March is here, my friends! It’s the month when spring arrives, at least on the calendar. Our temperatures lately already feel like spring – and the pollen is out in full force.
Today we’re continuing to focus on prayer by looking at a prayer of praise we find in 1 Chronicles 29:10-19. I love this heartfelt prayer from David! If we want to learn to praise God as we pray, I think this prayer is a wonderful example to follow.
Since this is a long passage, I’m going to just put each section of verses under the respective point rather than add it here at the top of the post. Let’s examine this prayer to find five things that show us how to offer prayers of praise to God.
1. Praise God for who He is.
Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever.
Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. [Verses 10-11]
God is so far above us. He is holy, all-powerful, full of glory and majesty, creator of Heaven and earth, and Lord of all. And that’s just the beginning!
Write out a list of God’s attributes that you can praise him for. To get you started, you can find five of God’s names here and use them in your praise. You can also check out these ten simple verses from Psalms to inspire your praise life.
2. Praise God for what he does.
Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.
Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. [Verses 12-13]
God is in control of all that happens in our lives. Every situation is allowed and orchestrated by him. Whether now in the present or when looking back at the past, we can see his hand at work in our lives.
How often have we been kept safe or recovered from an illness or come through a trial to joy on the other side? God does so much in our lives – including answering prayer – that we can praise him for.
3. Let God know that you recognize that all you have comes from him.
But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.
O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own. [Verses 14-16]
David realized how blessed he was. He knew there was nothing in him or his people that caused them to deserve all the blessings that they had received. David clearly recognized that everything they had came from God.
Stewardship involves using what God has entrusted us with to bring him glory. That includes our time, abilities, and money. Here King David and his people willingly brought some of their material blessings and gave them to God.
Recognizing that everything comes from God leads us to gratitude. And grateful people who want to steward their blessings well become generous people.
4. Examine your spiritual condition.
I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee. [Verse 17]
David knows that God wants praise from a heart that is seeking to honor and please him. David declares that his offerings to God are from an honest, sincere, and willing heart.
As we come before God in praise and worship, let’s make sure that we’ve dealt with any known sin in our lives. Let’s ask God to reveal to us those things that would keep us out of fellowship with Him so that we can praise Him from a pure heart.
5. Ask God to continually give you a heart full of praise and to bless those you love.
O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:
And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision. [Verses 18-19]
David wants his people to continually remember this time of praise and worship. And he closes his prayer by asking God to guide his son, Solomon, into following him.
As we close out our own prayer of praise, let’s ask God to bless our families with a rich heritage of keeping God’s commands and living out His plans for their lives.
I hope we make it a habit to praise God as we go to prayer. Often our minds are full of requests for His help and guidance. But let’s take time to praise God as we seek His face.
If you’d like to know more about using the Bible in your prayer life, check out my printable prayer guide on How to Pray the Bible for Yourself and Your Family.
Related posts:
- 3 Women in the Bible Teach Us How to Praise God
- How to Make Our Words and Thoughts Pleasing to God
- What Does It Really Mean to Rejoice in the Lord?
We can learn a lot from the prayers in the Bible, can’t we?! And David had so many!
Yes, I enjoy studying prayers in the Bible – especially the Psalms. Love how David expresses his heart in those prayers!