June. 9th Praying Effectively II
Bible Reading: Mat. 6:5-15; Jn. 11:41-42; Num. 11:1
Dan. 9:4 4 ‘and I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments’
Once you accept and acknowledge God as your Father, prayer starts with giving Him reverence. David said ‘enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.’ Ps. 100:4 Before anything else, give God praise.
Jesus said ‘hallowed be your name’, that’s praise. Give God worship, praise, thanksgiving and reverence from the heart. The bible is full of prayer titans who would always commence prayer with recognising God’s awesomeness. Daniel started by saying ‘great and awesome God who keeps covenant’.
Jehoshaphat said ‘O Lord God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you?’ 2 Chron. 20:6. Stop moaning and start praising; this is the way to pray effectively.
David’s words in Ps. 48:1 reveal the same principle ‘great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised In the city of our God, In His holy mountain’. The greater your praise, the mightier His response. Avoid murmuring and bitterness; it’s time to start lifting the Lord of glory in your personal devotion. Heb. 12:14-15
‘You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For you created all things, And by your will they exist and were created’ Rev. 4:11
Prayer:
i. Spend some time in devotion deliberately giving God praise without asking Him for anything. Ps. 119:164
ii. Thank God for His blessings in your life, church, community and nation. Give Him glory! Ps. 34:1
Thought for the Day:
We were all created to give God praise