Praise, Honor, Adoration

1 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
2 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
3 He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
4 He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
5 He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

6 The Lord gives righteousness
and justice to all who are treated unfairly.

7 He revealed his character to Moses
and his deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9 He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
10 He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
12 He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
13 The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
14 For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.
15 Our days on earth are like grass;
like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
16 The wind blows, and we are gone—
as though we had never been here.
17 But the love of the Lord remains forever
with those who fear him.
His salvation extends to the children’s children
18 of those who are faithful to his covenant,
of those who obey his commandments!

19 The Lord has made the heavens his throne;
from there he rules over everything.

20 Praise the Lord, you angels,
you mighty ones who carry out his plans,
listening for each of his commands.
21 Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels
who serve him and do his will!
22 Praise the Lord, everything he has created,
everything in all his kingdom.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

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.