In step 1: Help to get started praising God, I talked about coming in the presence of God, before His throne. Adoring God is a continuation of us kneeling at the feet of Jesus. When we adore him we give respect to God, we show Him that he is King of all Kings, Lord of all Lords and creator of all things.

To give you a visual element to get started in adoration, have a look at this.


A star birth in the Carina Nebula, located 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina.

This picture was taken by the rejuvenated Hubble Space Telescope. NASA added a new Wide Field Camera to the Hubble and repaired a few other things. The results of these repairs are truly amazing! God blows my mind with his creativity and splendor.

God I adore you, you give us pictures like these to show your awesome power over creation. The universe is your canvas and I am honored to be in it and part of it!

Bedashed.com is all about people connecting with God. We know that sometimes it is not easy to get started writing our praise to God and to do it publicly as well. Our frame of mind might be elsewhere and we are not ready to come before our God.

So here at bedashed, we want to help get you started.

To praise means to express our reverence, worthiness and respect to God. For me, it takes visual elements to help me get started in praising God, especially when I feel at a lost for words. One of the ways I do this is I envision myself in the presence of God. I have a picture in my mind of entering God’s throne room as described in Revelation 4:2-6 and bowing before him in praise. I really do not say very much, I just let it soak in.

Revelation 4:2-6:
“Behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and one sitting on the throne that looked like a jasper stone and a sardius. There was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald to look at. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones. On the thrones were twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white garments, with crowns of gold on their heads. Out of the throne proceed lightnings, sounds, and thunders. There were seven lamps of fire burning before his throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.  Before the throne was something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal. In the midst of the throne, and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes before and behind.”

It’s not always the same picture or exactly as described in this verse, but I let my imagination run wild. A picture speaks louder then words. What’s your picture that can get you started?

We as Christians have a desire for God to hear our needs, wants and desires. We want that because it makes our relationship with God, real. And when it comes down to it, we cannot live our lives faithfully if we do not know if God hears our prayers.  Therefore the last ground rule to knowing that God listens to us is to fully believe and trust He does. 

This might sound simple but for me it is easier said then done. I have the temptation to be impatient, to needing to pray more and do more for God, so he will listen, see my needs more clearly and pay attention to me more. But then I am humbled by what Isaiah 66:1-2 says;

Thus says Yahweh, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what kind of house will you build to me? And what place shall be my rest? For all these things has my hand made, and so all these things came to be,” says Yahweh: “but to this man will I look, even to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word.”

God tells me, I have made all things and I have made you. There is nothing you can do for me. But I will pay attention to you and be near to you, even though you are not perfect. I will listen to you because you seek me and hear my word. I will certainly listen to you.

How full of Grace is that! Know, believe and trust God hears it all.
Thank you my Father.

At bedashed it is our dream for people to spend good quality time with God. We believe that this regular and daily habit creates the foundation for life. The decisions we make, the attitudes we carry, the service we render to others and the problems we face are all impacted by the relationship we have with God.

In the first ground rule, I talked about coming before God in spirit and in truth, the true intentions of our heart to be with God.

I believe the second ground rule in coming before our God is the acknowledgement that we need him, that He is King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords.  We need to be humbled by his majesty.

First Chronicles 7:14-15 says; “if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now my eyes shall be open, and my ears attentive, to the prayer that is made in this place.”

The Word of God gives us many different ways we can humble ourselves before our God, in particular the psalms of David. Have a look at the beginnings of Psalms 51, 53 -57, 61-63 and 66;

Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
  Sing to the glory of his name!
  Offer glory and praise!
Tell God, “How awesome are your deeds!
  Through the greatness of your power, your enemies submit themselves to you.
All the earth will worship you,
  and will sing to you;
  they will sing to your name.”

We believe that God listens to all of our prayers. It is God’s desire to help us and take care of us. His love for us is so great that he will do anything for us. In matter of fact, he already did, by sacrificing Jesus on the Cross.

There are however ground rules to follow when we come before our God and for God to take us serious.

The first ground rule is that we must come before our God out of our own will, with complete desire from our heart to be with God. Jesus says in John 4:23-24; “But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

So how do we do that?  I think a great way to come before our God in spirit and truth is to quiet ourselves down. Take 2-3 minutes and be still. Let your spirit prepare itself.  Let your spirit guide you in your conversation with God.

Romans 8 verse 26 says; “In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don’t know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered.”

This is always a hard question to answer, but it is an important one to ask. We often want to do good things for God and serve him deeply.  We want to do these things because of God’s love for us and we want to show our love for Him.  This is often why we ask “God what is your will for my life? What do you want me to do? How do you want me to live?”

However, the fact of the matter is that we do not have to do anything. Because of his perfect gift of Grace, through the death of Jesus Christ, there is nothing we can do to improve our relationship with God. It’s already perfect!

I know this does not satisfy the answer to the question. We are wired, “to do”. What if we look at the question differently? What if we look at it from the perspective of “being with God” and not from the perspective of “doing for God”, the answer might be more satisfying.

What does it mean, “to be”. First Thessalonians 5:16-19 says; “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.”