Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Praise is Prayer

Scripture teaches that we experience the manifest presence of God as we "enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise." (Psalm 95:2, 100:4 NIV) We thank God for his goodness and we praise him for his greatness.

Praise is prayer. When I lift up my heart to God to praise him, I talk to him and commune with him. Prayer is not all asking. As Thomas Watson, the seventeenth-century Puritan, quaintly put it, "Many have tears in their eyes, and complaints in their mouth, but few have harps in their hand, blessing and glorifying God. Let us honor God this way. Praise is the quitrent we pay to God: while God renews our lease, we must renew our rent."

True prayer is in itself part of our praise of God. We go to him in a way we go to no one else. He is able to help us as no one else can. Furthermore, in prayer we submit ourselves to God's will--we pray "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Mathew 6:10) as the foundation of all our other prayers. By our acknowledgment that God's will is best, we praise God indirectly for his infinite and perfect wisdom. -- from "Praise Is Prayer" by Derek Prince
Father, let me lay down all of the concerns that I am having. I truly want to be void of all things that are worldly and reek of me. Give me, even if for just a few minutes, the opportunity to dwell in Your presence and let me linger there as I simply place my attention full on You, Lord. Gazing upon Your beauty and acknowledging all that You are. I know that You will then fill my heart with Your purposes, Your will for my life, my environment, and my community as I radiate Your love. In Jesus' Name, Amen