What Is God Really Like?

What Is God Really Like? by Rick Warren

“For the Lord is always good. He is always loving and kind, and his faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation.” Psalm 100:5

Knowing who God is shapes the way we pray, so we must answer the question, "What is God really like?"

God has many characteristics:

He is all-knowing (omniscient)

He is all-powerful (omnipotent)

He can be everywhere at the same time (omnipresent)

He is holy

He is just

He is kind

He is loving

He is faithful

He is unchanging

God is good. In fact, trust in his goodness is the basis for all prayer. If God is not a good God, then why would we expect him to answer our prayers? Why would we be motivated to pray to him at all?

The only reason there’s any good in the world is because God is the Creator of the world, and he is a good God. His goodness is in the universe. You can’t spell “good” without “God.” If there’s no God, then there is no right and wrong or good and bad.

People often ask, “Why is there evil in the world?” It’s simple: God doesn’t force us to do good. Evil exists because God has given us a free will and we may choose to do or not to do good. A lot of the time we decide against what God would have us to do.

Evil is easy to explain. The hard thing to explain is why there is is any good in the world. In a world of brutal competition and so-called tough luck, the only reason there is good is because God is a good God.

Because God is always good, we can know certain things about prayer. When you understand these things because you understand how good God really is, you’re going to enjoy prayer. It won’t be a duty anymore. It will be a delight!