A relationship between my praising God and my ability to daily remember and keep the covenants I have made with God?
In my religious culture we speak of and practice thanking God, and petitioning God, and confiding in God, and confessing to God in our prayers. But we tend to relegate our praising Him to our hymn singing:
“Oh God our Help in Ages Past…” “I Stand All Amazed…” “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”
And realize, thinking about it, that when I think about praise in prayer I tend to remember expansive public prayers by evangelical friends, or quiet recitation by Catholic friends, or the strong words of the Imam I listened to in the local Mosque, but I cannot remember the last time I heard a member of my faith praise God in prayer; humble, faithful, loving, trusting, petitioning, thankful prayers? yes. prayers of praise? not so much.
Why? Perhaps it is because the perceived boisterousness or high energy of evangelical praise does not fit the tenor of the prayer we are trying to pray, or the solemnity and tradition of the quiet more formal Catholic prayer seems too different, or the declarations of the Imam seem too unfamiliar for us to incorporate into our own prayers. Or perhaps it is because we cannot find in our vocabulary words that express our awe and understanding of the nature of our God. But that should not preclude us from praising in prayer. Particularly since there are so many admonitions in the scriptures to “praise the Lord”.
What I am finding is that yes, when I praise God in prayer, I am fully and uncomfortably aware that the words I use, no matter how carefully and respectfully chosen are woefully inadequate. And I don’t like that feeling.
On the other hand, when I do try to praise him in prayer, verbally or just with my heart because words are so inadequate, and do so before I speak to him of the help I seek for others or myself, or of the good I want to do that day, (acknowledging consciously or subconsciously, in that process, the covenants that I want to keep that cause me to seek to do effectuate and do good), my power to keep those covenants and do that good is increased. My confidence to be able to do and work for good actually increases as I articulate the power and majesty and amazing grace of my God to whom I am both expressing thanks and petitioning for assistance.
It seems that there is something about praising God in prayer that reminds me of the nature of God and of His ready, willing (full of grace) inclination to help. And that increases my hope and faith as I move forward, which in turn opens my mind to more communication from Him; extra bits of holy determination and vision that empower me to live, more consistently, the covenants (vows) I have made.
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