Have you ever felt like something was missing from your prayer life? I have. I was praying for others, asking for forgiveness, and being thankful, but it seemed like something just wasn’t quite right.
After some searching, I discovered that praise was a missing aspect in my prayer life. When I began adding in praise to my prayer time, an amazing thing happened. I began to have an entirely different focus that really impacted my thought processes for the better.
Praising God is a perspective-changer. There’s no doubt about it!
Praising God is a perspective-changer. There’s no doubt about it!Click To TweetThere are many ways to praise God which are as various and unique as the individuality He has created in all of us. But no matter how we do it, we’ll find that at the core of praising God is recognizing and thinking about His character. When we do this, some very important things begin to happen.
Praise invites His presence.
Praise forces us to take our eyes off ourselves.
Praise helps us understand who God is.
Understanding His character gives us hope helps bring peace.
When we understand Who God is, we find our true identity.
Praise makes the enemy flee!
Last week we studied 2 Peter 1:3 which tells us that God gives us everything we need to live a godly life. He equips us in all areas, including our prayer lives!
If we take a look at what follows (2 Peter 1:4) we gain another valuable insight about prayer. Here is the whole passage:
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature. 2 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV)
This verse (2 Peter 1:4) tells us:
- Through His glory and goodness, He has given us great and precious promises.
- Because of His promises we can participate in His divine nature.
Can you imagine that? God allows us to participate in His very own nature!
But what exactly does that mean?
If we dig into the Greek root words that are behind our English translations here is what we find in regards to the phrase “you may participate.”
To find the full meaning of this phrase, we have to use two Greek root words – ginomai and koinónos.
- The word ginomai means to come into being and implies motion, movement, or growth.
- The word koinónos refers to a participant who mutually belongs and shares fellowship.
If we take those definitions we might be able to explain the deeper meanings of this verse in this way.
Through His glory and goodness, He has given us His very great and precious promises. Through these promises, we grow and come into being as we fellowship with Him and share in His divine nature.
Because of God’s promises, (the greatest of which was the promise of His Son, Jesus), we are invited to share in having the very nature of God! This is a pretty amazing thought, isn’t it! He is ever so much greater than we are, and we do not deserve His love or salvation, but even so, He loves us so much that He offered all of that to us anyway. He wants us to spend time with Him. He wants us to experience His love. He wants us to come into being as we fellowship with Him! This means that we take on His morals and values as we spend time in prayer and the reading of His Word. Our nature changes to be more like God’s nature as we spend time going learning and growing and moving deeper into our spiritual walk with God. We were born as sinners, but we are saved from sin when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This changes everything for us and helps us have thoughts and actions that are morally pleasing and in alignment with the will of God.
These are all things that can happen through PRAISE. Praise is observing and thinking about the divine nature of God. We know He is truth. We can depend on Him and rely on Him in every situation. There is nothing too hard for God. Ever.
So let’s look at how to praise God using His very own words. It is an easy thing to do, and you will see it’s positive effect if you implement this strategy in your prayer life.
Pick up my free prayer guide and praise the God of hope by praying these Sciptures over your life and relationships. Just fill out the form below to receive it! ⤵️
Remember, praise is a perspective-changer that will have you looking up and relying on God!
Focus Verses and Sources
The verse references inside this article are linked to Bible Hub where you can find free and helpful resources for further study. *I found the Greek word meanings for words inside these verses using HELPS Word-Studies which can be found on this page and this page at biblehub.com.
Let’s Talk
How have you found that praising God helps your perspective? What is your favorite way to worship God?
Let’s Pray
Dear Father, We ask You are worthy of all praise. We ask You to help us learn how to praise You through Your word. Fill our minds with the truths of who You are. Help us to depend on You and rely on You in every situation. Fill us with Your majesty and help us know how deep your love is for us. In Jesus name, Amen.
Next Week
Next week talk about that little guilty feeling we sometimes have when we pray for ourselves. There are so many others that need our prayers! Spending time praying about our own needs seems selfish, but is this how God feels about it? We’ll learn how to choose seven life verses that will make a difference!
The post Unlock the Power of Praise in Your Prayer Life first appeared at www.journeytoimperfect.com.
