During my early years as a Christian someone gave me the book Essentials of New Life: Biblical Truths a New Christian Needs to Know by Francis Cosgrove. Under his topic on prayer, he gave a very simple way to pray using the acrostic ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication). I still use this pattern today, otherwise my prayer time would go a little haywire. This week I will cover some thoughts about Adoration & Confession; next week I will talk about Thanksgiving and Supplication.
ADORATION
Cosgrove says Adoration is a time when one comes into God’s presence acknowledging He is God, and praising Him. This is a time when I invite the Holy Spirit to guide my adoration.
Here was a big Aha! for me a few years ago: we need to praise him primarily for who He is, secondarily for what He’s done for us. It’s very easy to praise God for the things He has done for us. “I praise you Father for your salvation. I praise you Father for your blessings. I praise you Father for my life.” These are all good and He is definitely worthy of such praise.
But we also need to be mindful to praise Him primarily for who He is. We need to praise Him for His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. We need to praise Him for his might, majesty, and marvelousness. We need to praise Him for His wisdom, justice, and love. We need to praise Him for holiness, righteousness, and purity. These are called attributes of God. Even if God had done nothing for us, even if He never saved us, He would still be worthy of praise because of who He is.
When we focus only on what He has done for us, we miss out on true adoration. Adoration happens when we recognize both who He is and what He’s done for us. When we praise Him only for what He’s done for us, we make Him to be a gigantic genie who is only good when we are the recipients of His blessings. He is worthy of praise because of His being.
CONFESSION
Confession is a time when you come before the Lord to acknowledge areas where you have fallen short of God’s standards. This is when I ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any areas that I need to deal with which aren’t pleasing to Him.
In the 4th century a Christian monk created a list that is known today as the Seven Deadly Sins. I modified it a bit for easy memorization:
P = Pride – a overinflated view of self
L = Lust – allowing illicit images into your life
A = Anger – uncontrolled frustration
G = Greed – wanting to possess material things in an unhealthy manner
G = Gluttony – wanting more than what is needed
E = Envy – wanting something that somebody else has
S = Sloth – laziness & apathy
This list spells PLAGGES, or as I say, “plagues.” I go through this list every morning, making sure I particularly address any one or two I am struggling with.
Here is something I’ve learned the hard way. When the Holy Spirit brings correction, deal with it immediately. In other words, take correction correctly. Don’t “shuck and jive” the Holy Spirit when He makes you aware of an area that isn’t pleasing to Him. Don’t deny the sin. Don’t justify the sin. Admit it and confess it. Why? Because if you can’t be corrected in private, the Holy Spirit will correct you in public. One way or another, you will be corrected. It’s much better to make corrections as soon as the Holy Spirit makes you aware of it.
Confess the sin, ask for forgiveness by the blood of Jesus, and ask the Holy Spirit to cause you to walk in His power. Many times we treat the Holy Spirit as a power boost, like what we get at Jamba Juice. He isn’t a power boost, He’s the power source. He gives us the power to walk in purity and holiness. When we sin over and over again, we negate the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, communicating the sin is more powerful than the Holy Spirit.
We need leaders who will adore Him for who He is and confess and correct sin immediately.
Questions to Think About:
Do you find yourself praising God for what He’s done for you more than who He is?
Are you able to take correction correctly when the Holy Spirit reveals it?
© Gary Lau 2013
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