Praise, Honor, Adoration
Scripture Reading — Psalm 103
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Let’s look at some of the types of prayer Jesus shows us in the Lord’s Prayer. The place to begin is with praise, honor, and adoration in prayer.
Jesus taught us to pray, “Father, hallowed be your name” (Luke 11:2), recognizing God’s character of being holy, majestic, all-powerful, sovereign over all things, and the source of true wisdom and love. It’s important to remember that prayer should begin with praising and honoring God, recognizing all that God is and all that God has done for us. This is often called adoration of God. Too often in prayer, before we give God glory and honor, we ask God to give us something or to do something for us or for our loved ones.
The prayer of adoration is something we must practice. It can take some effort on our part, but, as with many things, the more we practice adoring God, the easier it gets. And we can begin by simply praying verses of Scripture that show us how awesome God is.
We can read a passage like Psalm 103 out loud, for example. As we prayerfully say these verses about God’s greatness, it doesn’t take long before we begin to actually experience the glory of God. Our prayer moves from talking to God to enjoying the presence of God.
So before we ask God to do something, let’s first give God the glory due his name!
Lord, you are perfect, holy, majestic, and worthy of all our praise. Help us to focus on your glory, faithfulness, and love as we bring our requests to you. Amen.
About the author — Peter Hoytema
Peter Hoytema has been a pastor for nearly 30 years and has served congregations in Ontario and New Jersey. He is currently the pastor of a congregation in Strathroy, Ontario. He is a graduate of Calvin Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Grace, are the parents of four adult children.
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