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Hi Leslie,
This article is over a year old, but I had to respond. Thank you for this blog about, its amazing thank you!
The verses I’ve been clinging to the last few years are “ for I know the plans I have for you “declares the Lord” plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”…Jer 29:11, I’ve clung this verse for about 12 years now when God was sending me in exile (of sorts – read Jeremiah up to verse 11 for that reference) since then, I think ok Lord….I’m stepping in….and I’ve somehow known it will be ok. Then during the wildfire in my home town God said to me…” when you go through the fire you will not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you” Is 43:2b…and the fire actually stopped right at our door, it took the whole neighbourhood but nothing beyond our street (our house was 1 ft from where the fire stopped, our siding was melted but not burned!)…. I’ve leaned to hold fast to the first verse, had I not I wouldn’t have trusted in His promise when He gave me the second verse the day our madantory evacuation started.
So 2 years after the fire, God reminded me “hope and a future”, I’m holding fast to it again, because God is good. Thank you very much for your blog.
Katherine
Katherine, I want to thank you so very much for sharing your story. It’s a really powerful picture of how the Lord sends up help, hope and protection, and also how He speaks to us through His word. You are so right – His Word is what we can hold fast to when life is hard and the future is unsure. It’s only unsure to us, though isn’t it! Because God holds our future in His hands and in Jesus we have a solid promises and everlasting hope for any situation we face in this life. And we know all the victories are already won. I really appreciate your kind words and that you took the time to share your story! It’s a powerful testimony for others who will come behind you and read this post and its comments. Blessings to you! Leslie
Good Day!
I’m new here and I’m glad that I come across Journey to Imperfect in Pinterest. It’s a great help Leslie. This will help a lot with my Bible Study group.
I’m so glad this was helpful to you!
Hi Leslie!
I came across your article some time ago and I responded – as you can see above. But a response to your reply to me triggered a reply to my mail box. What is funny is that I went and looked at my reply – at the time of writing the last response had just come through the fire and was resting on Our Rock. Learning at HIS feet and just being casual taking day by day enjoying life!
I forgot about this email and article but – I needed to reread what I wrote however long ago.
See as of today I live in Atlantic Canada – the place we sought refuge after our lives altered course and moved us here. This weekend we got hit by Fiona as a Category 3 hurricane……and once again HE was faithful.
I wrote this to my Shabbat Group: (maybe it will help someone in your world whose encountering their own wildfire or hurricane): cause I’m filling up my natural disaster bucket list 😉
I was in Fort Macmurray Alberta during the wildfire and I thought I learned a lot – but that was a fleeing your situation moment – this time it was stay at home situation – I can’t imagine what non believers are going through cause I saw it in peoples eyes as we loaded planes from Our private airport (at work) during those 100 hrs of the first days of the fire.
This time we prepared as good as we could but I can’t control what my husband did cause he isn’t a believer – he secured outside as much as he could but we lost a lot of his work stuff and our outbuilding. But nothing will compare to the loss we went through in Fort Mac.
Spiritually the fire really woke me up – this hurricane showed me again that it doesn’t matter what I do physically – He is my Rear Guard. He has shown me that it’s not what’s on the outside but on the inside that counts. What is my relationship with HIM – and what is my faith showing my unbelieving husband.
Stuff is just stuff (believe me we’ve lost alot of “stuff”). But it’s all just stuff. How we walk with Him is what matters – cause those who aren’t are in this hurricane and the wind will keep coming!
We have to be the calm in the inside and while the chaos is happening outside our “doors” others will see we have a light.
Keep the lamp burning! He is the oil.
Hope you are well.
Eyes up! Can you hear those Footsteps? That’s the Messiah! HE brings Good News.
Thank you so much for sharing this! I love this that you said: “We have to be the calm in the inside and while the chaos is happening outside our “doors” others will see we have a light.” So true! He is the light in any storm, and He’s shining bright in us so we can shine His light to others!
I was just reading yesterday about how often we can’t break through in our prayer life because of this very fact. Too often our eyes are focused on our current need or our own personal failure or weakness. What an excellent reminder that we simply simply need to turn our eyes Upon Jesus! As we praise Him for who He is, He is able to apply Himself within us to our present need making us partakers of His divine nature! Because isn’t this our real need? We need Him in every be part of our being and living! I so enjoyed reading this post and the confirmation of how we need to practice to praise in our prayer!
