Give it up for Yahweh, folks.
Give it up,
Applauding his graceful beauty,
Applauding his athletic strength.
Give it up for Yahweh!
He deserves every bit of glory we can heap on him.
Don’t show up for worship empty-handed.
Bring gifts for God with you.
Wonder,
Marvel,
Worship in awe,
For his beautify is unlike any other
Anywhere.
All creation,
Be prepared to be struck silent,
Open-mouthed in wonderment.
(Everyday Psalms, Psalm 96, page 221)
There are many benefits to living in a democracy. I take too many of them for granted to be truly aware of what they are. And yet there are drawbacks, because as much as I think I live in a democracy where my vote is sacred, I actually live in a kingdom.
God is King. He doesn’t need to campaign to win an election. I don’t vote him into power. Prayer reminds me of this fact and calls me to simply bow before the Sovereign.
Of all the metaphors the Scriptures use for God, “King” is by far the most used. We love to call God “Father,” but “King” dominates the Scriptures. Of all the things in the world we can compare to God, monarches are the most accurate image. That doesn’t mean he governs like human kings. He’s a holy monarch, a different kind of king. And yet his rule is absolute and his glory, his weight, his gravity is the most substantial.
The sovereignty of God clashes with the sovereignty of self.
Being king of our own lives may seem like a great idea on the surface, but we make for brutal monarchs, rarely kind to ourselves. We feed our egos and then despise ourselves for doing so. This isn’t a roll we were created for and we exercise majesty poorly. Instead, as Bob Dylan sang, “You gotta serve somebody.” When we place ourselves under the authority of the humble and friendly kingship of our Lord, we experience all of the benefits we would grab for ourselves but in unexpected ways.
Prayer reestablishes the kingship of God in my life and over the world I see around me. As I pray, I approach the throne of God and my imagination for how the world works and my place in it is restored — all in the context of the Sovereign before whom I lay my requests. And in the laying of these requests before him, I assert the goodness and power of his rule. His goodness, because he hears me and acts for my good. His power, because he is able to grant my requests. His rule, because he is free to respond to my requests however he determines.
In a world of mini monarchs all seeking to force our wills on those around us, there is much peace to be found in having but one King to bow before. And instead of demanding God serve my wants and needs and feelings, prayer moves me from my self-sovereign consumerism with its never-ending desires and lets me rest in obedience to the wisdom of the good and kindly King.
Having laid my requests at the feet of the King, I let them go and listen for his requests of me. It’s not in asserting my voice, but in listening to and obeying his voice, that I find my true desires and experience true joy.
Prayer: Good and wise King, hear my requests. I lay them before you. And speak your requests to me. Reorder my world. Give me a glimpse of you on your throne so that all things might find their proper place in relationship to you and your kingship. To the glory of your Name. Amen.