THE FIVE FACETS OF PRAYER A beautiful diamond has many facets and it gleams and glitters as the light strikes it from different angles. In the same way our prayers have different facets which shine as we lift them up to God (the real light). The following are the five facets of prayer: Adoration + Thanksgiving + Confession + Intercession + Petition ADORATION: Adoration, or praise, is called the highest form of prayer. Through it, we express our love of God, allowing love to flow through us in an uninhibited way. Adoration is abandonment to God; recognition of our utter dependence upon Him. IT has, or should have a cleansing effect upon us. THANKSGIVING: The prayer of thanksgiving reflects an attitude of living in appreciation for what God has done and is doing for us. It also expresses that “attitude of gratitude” in prayer. How do we look at life; are we thanksgiving people? Our appreciation for God’s love of us and as a result, a positive attitude about life will be reflected in the amount of thankfulness we express in prayer. CONFESSION: The prayer of confession is admitting our sins and asking God to forgive us. We need to be transparent before God (open to conviction of sin by God) and honest in acknowledging our sin and repentance from it. The world today would prefer to justify sin in psychological terms, or at least to call it by more socially acceptable names. If we are to take our relationship with God seriously, however, we need to call sin what it is and be truly repentant for it. We also need to recognize that our sins are often in the nature of omissions (things we should have done but didn’t) rather than commission(specifically sinful acts). INTERCESSION: The prayer of intercession is praying for others. It is not something we do alone but is a cooperative act of praying with Christ, the Great Intercessor. The steps in intercession are: 1. Be sensitive: As we grow in a relationship with God, we should be growing increasingly sensitive to the needs of others. If we don’t have a number of people we are praying for, it may well be that we are insensitive. 2. Be confident: People need more than our sympathy, they need help. We should be confident that God wants to help, and will. 3. Be specific: We should seek God’s guidance concerning the person or situation being prayed for, and pray in specific accord with the guidance we receive. 4. Be Thankful: As we pray we should thank God for caring, and for what He will do in the situation or in the life of the person we are praying for. 5. Be Persistent: We should be willing to pray as long as God keeps the person on our hearts, but we should also be willing to release that person into God’s hands, trusting Him for results. PETITION: The final facet of prayer is Petition. Petition is prayer for ourselves, for our own needs. Because it is our prayer, it should be us: simple, direct, honest and unashamed of our reliance upon God. We should not be reluctant to ask God for help concerning our needs, no matter how small or seemingly unimportant, so long as we are willing to let God provide for us in the manner that will, in the long run, be best for us.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 15:59:47 +0000
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