ACTS Prayer Model: Adoration

By: Jenifer Metzger

Over the next four weeks we are going to look at the ACTS Prayer Model. Please join me each Wednesday as we learn how to pray the ACTS way.

Have you ever sat down to pray and just didn't know what to say? Friend, you are not alone.

Prayer is vital to the Christian life. We can't call ourselves a Christian if we are not talking with God. But sometimes we just don't know what to pray. That is where ACTS comes in!

The ACTS Prayer Model consists of Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Today we are going to take a look at adoration.

When praying the ACTS way, we start off with adoration. The dictionary defines adoration as a deep love, respect, worship, and veneration (reverence). We can demonstrate our deep love, respect, worship, and veneration for God through prayer.

For the Lord is good, and His

faithful love endures forever; His

faithfulness, through all generations.

Psalm 100:5 CSB

No matter what we are facing, what we are feeling in the moment, what we are waiting on God to answer, or what we feel God has withheld from us, God is worthy of praise. He is worthy of worship. Psalm 100:5 tells us that the Lord is good and His faithful love endures. That alone is reason enough to begin our prayer with adoration!

So how do we pray with adoration? We simply worship God. We tell God how good He is. We tell God that He is all-powerful, just, merciful, kind, gracious, loving; that He is the King of Kings, Jehovah Jireh, the Alpha and Omega. By telling God these truths from His Word about His character, we are first showing Him that we recognize Who He is. Second, it shifts the focus of our prayer from selfish desires to worship.

Not to us, Lord, not to us,

but to Your name give glory

because of Your faithful love,

because of Your truth.

Psalm 115:1 CSB

Adoration was even modeled in the Lord's Prayer. When Jesus was teaching the disciples how to pray, He told them to begin with, "Your name be honored as holy." He taught them to pray this way because adoration for God is important. It's about worshiping our Creator, our Father, our Redeemer.

Therefore, you should pray like

this: Our Father in heaven,

Your name be honored as holy.

Matthew 6:9 CSB

Adoration may feel odd the first time you do it, but keep at it. God loves hearing our prayers and loves when we adore or worship Him. Before long it will feel natural to begin your prayer with adoration and it will transform your prayer life.

Discussion:
1. Have you ever used the ACTS prayer model?
2. Do you struggle with adoration in your prayer or does it come naturally to you?