Prevaliling Prayer Sermon Part 2

Psalm 8
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:
all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Prayers of Honor
Sometimes you just feel like singing, or humming, or at the very least smiling. Perhaps you see a child do something entertaining. Or maybe you hit that perfect shot on the golf course. Or maybe you finally finish a project you have been working on for a while. Or maybe you just feel good and can’t explain it. There are just times when you feel like you are about to overflow. That golf illustration hits a little too close to home for me. I decided to start playing a couple of years ago. It has not been that great. 99% of my time on a golf course is spent being frustrated. But boy, when that 1% comes, there is jubilation. When I got by first birdie, I was smiling the rest of the round, even if I did finish with a very poor score.

I think life is often like my gold experience for many of us. The majority of it is full of drudgery, frustration, and disappointment. Or at least we perceive it to be that way. The Pediatrician told Carrie and I to compliment Elijah when he was doing something well. The whole positive reinforcement thing. The more I do it, the more I realize that it is good not just for him, but for me too. Yes, it encourages right behavior for him, but it also allows me to see the good in him. No one likes to dwell on the bad all the time. I don’t want to continually say “No” to Elijah. It gets frustrating and wears me down. I get burdened from always being around him just to discipline him. So praising him helps me as much as it helps him.

I think the same could be said for our relationship with God. If we are always looking at the negative and bringing that before God, it will affect our relationship with Him. That is where prayers of thanksgiving, praise, and honor come in. I once heard a proverb: “The man who looks on the bright side can find his way in the dark.” The James passage says, “Do you feel great? Then sing.” What a great use of our prayer time—taking time out and just offering up a prayer of praise for the times when you see God working in the world.

That psalm outlines just what a prayer of honor entails. The Psalmist looked out and just the sight of the world around him caused him to break into song. He says, “Look at the glory of the heavens. Look at the stars. Even look at humanity. God’s wonderful acts are all around us if we would just take time to look and to lift up our praise to God.” It doesn’t have to be poetic. A simple “God you are great. You change the seasons. You got me up this morning. You kept me from harm. God you are majestic. You are great.” It’s that easy.

And I firmly believe that the more we see God’s grace, then the more we give God the honor he deserves, and the more we become grateful people. God does not need it. We do. As we speak, our hearts are changed. Dwelling on God’s actions in the present strengthens our faith for what he will do in the future.