What is Prayer For?

What is Prayer For?

All prayer is for the glory of the Lord. 

“Let them all praise the name of the LORD. For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven!” Psalm 148:13 (NLT)

Every prayer request and every situation you have ever encountered is a means by which God can reveal His glory. These situations are an opportunity for God to reveal Himself to you. When God answers your prayer request, He is revealing that part of Himself to you. You now know God in that measure. You, yourself, were even created for His glory.

“Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them.” Isaiah 43:7 (NLT)

The word glory is often used, but in the Hebrew it’s a word that carries great weight. It carries the majesty and importance of God. As you read the Bible, you will see the “glory of the Lord” phrase used often. These are the moments when a glimpse of who God really is, has been revealed. These are also the moments when there is a visible awesomeness, and evidence, of the power of Almighty God. 

God has all power and authority. What we are describing is when we encounter a portion, just a miniscule amount of who He is we say, “the glory of the Lord was in that place.” 

When we say that God is revealing His glory, we are saying that God is unwrapping, unveiling a measure, or a part, of His holiness, purity, power, or His lovingkindness to us in that moment we pray for a distinct answer. 

You come to know Him as Healer (2 Kings 20:5, Hezekiah) when you are sick, have prayed, and God heals. 

You come to know Him as Sustainer (Psalm 54:4, David’s prayer of Deliverance) when you feel like you’re falling, and then God lifts you and holds you up. 

You come to know Him as Wise (1 Corinthians 1:25) when you need an answer and He provides that answer.

You come to know Him as He is, based on what requests you have made, due to the situations you have encountered. Therefore, to know Him, and to have His glory revealed, comes through the experiences of your life. 

I believe that’s the why the old timers would say, “He gets sweeter, as the days go by.” It’s through their lives, and the trials and tribulations of their lives, that God was revealed more and more. The more that was revealed, the more they loved Him. 

God reveals Himself in ways that we can handle. We couldn’t handle all His glory, so He reveals Himself in part. God unveils Himself, showing you who He is.

Look at Abraham. God told him to offer his only son Isaac (Gen 22). At this point, Abraham knew God as Creator, as a Guide, and as a Faithful Promise Keeper. 

Now, in the request, Abraham is about to have more of God revealed. We have rehearsed, even in the last few days, Abraham’s obedience to God’s request. 

In Abraham’s response to His servants, we can see that he had faith that they both would return down the mountain. Abraham, no doubt, trusted that God would resurrect his son of promise (Hebrews 11:9). However, God was revealing something else. 

When the Angel of the Lord stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son, and the ram was in the thicket, God revealed Himself as the Provider. 

God had kept this part of Himself back from Abraham, but in the perfect moment God shows up and reveals Himself to Abraham in a new way. He is Jehovah Jireh; God, our Provider. 

Throughout the trials, prayers, and turbulence of your life, what is God trying to reveal to you? 

Maybe the question is, what do you need God to reveal to you? 

The prayer is, “Lord, show me Your glory!”

When God answered Abraham, we are shown the proper response to an answered prayer, or God’s glory being revealed: It’s worship.

In Psalm 138:5 (NLT), David instructed us, “Yes, they will sing about the LORD’s ways, for the glory of the LORD is very great.”

The apostle Paul told us, “All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grave reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory” 2 Corinthians 4:15 (NLT).

When God answers prayers, we should not only tell others, we should also worship. In doing so, we not only receive blessings… we also show more of His glory.