“Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.” DEUTERONOMY 6:4

The Shema and the Greatest Commandment Deut 6:4-9

Some truths are more important than others. The Shema, the creed of ancient Israel, is an ultimate truth—a truth above all others. There is one God who is the Lord. He alone is to be worshiped, none other. The Shema was one of the first prayers that children learned and recited several times a day: “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength” (6:4-5).

This primary truth—that the Lord our God is the Lord alone—is followed by the greatest commandment: to love the Lord with all that we are. This passage tells us we need to surround ourselves with the Lord and his word. While we may not literally write things on our foreheads, his Word should be primary in our minds and in our homes, and we should be praying throughout each day. The New Testament instructs us to “never stop praying” (1 Thes 5:17). In the morning, evening, at home, on the road, with family and friends, we are to think and speak about God in every sphere of life.

Many faithful Jews still recite the Shema daily. We can also choose to begin each day with these verses. Stopping to acknowledge who God is—the one, true, all-powerful God who is Lord of our lives—and then reminding ourselves that he calls us to love him with all that we are—our strengths and our weaknesses—will help us to trust him, take all our concerns to him, and follow him in each situation we face.