Daily Devotion for August 22, 2010
Prayers
Scripture
Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Prayer for the Morning
Oh Lord, most heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who has safely brought me to the beginning of this day; I give you thanks for my creation, preservation, and all the blessings of my life. Grant that this day I fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all my doings, being governed by your will, may be righteous in your sight. Through Christ our Lord, I pray.
Prayer for Grace and Strength
Lord God, I pray that you will fill my heart with the blessing of your Holy Spirit. Grant me this day the strength to be temperate in all things, diligent in my duties, and patient under my afflictions. Direct me in all my ways. Give me grace to be just and upright in all my dealings; quiet and peaceable; full of compassion; and ready to do good to all people, according to my abilities and opportunities. For the sake of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
Community of Prayer
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be among the community of all who pray in the name of Christ this morning, and remain among us always.
Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.
Psalm 108:5-6
Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered. .
Matthew 6:13
The Lord's Prayer (part 7)
"For thine is the . . . glory"
Notes on the Scripture
When I think of the glory of God, I get images of trumpets and white lights in the sky and golden objects. Most people acknowledge the glory of God, mostly by simply saying or singing "all glory is yours" or words to that effect, sometimes at great length.
What exactly is "glory"? Webster tells me "worshipful praise, honor, and thanksgiving". So initially, praying that glory is God's means that 1) all praise should go to God, 2) all honor belongs to God, and 3) we should thank him for everything good.
Let's dig a little deeper. Mr. Webster tells me that praise means "to glorify especially by the attribution of perfections". Of course, defining the verb "to honor" as "to glorify" isn't helpful here, but the phrase "attribution of perfections" is. When we pray that glory is God's, we are saying that he is perfect.
Like the ultimate source of power that we discussed yesterday, this is something beyond our comprehension. An honest scientist will admit that nothing is perfect in the "real world" — the reality we can observe with our eyes and ears. The only understanding scientists have of sub-molecular physics is through quantum mechanics, which, basically, proposes that nothing exists as a certainty. Atomic bombs are entirely based on probabilities. We believe, however, that there is a certainty. This is a matter of faith.
When we pray that glory is God's, we are expressing our faith that there is something perfect in the universe, and that something is God. We cannot know perfection through our senses; we can only know it through our spirit. The good exists in approaching this unreachable perfection more closely, and evil is the opposite: that which moves us farther from it. This is what we acknowledge in the final words of the Lord's prayer; a timeless perfection actually does exist and it belongs to God alone.
(The definitions are quoted from Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, © 2010 Merriam-Webster, Inc.)
