What should we do when you can’t seem to pray? Or when we don’t know what else to pray?

Let’s own up to it. Even in this journey with a prodigal, there are so many things we can cover in prayer for them, but there are days that prayer just doesn’t seem possible. We feel the need to do something, so, what are we to do?

Praise gives God the glory He deserves, but it’s also the best option for several other reasons:

• God inhabits the praise of His people, and we definitely want to feel Him in our spaces.
• It positions Him in His proper place in our minds, lives, and hearts, and puts other things in their proper place—below Him, below what He said, below who He is, and below what He has done.
• It builds our faith, changing our focus from the chaos around us to the Lord, who is truly in control.
• It reminds us of what He is capable of doing and will do.
• He reveals more of Himself to us when we praise. His names and attributes come alive and seem more relevant to our lives.
• It brings us back to peace.

It is a win-win.

But what if you are so down, your mind is so cluttered, or your heart is so hurt you can’t think of how to praise? I suggest going to the Word.

There is a praise from John the Revelator’s description of what is constantly happening in the throne room of heaven that has helped and blessed me, a praise the angels cry continually: “‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8). I can’t think of a better way to praise than to join in with what is happening before God’s throne in heaven right not. It is pure praise, a praise I repeat over and over, and there is a presence of God that soon follows as He honors my praise, as He promised to inhabit. I find just saying these words changes my attitude and connects my heart to Him.

All three parts of this praise remind us of amazing things about our God:

• He holy. He is pure, perfect, blameless, and worthy of reverence.
• He is Lord, Lord God, and He is almighty. He is above all, and there is not a battle He cannot win.
• He always was, He is, and He will always be. He is everlasting to everlasting, and every part of Him is everlasting to everlasting. The Word is specific some things that are everlasting: His love,[i] kingdom,[ii] dominion,[iii] throne,[iv] mercy,[v] arms,[vi] strength,[vii] covenant,[viii] righteousness,[ix] way,[x] ways,[xi] light,[xii] and life.[xiii] There will never be a time when He will not be in existence, so we never have to even consider that He might leave us alone in this fight.

When you’ve praised this one until you believe it with everything in you and it has stirred you to a new faith, praise Job’s praise: “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21) and praise your way through the psalms. Also, you will find a list of ways to praise God and lift Him up in 1 Chronicles 16 verses, 8-10, 12, and 23.

Don’t fear that spending the whole of your prayer time in praise will result in past prayers going unanswered, because not only do those prayers stay before the throne in bowls (Revelation 5:8), your praise will cause your prayers to be backed by huge faith. God loves you, sees you, and knows you need Him and this time of praise, and you can trust that He won’t neglect the salvation of your prodigal or anything else you’ve placed with Him.

Praise until you feel God again. Praise until you feel He hears you. Praise until you know His power and sufficiency. Praise until you know His great love for you and your prodigal.

Praise changes things.

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[i] Jeremiah 31:3

[ii] Psalm 145:13

[iii] Daniel 4:34

[iv] Psalm 45:6

[v] Psalm 103:17

[vi] Deuteronomy 33:27

[vii] Isaiah 26:4

[viii] Jeremiah 32:40

[ix] Psalm 119:142

[x] Psalm 139:24

[xi] Habakkuk 3:6

[xii] Isaiah 60:20

[xiii] John 3:16