God: I Am Who I Am

Exodus 3:13 – But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you', and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I Am Who I Am."

In membership classes we share a prayer which expresses how little we can say about God, a prayer from the St. Andrew's Press, which goes like this:

Lord, we are ill at ease in a world we cannot regulate
with a God who resists our probing definitions.

Your name comes readily to our lips:
three letters in a book,
but no adequate definition of you.

I Am Who I Am –
that is your Name,
and in its mystery
the too familiar and the trivial
lie deservedly in ruins.
In understanding nothing
we come nearest to comprehending you.

(Prayers for Contemporary Worship, The St. Andrew Press, Edinburgh, 1977, p.74)

Prayer: God, I understand so very little and want to know you better. Help me recognize the burning bushes from which you cry out your name and call me to service. Grant me a fuller vision of you as I walk through this day. Amen.