The Glory of God

Last summer I met a lady who asked me for my thoughts on praying for the "glory," and I wrote this down, but never got back with her... Anyway, thought I'd share here. 

The Glory of God

Three things come to mind when I think of defining or describing God's Glory: the Praise, the Presence, and the Place. I put them in that order because I believe we must praise to feel His presence (though we must have Him present before we CAN praise), and then someday we enter the Place.

Let me explain.

Strongs #1391 (doxa) is defined by Thayer as 1, opinion; 2, splendor, brightness, majesty; 3, a most exalted condition (the glorious condition of blessedness into which is appointed and promised that true Christians shall enter).

So, #1, opinion, or as I have termed it, Praise. We often say and sing that we will glorify God, or give Him the glory, as we should. This is pretty straightforward: we voice our high opinion of Him when we talk to Him and when we talk about Him. We also glorify God when we cause others to have a high opinion of Him because of something we do or say. I believe that a Christian is living praise. We don't have to be singing to praise God - the way we present ourselves to the world (our manners, our appearance, our tenderheartedness) - all of it is a way to bring Him glory and  honor.

#2, and probably what your friend was talking about when she said she desires the Glory of God to fall on Huntsville, is the Presence. We talk about God's glory filling a room or falling on a person/people.  This is His "splendor, brightness, and majesty." When we catch a glimpse of God with our spirit, and know that something bigger than us is present with us, that is the Glory. God is so majestic, that regardless of our opinion of Him, He IS glorified. This one is harder for me to put into words. Celebrities and earthly royalty carry with them a certain amount of glory, that we recognize by acting foolish in their presence, or going out of our way to see them, or reading every article about them that we can find. God's glory is so much beyond that. When He enters a room, everybody recognizes Him and reverences Him. This is more than a feeling, and cannot be drummed up by emotionalism or even good music, though many leaders try.

As far as wanting the Glory of God to be manifest in Huntsville, it is a thing worth asking for. We must realize, however, that God comes to people in His own way and time, and we shouldn't be disappointed if it's not what we expected. There might be a shouting service at one church and a thoughtful one at another. Sinners might get saved, or maybe just not get stoned when they normally would. 

#3, the Place (or Promise, as Thayer has it). We sing about "glory-land" - what we normally call Heaven - the place where God lives and we plan to live with Him for eternity. (Of course we know that at the end of time, God with create a new heaven and a new earth, and we live in the New Jerusalem where God is present with man, but we still call it "going to Heaven.") This is sort of the perfection of the other 2 points, as we will be without sin and able to fully Praise God while experiencing His Presence in the physical as well as the spiritual body.

This probably isn't what you were looking for, and may not help at all, but it's what I've got. :)