Songfacts®:

• This was one of the first worship songs that Michael W. Smith wrote with his wife, Debbie. The inspiration for the lyrics were drawn from Psalm 145:3, "Great is the Lord and most worthy of Praise." Debbie recalled the story of the song to Lindsay Terry of the St. Augustine Record.
  
  "Sometimes at night we would light a candle and would often open the Bible and God would inspire our hearts with a particular passage of Scripture.
  
  "We wrote many praise choruses and worship songs during these evening sessions. In 1982, God led us to a particular passage of Scripture that we both thought would be the base for a good song. I wrote a few lines of the lyric as Michael was working on the music. We worked very closely together and the words and the musical setting came together at the same time."
• The couple were at the time active members of Belmont Church on Music Row in Nashville and were eager to share their new song with the congregation. Debbie Smith recalled: "Michael often led worship at the church, so during one of the services he taught the song to the congregation. They seemed greatly moved to a spirit of worship as they sang 'Great Is the Lord.'"
  
  "He said, 'I remember I was so overwhelmed as I heard that great crowd lifting their voices in praise, as they sang our song," Debbie added. "I felt so blessed to be used in that way.'"