Contemplating God's glory can change you and your prayer life, says Albert Richardson, author of The Kneeling Christian.
Worshiping God and his glory, says Richardson, "not only puts us in the spirit of prayer, but in some mysterious way, helps God work on our behalf".
He notes the psalmist says in Psalm 50:23: "He who sacrifices thank offerings honours me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."
"Have you ever fully realized that the Lord Jesus desires to share with us the glory we see in him?" the author writes. "This is his great gift to you and me, his redeemed ones. Believe me, the more we have of God's glory, the less we shall seek his gifts."
Indeed, Jesus said in John 17:22 that he has given his followers the glory that the Father gave him so that we might be one as the Father and Son are one.
Richardson says that when Moses asked to see God's glory, he shared in that glory and "his own face shone with the light of it". As we gaze upon the glory of God, "we shall not only get a glimpse of that glory, but we shall also gain something of it ourselves".
It is interesting to me how the glory of God can terrify people and yet change them forever.
In Isaiah 6, the prophet had a vision of God in the temple and it was so overwhelming that he declared he was finished because he had seen the holy Lord and the prophet had unclean lips. Yet, God was gracious and cleansed him and empowered him to speak God's words to the people of Israel.
Similar displays of God's glory had a decisive impact on people like Daniel and the apostle Paul.
Richardson acknowledges that most of us need help in glorifying God.
Personally, I have found help in comments by Terry Law in his book The Power of Praise and Worship where he lists the different names of God in the Old Testament along with scripture references. But any book or article that lists the names of God would assist anyone who wants to focus prayers on the many facets of the Lord's glory.
The names of God describe such aspects of God's character as creator, redeemer, healer, provider, master of all mankind, almighty, deliverer, sanctifier. He is our peace, our righteousness, our shepherd, and he is always with us.
We can't help but be encouraged as we meditate on God's character and use that as a jumping off point for praise and worship.
Worshiping God and his glory, says Richardson, "not only puts us in the spirit of prayer, but in some mysterious way, helps God work on our behalf".
He notes the psalmist says in Psalm 50:23: "He who sacrifices thank offerings honours me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."
"Have you ever fully realized that the Lord Jesus desires to share with us the glory we see in him?" the author writes. "This is his great gift to you and me, his redeemed ones. Believe me, the more we have of God's glory, the less we shall seek his gifts."
Indeed, Jesus said in John 17:22 that he has given his followers the glory that the Father gave him so that we might be one as the Father and Son are one.
Richardson says that when Moses asked to see God's glory, he shared in that glory and "his own face shone with the light of it". As we gaze upon the glory of God, "we shall not only get a glimpse of that glory, but we shall also gain something of it ourselves".
It is interesting to me how the glory of God can terrify people and yet change them forever.
In Isaiah 6, the prophet had a vision of God in the temple and it was so overwhelming that he declared he was finished because he had seen the holy Lord and the prophet had unclean lips. Yet, God was gracious and cleansed him and empowered him to speak God's words to the people of Israel.
Similar displays of God's glory had a decisive impact on people like Daniel and the apostle Paul.
Richardson acknowledges that most of us need help in glorifying God.
Personally, I have found help in comments by Terry Law in his book The Power of Praise and Worship where he lists the different names of God in the Old Testament along with scripture references. But any book or article that lists the names of God would assist anyone who wants to focus prayers on the many facets of the Lord's glory.
The names of God describe such aspects of God's character as creator, redeemer, healer, provider, master of all mankind, almighty, deliverer, sanctifier. He is our peace, our righteousness, our shepherd, and he is always with us.
We can't help but be encouraged as we meditate on God's character and use that as a jumping off point for praise and worship.
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