Friday, July 21, 2923
Prayer of Adoration by Kay Crumley
Psalm 139:1-6
1O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
What is prayer?
Prayer is communication with God. As children of God, we need to have a living, vibrant relationship with Him. Think about what you do to build a relationship with your friends. Isn’t communication with them imperative to build a bond with that person? Prayer is a way to build our trust and faith in Him. He always hears the prayers of His children. Psalm 145:18 says The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Why do we pray?
If we truly believe God is powerful, loving, and cares for His own, then we take all our cares to Him. We can lay our fears, our hurts, and our worries in His lap. We can also take our victories, our achievements, our joys to Him. While He already knows all we have on our mind, He desires that we share those things with Him. John 5:14 says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
How do we pray?
Jesus gave us an example of how to pray in Matthew 6:5-15. That model is divided into three parts: praise, pardon, and petition. He began with praise, another term for adoration. The scripture reference for today is Psalm 139. That chapter has 24 verses. I have included the first six. David wrote many of the Psalms including this one. He was characterized as a man after God’s own heart. That leads me to believe David knew how to please God in his prayers. Of the 24 verses of Psalm 139, eighteen of them are praise and adoration of God. Adoration is praising God for who God is. What are the characteristics of God? When you want to compliment another person, you name the attributes that are admirable in their appearance or more importantly in their character. David opens this chapter listing the ways that God knows him. God knows His children intimately, vs 1. He knows our movements, our activities and our thoughts, vs 2. He knows all our ways, every path we take, vs 3. He knows our thoughts and what we’re going to say even before we know them ourselves, vs 4. Vs 5 is one that gives me great comfort. He hems me in, He is guarding my back, He is leading the way going before me, and He has His hand on my head. He surrounds me with His love and protection each and every day of my life. Just imagine what that is like to know with complete confidence that we are never alone, without protection, in anything we will ever face. Nothing is too big for God. As believers knowing we are locked inside the knowledge of God is the best news we can have here on earth. However, that is knowledge beyond David’s ability to understand, vs 6. God’s complete understanding of His children is incomprehensible to us. That is the reason to pray in adoration to our wonderful Savior.
David ends this chapter with one more request that God work in his life:
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
Because He is our Creator, He knows us. He will search us and reveal anything that brings grief to Him so that we can conform to His will and purpose for our lives.
To Him be all praise, adoration, and glory.