Hi Angie! I love how praise takes our eyes off our own troubles and puts them on the one who can help us through them. I’m so glad you stopped by!
This is an excellent and eye opener for every Christian who desires an intimate relationship with God. Thank you so very much. God bless you
Megg, a lot of what I write is about things that opened my eyes. I’m so thankful we have a God who guides and leads us and makes us aware of the many ways we can be closer to Him and live the kind of life He has in mind for us. Thank you for visiting and commenting! Blessings!
Hi,I’m so glad about this. I have always had the feeling that I can’t pray effectively. From now on I will apply this steps every morning. I will let you know how it goes. May you be blessed above your abilities. Regards Joubert
Joubert, I’m glad you found this encouraging and please do come back and let us know how it goes! Thank you so much for stopping by today!
Thank you for the encouraging words…
You are very welcome, Joscelyn. Thank you for letting me know this encouraged you! I was so encouraged by these things myself when I was writing. God is good like that. Blessings!
This is beautiful! God is always worthy of our praise – regardless! Thank you, Leslie. May God bless you abundantly!!
Robin, thank you so much for leaving that comment! I’m so glad you enjoyed this! Blessings!
Thank you for these encourging prayers.Dolores(Dee Hall)Nimmo
You are welcome, Delores. And thank you so much for leaving a comment. I really appreciate that! He is so worthy of our praise. I’m glad these verses encouraged you!
I love the resources you provide here, Leslie! I’m always inspired and encouraged by the words God is giving you to share here! You are such a blessing ♥ Thank you for sharing hope at #MomentsofHope!
Blessings and smiles,
Lori
Lori, Thank you for the kind words and for visiting today! Blessings!
Yes, I agree praise is important. I try to structure my prayer to always begin with focusing on who God is and giving God glory. It helps me trust Him with my needs knowing He is all powerful and loving.
Thank you for visiting, today, Rachel and for your comments! Praise does powerful things! Blessings!
Thanks for this call to praise, Leslie. And when I find that my own well of words is dry, the psalms are such a helpful game-changer!
Yes! I love the Psalms! It’s my favorite place to go. : ) Thanks for visiting today, Michele!
Well done Leslie. Prayer has become such an important aspect of my life. The more we pray with purpose, the more effective we can become at praying. Like you said, this includes praising God in our prayers. What a privilege to have access to our Heavenly Father via prayer. Thank you for the insights and resources you’ve provided here. Such a pleasure to “meet” you today. I hope you have a wonderful day and a blessed Mothers Day weekend.
Horace, Thank you so much for visiting and commenting today. The kind words are very encouraging! Prayer is such a privilege and such a blessing laid before us. It is a pleasure to meet you too! Blessings!
Great job Leslie! Loved this post about praise! I learned the value of worship and praise a few years ago when I was going through a real battle. It provided me such blessings to worship my way through what I had no power to change. I learned then the power of praise against discouragement as well as other schemes of our enemy. Your resources were an additional blessing from this post:)
Thank you so much, Gretchen, for the kind words! I am really encouraged by what you shared about the power of praise in your life. Thank you for sharing! Blessings!
Wonderful lesson. Your words gave me an image of God responding to me, according to how I respond to Him. Participation. Ah ha! Thanks for including your resources. and I love to read the Greek or Hebrew source of words. They give us a better look.
April, You are welcome and thank you for the kind words! Studying the Greek and Hebrew has opened up a whole new world for me. It’s like finding hidden treasures! Thank you for reading and commenting. : ) Blessings!
What great truth here and awesome resources you provide! Keep up the good work! I need to remember this too. I have been worn lately and find myself focusing on the bleh more than the blessings I DO have. It does effect prayer. Thanks for this word hug today.
Meghan, Thank you so much for the encouraging words. That means a lot to me! I make these resources because I need them so much myself as well as for the fact that I like to share and encourage. Life keeps us worn out sometimes, but God’s Word can fill us right back up! Thanks so much for visiting today! Blessings! ((And a hug, too!))