Day #321 Adoration Prayer

The Presence - A Devotional for living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder

“Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.” ‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭NIV‬

Photo by nega on Unsplash

Have you ever been in prayer meeting that didn’t really include much prayer?

One of my greatest pet peeves as a pastor is when there are prayer meetings without prayer. I have been to a lot of prayer meetings where people taught, testified, socialized but hardly had any actual prayer. I like to say, “this is not a share meeting, its a prayer meeting.” Of course there are important times to teach, testify and talk with each other, but the most important words we are utter are not to one another, the most important words we can utter are unto the Lord. Its powerful to preach, but more powerful to pray. Its one thing to speak to men for God, but it is quite another and higher privilege to to speak to God for men.

The greatest part of prayer is getting to speak to God about God and to adore His name. Adoration prayer is the most important part of our prayer lives, where we lavish adoration upon the Lord. King David when he brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Israel, led into a prayer and song of adoration. Adoration prayer in 1 Chronicles 16 is linked to the return of the “the Presence.” Adoration prayer is one of the greatest gifts for us to encounter the presence of our God.

Adoration is all about thanksgiving and ministering to the heart of the Lord. David was calling for people to ascribe glory to the Lord and to worship Him in the splendor of holiness. Our adoration is when we don’t just talk about God, but we speak to Him. We thank the Lord and adore Him for His attributes. Its is a prayer of love and honor. Adoration prayer is where we verbalize our fascination with God’s beauty and character.

If you’ve ever been in a love relationship than you know a little bit about adoration or at least you should. How encouraging is it when someone points out the reasons they love you? We move the heart of God and draw near to His presence when we praise Him and thank Him for who He is. We can adore Him for who He is but adoration prayer is mostly focused on who He is.

I almost always start prayer meetings with adoration prayer and thanksgiving. Adoration prayer fills us with faith as we meditate upon who God is to us and then praise Him for His glory and strength. As we lift Him up and adore His name, we sense His nearness.

Lord, You are worthy of adoration. There is no one like You. I ascribe to You glory and strength. I ascribe to You the glory that is due Your name. I worship You in in the splendor of Your holiness! I love You and worship You! Be near my King! In Jesus name, amen.