Beloved ones, welcome.

Today, we begin our prayer guide using the ACTS acronym. Please see my last post about the details before we delve into the meanings.

A is for adoration.

In prayer, we should start with recognizing who God is (just as in the Lord’s Prayer in the book of Matthew). God deserves adoration in all its forms.

I love the definitions of “adoration” on search engines: to deeply love/respect and to worship.

I hit an interesting point when laying this out for my students: when we deeply love someone and respect someone, we would probably KNOW them, right? (Yes, of course, we should love all people and respect them). This is talking about something deeper.

Do you know God? Think about that for a good long moment. If you pray to God and you don’t know His character, His goodness, His Word or love for you…do you know who you’re praying to?

How does one know God to the point of genuine adoration?

Read His Word. The Bible is God’s love letter that He wrote through vessels He chose before the beginning of time. I’m only scratching the surface here, but the Bible lays out God’s nature, character, intention, power, plan, and purpose. (And that’s a whole other topic to explore and adore!!)

Why do I adore God? Because I know He created all things. I know His love is deeper than humans could ever duplicate. I know He rescued me from the darkness. I know His plans are perfect. I know He is for me and not against me. I know I can pray to Him directly. And so much more.

The second definition is worship. Now, you may be thinking bands, strobe lights, and big crowds. However…

Worship can simply be a whisper of love and thanks to God. When your heart is open and connected to your Creator, the flow of love, spoken or unspoken, can be worship. Serving the Lord is worship. Thanking the Lord is worship. Surrendering your plan to God’s plan is worship. Praying to God with adoration (not just on your tongue, but in your heart) is worship.

So, today, think of why you adore God and let Him know through prayer and worship. I encourage you to look up the Scriptures I’ve listed below to further understand adoration and who God is. Be blessed!

Genesis 1:1; Matthew 6:9-13; Psalm 29:2; Psalm 66:3-4; Psalm 95:6; John 4:23-24; Romans 12:1; Matthew 22:36-40; 1 John 4:7-8; 1 John 3:1; Psalm 150; Psalm 18:28; Psalm 139; Hebrews 4:15-16; Romans 8:31; John 3:16; Exodus 15:11; 1 Chronicles 29:10-20; 1 Kings 8:22-23; Psalm 71:19; Micah 7:18-19

©️2020 Rachel D. Lyne