A Missing Ingredient

Praise God for His promises and the limitlessness of prayer.

I noticed the missing ingredient in my prayers had been thanksgiving.  So I spent time worshiping God for who He is and what He is.  This subject of ‘Who God Is’ covers more territory than any mortal can comprehend.  Yet even contemplating what little we do know dissolves doubts, reinforces faith, and restores joy. 

What do praise and thanksgiving accomplish?  The world begins to look different.  Praise is an affirmation of a basic truth: God is good all the time.  Praise is the recognition that life – all of it – needs to be accepted with gratitude.

Kay Arthur tells us that if the Lord’s Prayer is the pattern for all prayer, then through it we can learn vital truths regarding some prerequisites for effective prayer. She says prayer begins with worship of the Father. To worship is to acknowledge His worth, to give Him the honor and reverence due Him.

At the end of the seven time periods, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my mind came back to me; I thanked the Most High, and I praised and honored the One who lives forever, because His power lasts forever and His kingdom lasts from one generation to the next. Everyone who lives on earth is nothing compared to Him. He does whatever He wishes with the army of heaven and with those who live on earth. There is no one who can oppose Him or ask Him, “What are you doing?” (Daniel 4:34-35).

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, will praise, honor and give glory to the King of Heaven. Everything He does is true, His ways are right, and He can humiliate those who act arrogantly (Daniel 4:37).

Who would not fear You, O King of the Nations? For this is Your rightful due. Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You… My Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King (Jeremiah 10:7, 10). From everlasting to everlasting, You are God (Psalm 90:2)!

Thus, Jesus begins by reminding us of the supremacy of the One who lives in the third heaven and controls all the affairs of the universe.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty. For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord God, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand is it to make great and give strength (1 Chronicles 29:11-12).