Worship Through Prayer
Open Your Bible
Matthew 6:5-15, Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 44:1-26
BY Guest Writer
Last night when I got into bed, I was completely wrecked by my sin—my selfishness in not loving my husband and children well, my discontentment, my quickness to anger, my quickness to speak out of anger… I could go on. And as I cried, I finally cried out to the Lord. I had been in the middle of writing this devotion on prayer, and yet turning to Him was not my first reaction. But the Lord, who sees and knows the depth of my sin much better than I do, met me and reminded me that He sees me in all my mess and loves me still. Indeed, there is great reward in prayer (Matthew 6:6).
Prayer is coming to my Father as a needy child, acknowledging my inability to change situations or people or my own heart, and then acknowledging that God is mighty and that He reigns, ascribing worth to the Lord for who He is.
In Psalm 44, this kind of worship is modeled for us. Here, the psalmist is very real with his emotions. His plea is raw with vulnerability. He feels abandoned, yet he begins and ends the psalm in recognition of God’s faithful love for His people. Despite feeling rejected and forgotten, he comes back to what he knows to be true: God is faithful.
This is just one way prayer blesses, or “rewards,” us. When we turn to God in prayer, we are reminded of who He is and who we are not. There is relief in remembering that we are not the center of all things—not even our own lives. He is. And as He recenters us, He is able to do serious work in our hardened hearts as only He can, bringing peace when we feel fraught with anxiety.
Of course, the ultimate reward of prayer is being in relationship with the Lord Himself. Prayer can be a form of worship because engaging in prayer reminds us that He is in our midst, in the details of our lives. “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Regardless of our circumstances, He is sovereign.
“The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love” (Psalm 103:8). God knows our desperate need of Him, even when we don’t acknowledge it ourselves. He says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). His presence alone is the perfect balm to our weary souls.
Prayer is an open invitation to relationship with God. It’s not always going to look pretty because we’re sinful, a broken and messy people. But Jesus’s blood covers all our sin—past, present, and future. He sees us in secret, knows the depths of our hearts, and loves us still.
Kimberly Girard is a well-loved child of God, wife of an extraordinary man, mother of three amazing kids, and writer living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. You can find her at Loud Singing and on Twitter.
53 thoughts on "Worship Through Prayer"
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I truly don’t know how I would function daily without prayer. It is such an important part of my life. We just finished up a series at church called Pray like Jesus. Jesus continually prayed to God throughout the Bible. That alone shows us how important prayer is in having a meaningful relationship with God. If the son prays to the father, than so will I.
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“The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.” KJV Bible Dictionary
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I struggle with accepting grace, yet each time I come back I am met with open arms from the Father. No matter how hard I fight sometimes, He will not let me go. Sin and doubt and anxiety have no match for His faithful and consistent love.
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I’ve learned to pray the Word back to God, and Philippians 4:6-7 is definitely on repeat for me since I’m a worrier! “God, help me not to be anxious for anything, but in everything through prayer & supplication, let my requests be made known to You. And let Your peace, which surpasses all understanding, guard my heart & mind in Christ Jesus. Amen.” ❤️
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Love this idea! Thanks for sharing.
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Isn’t that a great book, Kristen? It definitely reminded me of all God is and how worthy He is worship. Thankful for all of the comments here on Prayer as worship. I have found using a prayer journal helps me focus as that is one of my challenges. By writing down concerns I actually remember them. There have been many unanswered prayers, yet I know the requests were laid before Him. The answered prayers are numerous too, which certainly builds my faith.
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So grateful that when I feel burdened I can go to HIM and rest. Beautiful devotion this morning Kimberly thank you. First day of school for my daughter who is entering into the 8th grade.
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I love the amazing freedom the Psalms give us to not censor or edit our prayers. The Psalmist accuses God of allowing them to be beaten and pushed back, even claims to be faithful while being abandoned. I tell my daughters all the time that they can bring their raw honest selves to God. If they’re angry, tell Him. If they think He made a mistake, tell Him. If they’re broken and without hope, tell Him. There is not an emotion or sentiment that scares God away when we come to Him with honesty. And He meets us there and redirects our thoughts to the truth of who He is and provides peace that surpasses understanding.
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Thank you Melissa. Your advise to your daughters speaks straight to my heart!
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I love how He recenters me in my conversations with him!
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