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Sunday, May 2, 2010

8 'A's of Prayer - part 2

3)Adore
-ADORE GOD FOR WHO HE IS-
Making sure you have the right attitude, you should begin your prayer with a time of expressing your adoration of God. You worship him for who he is, for what he has done, and for what he will do in the future. Hebrews 12:28 tells us to praise God “with reverence and awe.” Adds Psalm 100:2: “Worship the Lord with gladness.”

Praising God is not only appropriate because he deserves it, but also because it helps recalibrate us. It positions us appropriately as creatures who are fully dependent on our Creator. And it sets the tone for the rest of the prayer.

This is where real creativity can flow. We might write a poem to God, sing him a song, meditate on one of his attributes (his holiness, power, goodness, or mercy, for instance), read a psalm, paint a picture, admire his creation of nature---anything to highlight his glory and give him honor.What we are doing is blessing God.

You knew how God had blessed you, but how in the world could you bless him? Yet King David knew it was possible for us to bless the Lord. “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth,” he said. “Bless the LORD, 0 my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” one meaning of the word bless is “to bend the knee”---and that is what David was doing. He was coming before the Lord with humility to praise him.

For us to bless God, it means that we call God’s greatness into our minds and then, in response to that, we choose to worship and glorify and adore and exalt and revere him. In sum, we honor God as God. “Sing to the Lord, bless his name,” said David. “Tell of his salvation from day to day.”

4)Acknowledge
-ACKNOWLEDGE GOD’S GOODNESS TO YOU-
It’s also important to acknowledge God’s goodness-in other words, to thank him for all he has done for us. You don’t want to be like the nine lepers who were healed by Jesus but who failed to take the time to come back to thank him, do you? You want to be like the one who went out of his/her way to express your heartfelt appreciation for Jesus’ kindness and mercy. Says 1 Thessalonians 5:16—17(NIV): “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Christian ethicist William Law once speculated about who are the greatest Christians. This was his conclusion: “It is not he who prays most or fasts most, it is not he who lives most, but it is he who is always thankful to God, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it.”

When we stop to offer our thanks to God, it reminds us that all we have comes from his provision. This has the effect of keeping us humble and safeguarding us from worshiping our material possessions as idols. Deuteronomy 8:17—18(NIV) says, “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”

Jesus never gave up on a hard-hearted and hardheaded atheist, but kept reaching out with his gift of forgiveness and eternal life. That keeps me grateful to him. “And give thanks, with joy, to the Father, who has made you fit to have your share of what God has reserved for his people in the kingdom of light,” says Colossians 1:12(NIV).

Made a list of the things you were thankful for. It will be of a great reminder of God’s faithfulness---and it will do wonders for readjusting your perspective.