“God doesn’t answer prayer just to give us what we want: God answers prayer to bring glory to His name.”
Mark Batterson
Passage
13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
14The Lord sustains all who fall And raises up all who are bowed down.
15The eyes of all look to You, And You give them their food in due time.
16You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17The Lord is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds.
18The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
19He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.
20The Lord keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.
21My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.
Psalm 145:13–21 (NASB95)
"'The Heavens declare the Glory of God;...' Psalm 19" by Art4TheGlryOfGod by Sharon is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
Background
Quote-Mark Batterson (born November 5, 1969 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American pastor and author. Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. NCC was recognized as one of the Most Innovative and Most Influential Churches in America by Outreach Magazine in 2008. Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. One church with nine services in multiple locations, NCC is focused on reaching emerging generations. Approximately 70% of NCCers are single adults in their twenties.
The vision of NCC is to meet in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the DC area. NCC holds services at Georgetown, Kingstowne, Columbia Heights, Ballston Common Mall, and Ebenezers Coffeehouse near Union Station, all in the Washington, DC Metro Area. Ebenezers is owned and operated by NCC. In 2008, Ebenezers was recognized as the #1 coffeehouse in the metro DC area by AOL CityGuide and has been profiled by the Washington Post and Washington Times.
Passage-The genre of Psalms is Songs and Poetry of all kinds. It is written by multiple authors; David wrote 73, Asaph wrote 12, the sons of Korah wrote 9, Solomon wrote 3, Ethan, and Moses each wrote one (Ps. 90), and 51 of the Psalms are anonymous. They were written over the span of approximately 900 years (Beginning at the time of Moses 1440 B.C. and through the captivity in 586 B.C.).
Lesson Notes
Opening Statement
If we don’t give glory to God for what He has done, we are trying to retain it for ourselves. Believing God is in charge over it all is of the utmost importance. It is from this beginning that wisdom flows, and our faith begins.
Ask: What does scripture mean when it mentions Glory?
Point: This is a trick question, and it depends on the Greek word behind Glory, especially in the KJV vs other translations.
Ask: What are the two most common meanings for Glory in scripture?
Point: To boast as in being prideful, and to honor someone as in giving them the credit.
Ask: Which glory is David using in today’s passage?
Point: Honor.
Ask: Is it right to give Glory to God? Why/Why not?
Point: Please read the following:
34For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?
35Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?
36For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:34–36 (NASB95)
Ask: How does that scripture establish why God deserves all the Glory i.e. honor, praise, and worship?
Point: God created everything. Nothing exists that God didn’t make.
Ask: What does giving glory to God have to do with how we pray?
Point: Please read the following:
17The Lord is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds.
18The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
Psalm 145:17–18 (NASB95)
Ask: How does that scripture answer the question of the relationship between giving glory to God and prayer?
Point: Verse eighteen has the answer.
Ask: How do we “…call upon Him in truth?”
Point: Please read the following:
1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
2For by it the men of old gained approval.
3By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
4By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.
6And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Hebrews 11:1–6 (NASB95)
Ask: Is there a key word and a key verse in the above passage?
Point: Yes. Faith, and verse six.
Ask: Why is verse six the key passage as it relates to giving God the glory and our prayers to Him?
Point: We must have faith God is good, righteous, and true. We must believe His word and the things He tells us
Ask: These things are difficult to internalize and doubt swirls about us. How do we have faith?
Point: Please read the following:
14How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?
15How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”
16However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”
17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
Romans 10:14–17 (NASB95)
Isaiah 52:7
Isaiah 53:1
Ask: How do the words of Christ save us?
Point: please read the following:
8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast
10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8–10 (NASB95)
Closing Statement
10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health.
11“He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone.
12“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:10–12 (NASB95)
Questions for the Week
Question 1 How does God answering our prayer bring Him Glory?
Question 2 Consider your recent prayers, whether or not they were answered, and how you gave God the credit for those answers?
Question 3 Take into consideration your thoughts and answers to the first two questions. Would you make any changes to how you pray or what you pray for based on the first two questions?
Question 4 Write as much or as little in your journal as you are led to write concerning any changes you think you should make regarding how you pray.
Definitions
Glory
glawr-ee, glohr-ee
noun, plural glo·ries,
very great praise, honor, or distinction bestowed by common consent; renown:to win glory on the field of battle.
something that is a source of honor, fame, or admiration; a distinguished ornament or an object of pride:a sonnet that is one of the glories of English poetry.
adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving:Give glory to God.
resplendent beauty or magnificence:the glory of autumn.
a state of great splendor, magnificence, or prosperity.
a state of absolute happiness, gratification, contentment, etc.:She was in her glory when her horse won the Derby.
the splendor and bliss of heaven; heaven.
a ring, circle, or surrounding radiance of light represented about the head or the whole figure of a sacred person, as Christ or a saint; a halo, nimbus, or aureole.
verb (used without object), glo·ried, glo·ry·ing,
to exult with triumph; rejoice proudly (usually followed by in):Their father gloried in their success.
Obsolete. to boast.
interjection
Also glory be . Glory be to God (used to express surprise, elation, wonder, etc.).
2For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
Romans 4:2 (KJV 1900)
Greek Strong’s Number: 2745
Greek Word: καύχημα
Transliteration: kauchēma
honetic Pronunciation: kow’-khay-mah
Root: from <G2744>
Cross Reference: TDNT - 3:645,423
Part of Speech: n n
Vine’s Words: Glory (to boast), Glorying
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
rejoicing 4
to glory 3
lorying 2
boasting 1
rejoice 1
[Total Count: 11]
from <G2744> (kauchaomai); a boast (properly the object; by implication the act) in a good or a bad sense:- boasting, (whereof) to glory (of), glorying, rejoice (-ing).
James Strong, “Καύχημα,” Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
20He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
Romans 4:20 (KJV 1900)
Greek Strong’s Number: 1391
Greek Word: δόξα
Transliteration: doxa
Phonetic Pronunciation: dox’-ah
Root: from the base of <G1380>
Cross Reference: TDNT - 2:233,178
Part of Speech: n f
Vine’s Words: Dignity, Dignities, Glory, Glorious, Honor
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
glory 145
glorious 10
honour 6
praise 4
dignity 2
worship 1
[Total Count: 168]
from the base of <G1380> (dokeo); glory (as very apparent), in a wide application (literal or figurative, object or subject):- dignity, glory (-ious), honour, praise, worship.