God BrE AmE
1 . the spirit or power who Christians, Jews, and Muslims pray to and regard as the maker and ruler of the universe:
Most Americans believe in God.
We put our faith in God.
to pray to God
2 . God/oh (my) God/good God (almighty) informal used to show that you are surprised, annoyed, or amused, or to emphasize what you are saying:
Oh God, how embarrassing!
3 . God (only) knows informal
a) used to emphasize that you are annoyed because you do not know something, or because you think that something is unreasonable
God knows who/what/how etc
God knows what she’s doing in there.
b) used to emphasize what you are saying:
God knows, it hasn’t been easy.
4 . for God’s sake informal used to emphasize what you are saying when you are annoyed:
Oh, for God’s sake, shut up!
5 . God forbid (that) informal used to emphasize that you hope that something will not happen:
God forbid that she should ever hurt you.
6 . honest to God informal used to emphasize that you are not lying or joking:
Honest to God, I didn’t tell her!
7 . God help you/him etc informal used to warn someone that they will be punished for what they have done:
God help you if Mom comes home and you’re still here!
8 . God help us informal usually humorous used when you think that something bad is going to happen:
‘Simon’s doing the cooking.’ ‘God help us!’
9 . God bless used to show your affection for someone:
Goodnight, Jenny -- God bless.
10 . God willing informal used to say that you hope there will be no problems:
We’ll be moving next month, God willing.
11 . God-given received from God:
a God-given talent for singing
a God-given right (=the right to do something without asking anyone else’s opinion)
12 . God rest his/her soul ( also God rest him/her ) old-fashioned used to show respect when speaking about someone who is dead
13 . God moves in a mysterious way/mysterious ways saying a phrase from a Christian ↑ hymn (=a song of praise to God) , meaning that God’s intentions are not always clear, sometimes used humorously to mean that a bad event or situation may bring unexpected advantages
14 . God is in his heaven, all’s right with the world saying a phrase from a poem by Robert Browning
15 . Man proposes, God disposes saying people can make plans but whether or not they are successful depends on God
16 . My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? a phrase which, according to the Bible, was spoken by Jesus just before he died on the cross
17 . Ye cannot serve God and Mammon saying a phrase from the Bible, meaning that you cannot spend all of your time trying to get rich and also be a good Christian
18 . Nearer my God to Thee a Christian ↑ hymn . It was sung by the people on the ship the Titanic as it sank.