A Form Of Prayer Which Glorifies God’s Greatness

While God communicates to us primarily through the Scriptures, which are God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16, ESV), prayer is our way of communicating with God. It is through prayer that we pour our hearts out before God (Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, you people;     pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.), cry out to Him (Psalm 130:1–2), give Him thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and present our prayer requests (Philippians 4:6–7). Prayer is also our form of worship to God. It’s how we magnify Him for who He is and ascribe to Him the glory He deserves as the Most High God who sits enthroned above everything (Psalm 34:3).

Father in heaven, may our prayers be filled with prayer requests, worship, thanksgiving, praises, and adoration towards You, who deserves all the glory. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

In a Different League

To better appreciate why we glorify God’s greatness in prayer, it is important to understand His holiness, which is tied to His might and power. In fact, all of God’s attributes are holistic. You cannot separate one from the other. Let’s explore this idea by diving into Isaiah 6:1–3:

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’”

If we explore the Hebrew meaning of the word “holy,” we find that its original meaning is “to cut.” Initially, it may be difficult to see the connection between “to cut” and “holiness.” But let’s look a little further to see how this magnifies even more how God is the highest of all and unlike anyone or anything else. One meaning of the verb “to cut” is to differentiate between a number of people or things. For example, if among five job applicants only one made “the cut,” this means the applicant stood out among the others and was chosen for being different. Hence, when we apply this concept to holiness, it means that God is just different. He is in a category all His own, the highest of all—no one else is on the same level as Him.

That is why Isaiah says God’s robe filled the entire temple; this shows the great magnitude of God’s holiness, splendor, and majesty. If we watch royal families march towards their thrones, we see their majestic presence, accompanied by their long robes that trail along the floor as they walk. Those robes only fill the aisle, but God’s robe fills the whole temple! Imagine how great God is. God’s might, splendor, and holiness are on an entirely different level, far bigger than anything we can comprehend. Even holy beings like Seraphim had to cover themselves before Him, not because they are unholy—but because despite their holiness, God’s is way beyond.

No wonder the Seraphim declared God as “holy” three times—in Hebrew literature, repeating an adjective three times indicates its magnitude. Before the throne of a holy, great, and glorious God, we cannot help but worship Him, glorify Him, adore Him, and give Him all the praises that He deserves. It is inherent as we come to see His glory, holiness, splendor, and majesty.

 

A Prayer To Glorify God’s Greatness

It is essential that we first understand how holy and great God is. We can only praise, adore, and worship Him if we truly grasp this. In the Scriptures, we can learn who God is and what He is like. As we get to know Him, the Holy Spirit illuminates the Scriptures we read in our hearts, opens our eyes, and gives us spiritual understanding (Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.). In this way, we can begin to grasp how full of splendor God is, moving us to glorify His greatness in our prayers. A good example of how to glorify God’s greatness in prayer can be found in the book of Psalms. Here are some beautiful examples:

“I will extol You, my God, O King; and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.” —Psalm 145:1–3

“For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.” —Psalm 96:4–6

“Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, who makes the clouds His chariot, who walks on the wings of the wind, who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire. You who laid the foundations of the earth, so that it should not be moved forever.” —Psalm 104:1–5

If there is one thing we can observe from these verses, it is that we should magnify God. An incredible form of prayer is one that magnifies what is great about Him. For example, the Bible teaches us repeatedly about God’s power and sovereignty—He is in control of the nations, raising up and removing kings (Daniel 4:35; Daniel 2:20–21). Here is an example of a prayer that glorifies God and magnifies His greatness and sovereignty over the world:

Almighty God, no matter what is happening in the world right now, we shall not be in despair because we know You remain enthroned over every world event and affair. You are sovereign over all the nations. With Your hands, you set up and remove kings. You watch over the nations from Your throne up above. How great are You, LORD, and Your sovereignty over everything. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

As we meditate on the greatness of God, we aren’t just left in awe with a desire to praise, worship, and adore Him. This knowledge also gives us comfort that whenever we face difficulties and trials in life, we have a God who is the greatest of all.