Charged with the responsibility of worship, I leaned into a process that may at first glance seem oddly simplistic. In fact, when my pastor suggested this activity during Sunday service, he said it was one he did mostly in the infancy stage of learning how to pray, also stating its continued relevance when teaching new believers the concept of meaningful and powerful prayer. Of course, the widely known Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:9 was referenced, and its formulaic nature dutifully explored.
Prayer is a conversation, and like any dialogue, tone *attitude, approach* matters. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, and he did. First step? Worship. “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” i.e., dear Lord, I surrender (tone*attitude*approach) to you. Let your holy name be glorified *kept holy, honored* in my life, home, church, community, city, nation, and in the world at large. Reverential exaltation is acknowledging His distinctive, immutable attributes, and our pressing need for Him. It reveals our heart for the Father, and places Him above all. I have yet to meet an A-list celebrity, but I have heard the tales of folks who have. They spoke of experiencing what seemed to them to be momentary insanity, falling over themselves enamored by said individual, and stuttering through words of adoration. A select few told of going as far as tattooing the name of the celebrated personality on their bodies after the thrilling encounter. If such could be afforded the created thing, how much more the creator? In the beginning was the word, pre-existing every seen and unseen thing. From the illustrious vastness and beauty of mother nature to the seemingly pointless scribbled lines on the palm of our hands, and the almost inaudible beating of our hearts, to inspired science. It really isn’t much to ask for our prayers to be bookended with awe-filled wonder.
So, what was the oddly simplistic task, Mel? I am glad you asked. Write out the alphabets, A – Z, and beside each letter an attribute (s) of God. Then in your next conversation with Him, let those words flow out of you first. The dichotomy of worship is that while we are awash in His peace, confusion erodes the camps of the enemy. In other words, the mountain becomes a mole hill. God is immutable, our perspective isn’t. The more we focus on Him, the less we idolize ourselves, others and our situations, and the more of Himself he reveals to us. Peace is a revelation, as is hope, faith and love. All are on a continuum of expansion. It is possible to grow in all, in the same way that we could always do with more of all.
Anyways here is what mine looks like: –
A – Almighty, All-knowing, Amazing, Awesome, Able
B – Beautiful, Brilliant
C – Creator, Comforter, Compassionate, Complete, Consistent
D – Dependable
E – Eternal, Everlasting, Ever-present, Excellent, Extraordinary strategist
F – Faithful, Forgiving, Fatherly, Fountain of hope
G – Glorious, Good, Great, Gracious
H – Holy, Healer
I – Incredible, Infallible
J – Just, Jealous
K – King, Kind, Keeper
L – Love, Life
M – Merciful, Majestic, Mighty, Matchless, Miracle-worker
N –
O – Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent
P – Powerful, Protector, Provider, Passionate, Perfect, Promise-keeper, Patient
Q –
R – Rock, Refuge, Righteous
S – Savior, Spring of life, Strengthener, Sufficient
T – Truth, Thoughtful
U – Unchanging, Ultimate
V – Victorious
W – Wise, Way-maker
X –
Y –
Z –
I hope you give this exercise a shot! Maybe y’all could help me with the letters N, Q, X, Y and Z? 😊
Happy Monyaaaaaay!
Xo, Mel.
Image:- @pinterest
WateredSeed 