Word of Encouragement (4/3/2020)
We are forced to make all kinds of adjustments as we live through this pandemic. I hope one of them is spending more time in prayer. “O, what peace we often forfeit, o, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!”
But as we spend more time in prayer (or, as we try to pray more), we may discover how “bad” we are praying. We thought our problem was not praying enough and, if we just prayed more, our prayer life will improve. But we realize that having a good conversation with God cannot be accomplished just by a strong desire. It is something that we need to grow in, to get good at, which cannot be done without practicing it regularly and persistently. This is important to remember so that we don’t give up in frustration.
But we can all need some guidance so that we don’t repeat our bad habits that lead to frustration and discouragement in our prayer life. Today, I’d like to offer a very practical suggestion: start your prayer with Adoration. Many of you know the prayer acronym: ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication).
We all know how easy it is to start our prayer with our problems (Supplication), especially when we feel fearful and anxious. When we start our prayer with “us” as the focus, our prayer can end up being a monologue—us just talking to ourselves. It is like putting the first button in a wrong hole when you put on a shirt. Prayer is to bring our petitions to God. I cannot stress enough the importance of remembering that we are talking to God. It is no accident that the Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus taught us to pray, starts with “Your-Petitions” that are focused on God. Starting our prayer with adoration (praising God) is helps us to remember, “Thou art coming to a King, large petitions with the bring, for his grace and pow’r are such, none can ever ask too much.”
In adoration, we praise God for who He is and what He has already done for us, especially in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and all His wonderful promises. When we start by remembering the glory and power and wisdom and love of God, our prayers will rise above our immediate and selfish concerns and start seeking God's kingdom and His righteousness! As we face many uncertainties and even fears, what a great blessing it is that we have an almighty God to come to with our petitions as His beloved children! And if we can remember to start our prayers with adoration, we will be able to see the challenges we face as an opportunity to see the greatness of God in ways that we have not seen or experienced before!