I spent some time on my lunch today meditating on Revelation 4:11,

Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.

The second line caught my attention, because it was different from what I expected - if it was a modern worship song it would say "to receive glory and honour and praise." So I let my mind wonder about why power is ascribed to God here, and I wondered how God can receive power anyways since he is all-powerful.

Glory and honour are things I know we can offer to God even though he is absolutely complete - but power? Are we to give God power, and how on earth could that be?

My only guess at this point, and my thought for the day is that the answer lies in praise, in the word I expected to see but got power instead. Because true praise and worship of God opens our lives up to be used by him, and that gives God power. Not power that he needs or lacks, but just like the glory and honour we give him, when we praise God and obey him, we become like mirrors to reflect his greatness. God does not become more powerful, but his power is seen and felt more on Earth. Synonyms for the Greek word that means power in this verse are ability, abundance, mighty deed, miracle, and strength.

God is worthy to receive glory and honour from us because we are his creation! He made us and sustains us, and when we praise him and give our lives to him, he will abundantly, miraculously display the strength of his power. Praise is empowering - for us, and for the One we worship.