1 Minute Daily Devotions

September 4, 2008

Hallowed Be Thy Name

"He said to them, "When you pray, say: " Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come..." - Luke 11:2

Jesus tells us that when we pray it is important that we praise God. What is praise? Let me first tell you what it's not. Praise is not flattery. Flattery is when we say something good about another person just because we want them to do something for us. It may or may not be true. But praise is very different. We're to simply acknowledge the good qualities of God. We want to acknowledge the fact that there is such a difference between God's character and our sinfulness. Praise simply affirms who He is, and He deserves to hear that.

But there's also a wonderful by-product of praising God. Praise helps us to focus on the greatness of God and acknowledging this greatness lifts us above our troubles. Praising God and thinking about all His attributes has a way of making our problems here on earth seem small. You see, when you begin to focus on the greatness of God and look with faith to the greatness of God, you realize that no matter what trial, no matter what difficulty, no matter what hardship you're facing, God is bigger than all of that. Praise is central to meaningful communication with God.