prepare your heart for a meaningful conversation with Him.

Prayer

Each prayer is my heartfelt response to His specific name or attribute. It is written in a 5-point structure: ① praise, ② thanksgiving, ③ confession, ④ supplication, and ⑤ declaration. I invite you to pray along, and I hope it will inspire you to pray in your own words as well.

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You would need a journal for the following sections or exercises.

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Exercise 1: Two-way journaling

[navigating your inner-world with God]

Instead of posting a list of questions for you to reflect upon, I invite you to do a “two-way journaling” every day during this 30-day journey. It is an interactive practice that involves writing to and listening to God.

Find yourself a quiet space, and pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In the form of a letter, write to Him. Address Him with the specific name/attribute of the day. Aim to be truthful rather than nice. Take time to listen and then record what you receive in the spirit. When you write, don’t judge, don’t try to correct or paraphrase what you write. Simply allow the words to flow first, and review your journal afterwards. You will discover more about yourself and Him through journaling.

It would look something like this:

[Part 1]

Dear Father, (name/attribute of the day) …

[Part 2]

Dear child / (your name), …

(At this point, you may want to respond to what you hear from Him, just go ahead and continue to write to Him.)

If you need some journal prompts to start off, check out Appendix 2.

You can do it on paper or on your digital device. (For me, I always prefer a paper journal so I can be least distracted). Record it, don’t let it sink into the sea of forgetfulness. You can keep it as simple and easy as it can be, or you can go as creative, artsy, and elaborate as you want to. The best way is to do it in a way that you can commit to it.

You are not writing an essay or a novel. 5-10 minutes of quality writing time could be very fruitful and satisfying. Please don’t over-exhaust yourself with extensive writing or it will demotivate you in your effort to journal daily.

I strongly suggest you share your journal with someone you can trust, someone who can celebrate what you write, and better yet, someone who can also gracefully point out if there is anything that may not align with God’s word.

Exercise 2: Declaration

[aligning yourself with God’s reality]

How does “who He is” relate to “how you live”? In this section, you are invited to write a declaration in response to His specific attribute. Keep it simple. Make it relevant to you or to your most current situation.

e.g. “Because You are El Shaddai (God Almighty), I declare that I will partner with You in everything I do (or name the challenge you are facing now). I will see how You make the impossible possible.”

You are encouraged to read it aloud, and as many times as you need to. Let the words penetrate your soul. There is power in declaring what we believe. It is a powerful way to overcome your self-limiting thoughts which are hindering you from living victoriously. If you find it appropriate or helpful, write it out on a card and place it somewhere to remind yourself.

By the end of these 30 days, you will have a collection of powerful, personalized declarations to boost your faith in Him!

**You are welcome to share with me your journal entry, declaration, thoughts or comments. You can write to rita@revelationandinspiration.com

Ways to use it

Morning ritual. I encourage you to incorporate it into your daily morning routine, to prime your heart and mind for a new day. Start our day strong by focusing on our mountain-moving God, and not our own mountains.

Just once. I hope you would try this journey at least once. Make a decision to spend time tasting and seeing His goodness. May it stimulate your spiritual hunger and appetite!

Every month. Consider making it a habit of going through this 30-day journey (or specific sections of it, e.g. the prayer, two-way journaling, the declaration, etc.) every month. This way, you can keep track of how much you have grown in knowing and experiencing His attributes every month.

This is actually what I have been doing for years, and I am beyond amazed by how much I have benefited from this simple habit!

Once-a-year. Try going through it once a year, whether you are doing it in December or in January as a year-end reflection or as a primer for another challenging year, or during your birthday month as a gratitude offering to the One who created you!

Personal or small group. This online devotional is set up for individual use. However, it can be easily adapted for group use. For small group activities, consider incorporating some of the following elements into your programme (assuming that you have already prayerfully selected one from the 30 names in the devotional that will suit your group):

  • [worship] (group activity). Select songs that center around the specific name or attribute of God. You may include the prayer and the scripture from the devotional.

  • [prayer] (group activity). Follow the 5-point structure of the prayer from the devotional, and encourage the participants to pray in their own words (single-line prayer) in 5 quick rounds:

    • round 1: praise

    • round 2: thanksgiving

    • round 3: confession

    • round 4: supplication

    • round 5: declaration

  • [two-way journaling] (for individuals). Set a limit of 20 minutes for the participants to quietly and comfortably write their journals. Choose a specific journaling prompt for the participants to focus on, especially if they are new to this exercise.

  • [declaration writing] (for individuals). Set a limit of 5 minutes for the participants to write their personalized declarations. Encourage them to write a declaration that is relevant to their most current situation.

  • [sharing] (group activity). This is the time for the participants to get back in groups to share some of their writing (① two-way journals ② declarations) or simply how they feel about the writing experience.

These 30 names or attributes are certainly not enough to cover the full spectrum of His goodness. However, I believe this devotional will serve to inspire you to go further and dive deeper.

I pray that our Father will draw you into His presence through this simple 30-day journey. Every time you magnify and exalt God’s name, He will just reveal Himself to you even more! May your life be a true reflection of who He is. Amen.

 

My sincere thanks to Dr Fiona Blumfield, John J. Parsons (www.hebrew4christians.com) and my friend, Wesley Suen.