Prayer - Adoration

Adoration is recognising the Majesty of God.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - Philippians 2:9-11

It is often considered that these words from the letter to the Philippians form part of the earliest known hymn of the church. It casts a vision of the fullness of Jesus’ identity. We hear the juxtaposition of Jesus’ humanity and deity. This hymn calls us to imagine the heights of his glory and the depths that he stooped down to in the incarnation.

So, in this instance, adoration is the question of the focus of our worship.

St Francis de Sales once said, “Some men become proud and insolent because they ride a fine horse, wear a feather in their hat or are dressed in a fine suit of clothes. Who does not see the folly of this? If there be any glory in such things, the glory belongs to the horse, the bird and the tailor.”

It was Oswald Chambers who explained “Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have, Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship.”

You, loving God, are the ground of our being and the river of life; you both steady our roots and draw them to seek the living waters.

You are like the sunlight enticing us taller and like the breeze rustling our leaves. You are with us through hard seasons of summer heat, and in the nights when winter’s frost ice the landscape your love warms and sustains us.

You are everything to us.

O let our gratitude be great,

let our praise be plentiful,

let our worship be wonder-full!

Through Christ Jesus your ever-living Son. Amen!