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Monday
In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. ... For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6 NKJV)
When I was a senior in high school, Butch Bennett was my physics teacher. He was also a Christian. He started a before school group that met to do a bible study. Not one of the organized named groups you'd recognize like Campus Crusade or Fellowship of Christian Athletes, just a small group of students and one teacher with the same Savior.
I don't really remember much about the group, who was in it, or the materials we studied. But I do remember one acronym I learned there, that I still use almost daily even today - nearly 40 years later. It was a little reminder of how to pray, and I'd like to share it with you.
A - Adoration (Praise)
C
T
S
Our society today seems to think it is very self sufficient and powerful. And it's partly true. We have the power of the Internet at our fingertips on smart phones everywhere we go (apparently including the stall next to me in the airport restroom, but I digress). We have new cars that not only have GPS and back up cameras, but some that parallel park themselves. We have more cable shopping channels than we do real stores it seems. Some millionaire athletes and movie stars giving focus to many good cases while others serve as really bad examples. Many are living longer and better, and most anything seems within our power.
But that's wrong. (Please forgive my use of a word that has quickly become unacceptable in our politically correct world). We don't have it all together, and we aren't in control. God made the heavens and the earth. He gave His only son Jesus to die for sinners like me who had no other hope for salvation. He is more awesome than we can even imagine, and He loves us. And He wants a relationship with each one of us. Wow.
When I talk to Him, I try to start the conversation recognizing His perfection. His beauty. His kindness. His love. His majesty. Praising Him just for who He is.
Although I'm more of a hymn junky, there's a praise song that expresses my adoration of my Lord better than I can. Kari Jobe wrote the Revelation Song. Some of the lyrics are below. Read them slowly, and reverently. Hear the melody in your head if you know it. Or pull it up on line, and play it with your eyes closed, and I think you'll feel yourself to be in God's holy presence (I have the Guy Penrod version with me all the time on my phone and iPad). And if that's not a great way to start prayer, I don't know what is.
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And I will adore You…!
Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and
Glory and power be
To You the Only Wise King,
Filled with wonder,
Awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus, Your Name is Power
Breath, and Living Water
Such a marvelous mystery
And the best part, is I know God adores you and me too.
Tuesday
In this manner, therefore, pray: ... forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. (Matthew 6 NKJV)
Psalm 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. (King David's prayer after becoming aware if his sin with Bathsheba.)
A - Adoration
C - Confession
T
S
It's a lot harder for me to get excited about confession than it is praise and adoration. I don't like being imperfect, and I really don't like letting someone else know my failings (although there are many and they are obvious). Being Baptist forever I've tried the "forgive me for all my sins" method of quickly lumping all I've done into a short six word phrase so I can quickly move on. I rationalize that God already knows everything so it's not necessary for me to waste my, I mean God's, time going into boring and embarrassing detail... But after talking with a Catholic friend, I've had an ephiany. God does know everything I've done wrong. Every sin of commission, and omission. When I did it, why I did it, what was in my heart when I did it. The confession my friend makes to the priest, is not for the priest. The confession I make when I pray is not for God. My confession is for me. Just as David needed to be explicitly aware of his sin with Bathsheba, I need to face specific failings in my life, so I can acknowledge each one and commit to doing my best to improve. To accept the forgiveness for each foul sin and the love of a merciful God.
And each day, there are things I need to confess. I was irritated at my wife for something she can't help. I wasted time being lazy when there are things I needed to do and would have been blessed if I had. I procrastinated on some important things, and will be unhappy later when I need to catch up. I could go on, and on, but I won't. Not here with you, but tonight before I go to sleep, I hope to spend some time with my Lord. I'll start out praising Him, and then face my failings in His non-judgemental presence. Totally honest. Unafraid of His reaction.
And then, like King David, I will receive His blessed cleaning and forgiveness:
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Wednesday
Psalm 95:2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving...
A - Adoration
C - Confession
T - Thanksgiving
S
What are you thankful for? I'm thankful for so many things.
Some are just little things, like a parking place in a crowded parking lot. An order of really hot French fries at lunch. The intense little pug who greats me when I come home from work and licks my ears. The "needs gas" light not coming on when it's raining.
