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Intention

To behold God’s glory, become like Him, and reflect His glory.

Scripture

“As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more.”

­–  2 Corinthians 3:18

Reflection

We talk and sing about it at church and find the word mentioned more than 500 times in Scripture, but what exactly is glory? When was the last time you asked God, “Show me Your glory?”

If we study the Scriptures that mention it, we discover God’s glory is the very essence of who God is, His character. Glory is what sets God apart. It’s the way God reveals Himself to us. In the book of Exodus, Moses was discovering God’s glory. Through Moses, the Lord revealed His purposes to Israel.

Over time, Moses recognised that he didn’t want to make decisions or move anywhere without God’s presence. He begged God to show Himself:

“Moses said, ‘Please show me Your glory.’ And God said, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you My name “The LORD”. And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.’” (Exod 33:18–19)

What motivated Moses to make that request? After forty days on Mount Sinai receiving God’s law for His people, Moses came down to find the Israelites worshipping a golden calf. They were in a place of darkness and distrust in the God who had delivered them from slavery in Egypt.

As a leader, Moses needed to set a standard without sliding down the slope of going with the flow. When Moses prayed, “Show me Your glory,” he wanted to see the greatness, majesty, and splendour of the Lord. Moses needed a fresh revelation of God to empower him to continue to walk in the dark times he was in. He yearned for the assurance of God’s radiant, powerful presence. We too ought to be desperately seeking God’s glory.

Most of us are like Moses. We want to feel God’s presence in our daily lives. We would like to see and experience God’s glory, but we are not sure how to pursue it.

The Hebrew word for “glory” is kabod, meaning someone or something heavy in weight, wealth, abundance, importance or respect. Does that sound like God? We can experience glimpses of God’s glory all around us, but we have to lift our eyes to notice them and respond. God always makes Himself known through His Word that comforts us during trials.

Sometimes, He may also show His glory through a sense of peace gifted to us while we wait for a diagnosis or a breakthrough in a strained relationship.

God’s Spirit works within us. As a result of this, we reflect His glory even more. Exactly what does that mean? When we are truly His, we reflect His character to those who cross our path. His character is written by Him in our hearts so that it can be read by anyone our heart touches. We show that we are a letter from Christ through the way we live our lives. We are simply a reflection of the One who lives within us. We cannot claim anything for ourselves – for everything we are or claim to be comes only from God.

Let’s not miss the examples of God’s glory right in our midst. Let’s call out the glory we see so that others might experience His presence too. God is delighted to answer our prayers to reveal His glory, and God adds to the experience by proclaiming His name.

Video

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for the beautiful and diverse ways You show us Your glory each day. Help us to pause, notice and respond when we feel Your presence. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Author Bio

Brian Pickering is the National Coordinator of the Australian Prayer Network, Australia’s largest prayer network of around 7000 members from all Christian denominations. One of the main aims of the APN is to see spiritual renewal and revival of the Church, and spiritual and social transformation of the nation.

Prayer Points for Wave of Glory

1. Pray for a wave of the “knowledge of the glory of the LORD” to sweep the globe and the WPA in Australia on 3–6 October. Isaiah 40:5
2. Pray for awakening for Australia and millions to find Christ. Isaiah 64:1–2
3. Pray for a global awakening for the world and billions to find Christ. Romans 10:1

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