ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS OMNIPOTENT
God is all-powerful. He spoke all things into being, and all things— every cell, every breath, every thought—are sustained by Him. Nothing is too difficult for Him.
Jeremiah 32:17-18 & 26-27
Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. 18 You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord Almighty,
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?
Praise the Omnipotent God
He created every living thing from nothing. He sustains everything by His power. He never grows tired. He has broken the curse of sin and death. He has the power to raise the dead.
CONFESSION: Confess your sins to God and receive his continued mercy.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
THANKSGIVING: Giving thanks to God for his specific blessings in our lives.
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100
SUPPLICATION: Bringing our requests to God.
- Bring your personal prayer requests to God.
- Pray for Sarah. Ask God to encourage her and guide her during her time in the States.
SCRIPTURE READING:
James 4:1-3 – New International Version
Submit Yourselves to God
4 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
It can be confusing to know how to pray. One approach is to pray for everything and not worry about any other factors. Another approach is to try and discern the will of God so you can pray in line with it. A middle way might be to pray broadly for what you want while checking your heart to make sure it is pointing God’s direction. How about you, how do you think about prayer? Do you just prefer to not think about it? Do you run hot and cold? Sometimes you pray, sometimes you don’t pray much, if at all. All of this is quite normal; relationships with anyone can be difficult. This is true for husbands and wives living in the same home, using verbal communication and specific visible actions. How much more difficult is it to make sense out of a relationship with an almighty, invisible, immortal being? Perhaps you second guess what you should pray, maybe you don’t. Either way is okay, but just pray. Just pray and keep praying. A key component of every good relationship is regular, open, and honest communication. Talking to God, making requests of God, asking God to forgive you, telling him of his goodness…all of this is so important. If you are confused or just curious as to why God has not answered a prayer in a way you want him to, then you should talk to him about that. You should tell him you are confused or that you would like to know why he is saying “no” or least “not now.” In fact, right now, don’t pray through a prayer list. Instead, talk to God about prayer. Talk to him about things you are sure of and things you are not. Have a free-flowing conversation with God.