Is God’s Love Reciprocated?

re·cip·ro·cate – re·cip·ro·cat·ed, re·cip·ro·cat·ing, re·cip·ro·cates.
1.To give or take mutually; interchange.
2.To show, feel, or give in response or return.

Let’s think about the way we pray today.

Consider your most recent prayer to the Lord. Did you spend as much time praising Him as you did making requests? In our selfish society, people even attend church to get needs met–singing helps emotions, sermons “feed” the flock, and the worship team entertains. Our own preferences can overshadow the primary purpose God has for our lives: to exalt Him.

Praise both magnifies and pleases the Lord, but we actually benefit from the practice as well. Adoration of God modifies our estimation of “self”–it’s impossible to elevate God while clinging to pride. Instead, we come to recognize our own sin, weakness, and dependence on Him. Scripture tells us the Lord’s power is manifest when we show genuine humility. (2 Cor. 12:10). That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Next, praise appropriately humbles us, as it is a reminder of God’s greatness and our dependence on Him. But at the same time, exalting Him strengthens our sense of assurance, increasing our faith. Then we are able to look beyond ourselves and our circumstances to see life from God’s perspective. Also consider one additional benefit of praise that involves our physical bodies: when we focus on Jesus’ goodness, tension leaves and we find new strength. All these supernatural effects of exaltation are possible because as we lift His name, God is present–Psalm 22:3 tells us that He inhabits the praise of His people (KJV).

– Lord we thank you for all that you do and for answered prayers. But today we come before you with open hearts of praise with no strings attached; just to say, “We love you and worship you for who you are and for what you’ve already done. Not for what you can do for us.”

Be the Blessing