"Father, glorify Your name."
John 12:28
A minister was teaching a class on the subject of prayer. At the conclusion, he asked for any questions. A man asked, "What is the real purpose of prayer?" The minster replied, "That's a great question. We must know the purpose of prayer to be effective in prayer. The purpose of prayer is to glorify God." He went on to explain that all things in our lives should be to glorify God, and that certainly includes prayer. He said, "Anything in our lives that falls short of glorifying God is sin, and that always applies to prayer." Then the minister quoted Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." He asserted, "Even our prayers become sin, when we fail to focus on the glory of God."
When Jesus faced the hour of death, He prayed, "Father, glorify Your name." All that He had said and done in His life brought glory to God the Father. He understood that His death was likewise to glorify the Father's name. His prayer life is our model as believers. When we pray that God will be glorified in our requests, we are certainly praying according to the will of God. The glory of God is the will of God. Prayer requests which do not consider the glory of God, easily fall short of the will of God.
A minister's wife was diagnosed with cancer. After a heart to heart conversation with her husband, she said, "I want to bring glory to God whether it is through life or death. I want us to pray whatever would bring the most glory to God will be done." They focused their prayer on the glory of God. She went through a successful surgery. After extended treatment, she was advised by her physician that she was in remission. She has lived many years since then. Regardless of what the results had been, their focus in prayer was right from the beginning. They understood the focus of prayer.
Father, bring glory to Yourself in our lives, through Jesus our Lord.
