Finding Praiseworthy Moments

In his book, Prayer, Tim Keller said “There are three basic kinds of prayer to God.

There is ‘upward’ prayer—praise and thanksgiving that focuses on God himself. We could call this the ‘prayer of awe.’

There is ‘inward’ prayer—self-examination and confession that bring a deep sense of sin and, in return, a higher experience of grace and assurance of love. That is the prayer of intimacy.

Finally, there is ‘outward’ prayer—supplication and intercession that focuses on our needs and the needs of others in the world.

This prayer requires perseverance and often entails struggle.” (page 189)

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to start with the prayer of awe, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” As you pray, don’t rush past this today…spend adequate time praising Him and seek to take that with you throughout the day.

Not long ago, I was driving to work and noticed the incredible colors of the sun rising. I simply said, “God, thank you for that. You didn’t have to make this world as beautiful as it is…you could have made it black and white, but you made it beautiful. Thank you!”

It wasn’t a long prayer, but I’m pretty sure the Father delights when we praise Him. I did the same thing on Saturday when a goldfinch landed just a few feet from me. As I watched him hop from branch to branch I just thanked the Lord for the beauty of His creation…of course the Redbirds, Bluebirds, and Jays were not going to go unnoticed after that!

Yesterday, as I drive to church, the lake was covered in mist…with the sun rising, the beautiful colors…it was simply praiseworthy! The picture above was another praiseworthy moment as I was walking across the parking lot.