A Prayer about Seeing God’s Glory

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ Luke 5:8

God of Glory, Holy Lord,

Recently our pastor encouraged us 

to pray to see God’s glory. 

I’m so thankful for his encouragement. 

Glory is such a weighty and unwieldy concept to grasp. 

Furthermore, Isaiah 6:3 tells us, 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty; 

the whole earth is filled with his glory.”

So in other words, your holiness and your glory are intertwined. 

How do we grasp your holiness and your glory? 

I think Peter gives us a clue in this moment with Jesus. 

He was a fishermen; he knew fish. 

He had been fishing all night 

without catching so much as a minnow. 

So when Jesus, after concluding one of his teaching sessions, 

tells him to cast his nets, 

we can imagine Peter’s eye-roll. 

And we can also imagine the commanding look 

Jesus gave him in return, 

because Peter quickly says, 

“But at your word I will let down the nets.” 

Sure enough, so many fish swim into the nets 

they almost burst wide open. 

And it is here that Peter sees Jesus 

for who he really is. 

Holy. 

Glorious. 

Something other. 

Something beyond. 

Something beautiful. 

And that is why this rough and rowdy fisherman 

collapses in a pile of fish 

and prays this prayer, 

“Depart from me, 

for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ 

How we thank you for your holiness, Lord, 

for your glory, 

and for how you reveal it to us. 

May we see it all day every day—

in the sun and moon and stars 

and fish and faces and fellowship, 

in your Word and in your work in this world. 

In Jesus’ beautiful name we pray. Amen.

Read Isaiah 6:3; Luke 5:1-11.