Start with Praise: 7 Empowering PrayersCampione

### The Lord is Worthy of Our Praise We are called to praise the Lord, our Creator and our Savior. Reading just a portion of Psalm 103 gives us ample reason to praise the Lord. He is righteous and compassionate, forgiving and merciful. He heals, and He loves. This beautiful psalm ends with this statement, “Let all that I am praise the Lord.” All that we are—our entire being—should praise the Lord. This is not the equivalent of Sunday morning perfunctory singing of a couple church songs. No, this is one’s entire being rejoicing about our glorious heavenly Father. Have you ever been so excited that you actually jumped for joy or squealed with delight? This is the type of praise our heavenly Father deserves… praise that comes from our entire being, standing in awe of the fact that God Almighty loves each one of us individually. And, not only that, He forgives us of our sins so we can be in a love relationship with Him. When some people think about praying to God, they think of handing Him a laundry list of wants and begging Him to bless those requests with a “yes.” But prayer is so much more than that. Prayer is our way to develop a deeper love relationship with our heavenly Father so that when problems come, we can stand unshaken and empowered, keeping our eyes on Him. We can trust Him and know that He loves us and promises to work all things together for good. In the four steps of prayer, making our requests and interceding in prayer for others creates the very last step. That way we can first spend time developing our relationship with the Lord and preparing our hearts to hear the Holy Spirit’s direction when it’s time to intercede. We might come to the Lord in prayer because of a problem or stress, but starting with praise reframes our thinking. As soon as we begin praising God, our thoughts are transformed. We’re reminded that we’re giving this problem over to the God who created the entire universe. Of course, He can take care of whatever concerns us! PRAISE Lord, I praise You because You are worthy of my praise. You are holy, perfect and righteous, yet You are still loving, compassionate and forgiving. Lord, I do not deserve a relationship with You, yet You mercifully call me into a relationship with You. You want to spend time with me. You want me to share my heart with You, even though You already know my inner thoughts. You beckon me to sit with You, to worship You and Praise You. CONFESSION Lord, forgive me for the times I get so focused on me and my family, I forget to put You first; I forget to praise You. And when I forget to keep my eyes on You, then my problems can seem so overwhelming, because I forget that You are so much bigger than any concern that comes along my path or the path of my child. Forgive me for the times I focus more on the problem instead of You, the Problem Solver. Forgive me for the times that I forget the good things in my life and focus instead on the difficulties. THANKSGIVING Lord, I do thank You for the good things in my life. I specifically thank You for  ___________ INTERCESSION Lord, help _______ remember to praise You, to focus on who You are, Your power and attributes. As Psalm 103 says in verses 5 and 6, Lord, I pray that You fill _______’s life with good things. Renew his/her youth like the eagle’s. And, Lord, for those who are being treated unfairly—at school or in our community—we pray that Your righteousness and justice will prevail. PETITION Oh heavenly Father, may all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things You do for me. (From Psalm 103:1-2 NLT)