Some I see as little things, but in reality, they aren't. Enough (too much?) food. A bed to sleep on. A home with a roof to keep the rain out. Transportation. A smart phone and satellite tv. Freedom.
Some I know are really big things. Good friends who care about me. Tracy's improved health. A good job with benefits like health insurance ($98,000 hospital bills can be a bit unsettling!). A modest 19 year old daughter with good grades and a great head on her shoulders. A good church.
Some are almost humanly unbelievable. A Virgin birth. Jesus' sinless life. His death for me. His plan for Heaven.
And as I look through lists like this one, it reminds me of the need to be aware and thankful. To tell God thank you for big things and small. To take nothing for granted.
Join me today in seeking to be aware of things around us and offering up a word or two of thanks. Don't try and save them up for bed time, or tomorrow's quiet time, or Sunday. You don't have to close your eyes and bow your head to talk to God, or go to a specific place. He's everywhere, and loves to spend time with you. Just be aware, and remember where the blessing comes from. And simply say thank you.
Thursday
In this manner, therefore, pray: ... Give us this day our daily bread. (Matthew 6 NKJV)
A - Adoration
C - Confession
T - Thanksgiving
S - Supplication
Here, I am using supplication to mean "plead humbly". Originally, I thought supplication was a $5 work for "ask" that fit the acronym. And while I still think "ask" is a fair interpretation, as I grow older, to "plead humbly" more correctly describes how I think God wants us to ask Him for things. Maybe it's because the things I want now are not typically immediately addressed. Sure, there are the wants I experience like a child at Christmas (new car, motorcycle accessories, bigger garage, long vacation, etc.), but I am learning those are not the things that bring long term happiness. And honestly, those are not needs... Didn't God already promise to meet our needs?
And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19 AMP)
(Now, I have on more than one occasion learned that what I thought I needed, was not really a need, but that's another topic for another day).
Things like cars and vacations are honestly not things I can go before God and plead for at this point in my life and be humble. But there are things my soul longs for that are worth repeatedly and humbly pleading for before God.
I want my son make good decisions and become fully responsible for himself. I want my daughter to work hard in college and learn how to translate her passions into a career that allows her to care for herself and enjoy her life. I want Tracy to overcome the challenges she has faced in the recent years - to continue to improve her health and live a long, happy, and healthy life with me. I want to be part of a vibrant and loving church again where I want to go, and where I can serve my Lord and His people. And I'll keep asking for those. My pleadings may evolve, and some things will certainly be added over the years to come, but these are things I truly want, things that I believe can honor God. And as I think on theses things, I'm reminded of a verse I first heard years ago while I was still in school:
Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalms 37:4 NASB)
Today, I hope you will join me in delighting in the Lord and pleading humbly with Him for things you truly want. For if we are truly delighting in Him, our desires will be within His will, and granting those desires will be His blessing to us. Trust Him to provide the things you desire in your heart in His own perfect time and way.
Friday
For some reason, I've wrestled with the topic of prayer for a long time. Even before accepting this assignment, and even more since. For several weeks, I've tried to think of a way to wrap up this series in some way that you might remember and find a blessing in. And all that has come to me is a series of words. But maybe that is the summary.
Resistance - I know I need to pray. I feel better when I pray. God wants me to spend time with Him. But I too often exhibit resistance.
Persistence - but His pull continues. I may try to ignore it. I may pretend I'm too busy. Believe I have nothing significant to say to God, but He continues to whisper in my ear. Unrelenting.
Consistency - I try to think of what is it He wants? He has a whole world out there, and I'm a small and insignificant piece. And I'm pretty blessed already. Things aren't too bad. But He continues to pull, until at some point I realize my
Dependence - I really am small and insignificant. I can do so very little on my own. And so little of what I can do alone is good, pure, helpful to others. I'm selfish and lazy, and I need someone a lot bigger, a lot stronger, a lot wiser to lean on. And I learn
Repentance - as I am humbled. Alone in the dark corner or my life, my head bowed, i join the tax collector in a simple prayer...
...the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' (Luke 18:13 NKJV)
And His love envelops me. And I pray today, that His love will cover you today; and hold you close.
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