The Majestic Prayer of Adoration: Exploring the Power of Praise
What is a prayer of adoration? C.S. Lewis wrote:
“The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance.”
David is a great teacher of adoration because he would always sincerely express his feelings. He was fully open before the Lord – a man after God’s own heart. God loves when we come to Him with an open and sincere heart, regardless of our state of mind.
David worshiped God not because he was told to do so but because he could not help it. When we open up before the Lord, He fills our hearts with His love to the brim, and we start singing. Adoration is an overflow of a grateful heart.
Forced adoration is lip service. It doesn’t flow from a sincere heart. In fact, it doesn’t flow at all. David is known for his singing and dancing precisely because they were an overflow of his heart. As Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)
If we want to see more adoration in our lives, we should not focus on adoration. We should focus on the infinite worthiness of God, and as we perceive the infinite value of knowing God, adoration will be the natural consequence.
In moments of quiet reflection and spiritual connection, we seek the right words for adoration and praise. Words matter. It’s nearly impossible to express your adoration in bland sentences. However, when we are full of God, words come to us organically.
If we invite a sense of wonder and awe into our lives, even whispers of gratitude will be adoration enough. Adoration prayers encapsulate the beauty and majesty of the Lord. Let’s probe into the essence of adoration prayers, exploring their profound impact on our spiritual journey.
What Is the Adoration Prayer?
At its core, the adoration prayer is born from experiencing God’s loving touch. When we are engaged in this type of prayer, we align our being with the awe-inspiring experience of God’s power and goodness, which fosters a deeper connection and sense of belonging.
The Significance of Adoration Prayers
Spiritually speaking, adoration prayers are a way to fine-tune your heart and mind to God’s wavelength. Adoration grants stillness and reflection amid life’s tumults and has a centering effect on the soul. Adoration prayers are a way to shower ourselves with the Divine to cleanse our hearts and minds of the dross of daily existence.
Adoration prayers focus on the majesty of God and foster a sense of humility and awe as we are reminded of our unique place and role in the grand tapestry of existence.
Examples of Adoration Prayers
- The Magnificat – This prayer comes from Luke 1:46-55 where Mary, the mother of God, sings a song of adoration as she learns about her participation in God’s plan. Her soul magnifies the Lord because He looked with compassion on His humble servant and promised to lift her up.
- The Gloria is a pillar of Christian hymnology. The Gloria elevates the Lord to the highest heaven as the Only One who is worthy of praise. “Glory to God in the highest” is a powerful refrain that echoes the song of eternal delight sung by countless hearts.
The Power of Adoration in Daily Life
Adoration prayers transform our spiritual journey because when we focus on the ultimate beauty of God, we forget about our troubles. The more we notice and appreciate God’s love in all things, the less we think of ourselves. When we stand before a magnificent mountain, we naturally forget about ourselves.
We are caught up in adoration, and we feel no desire to think much of ourselves. As C.S. Lewis said,
Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.
By cultivating a habit of praise, we become more humble. When we see divine beauty, we forget ourselves. Adoration attunes our minds to the eternal glory of God and helps us to think of ourselves less without thinking less of ourselves.
Adoration humbles us without making us feel diminished. In fact, as we humble ourselves, we are elevated by the Lord, just as it says,
Whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:12)
Faith and adoration go hand in hand. When we see God’s invisible nature in every created substance by faith, we overflow with praise and adoration. Our hearts give birth to a song of praise in which we walk across the invisible bridge between heaven and earth, the finite and the infinite, the temporal and eternal.
Bible Verses to Use as Adoration Prayers
- Psalm 95:6: “Oh come, let’s worship and bow down. Let’s kneel before Yahweh, our Maker.”
- Psalm 29:2: “Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Worship Yahweh in holy array.”
- Psalm 99:5: “Exalt Yahweh our God. Worship at his footstool. He is Holy!”
- 1 Chronicles 16:29: “Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come before him. Worship Yahweh in holy array.”
- Revelation 5:13: “I heard every created thing which is in heaven, on the earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever! Amen!'”
- Philippians 2:9-11: “Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
- Isaiah 6:3: “One called to another, and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!'”
The whole earth is full of God’s glory. When we look around with an open heart, we see His presence in all things. Our hearts are filled with gratitude, and adoration bursts forth as if from a fountain. We exclaim together with David,
I love you, Yahweh, my strength. Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. (Psalm 18:1-2)
