Our part in prayer is to try to raise our minds and hearts to God, to spend time making the effort. ‘Trying to pray’ is prayer, and it is very good prayer. The will to try is also His gift.
Basil Hume
Adoration with your mind
Allow these sections from Psalm 103 to be your prayer guide today. Read it through three times. First silently. Then read it out loud. Then read it as a whisper…
Psalm 103
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
3 Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
5 Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
14 For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all.
Adoration with your affections
Now allow the Psalm to guide your words of adoration. Tell God what the Psalm tells you about Him, His character, His being, His works, His promises, His purposes and plans. For example: “Lord, I praise you because everything you say and do is true.”
Adoration with your will
Identify something in your life that resists adoring God, something that makes it difficult to praise Him. Bring that before the Lord by telling Him that you choose praise, by faith, because God is worthy, always worthy of praise.
