ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS INFINITE – God is limitless. God is not limited by anything outside of His character. This applies to all of God’s attributes.
Psalm 147:5
Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite.
Praise God because He is Infinite.
We are finite and as such we cannot fully fathom infinity. God is not limited by time or space. Praise Him because He has been present in every place. Praise Him because he has been present for every person for all of time. Praise Him because each and everyday He has acted with wisdom, love, grace, justice, and mercy. Praise him because He will never exhaust His ability to demonstrate His character.
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 those in your life who do not know Christ. Ask God to give you opportunity to have gospel conversations and to build trust with them.
SCRIPTURE READING:
James 5:12-20
New Living Translation
12 But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.
13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
19 My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, 20 you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Are you having troubles? James says that you should pray. Are you feeling happy? James says that you should sing songs of praise. Are you sick? James says you should get others to pray for you. Are these a set of rules? Well, no, but they are examples of how we are to live our lives. In times of trouble, we must train ourselves to turn first to God. If we are happy, we must train our minds to go to songs of praise and thanksgiving. If we are sick, we must enlist others to pray and not try to make it all by ourselves. This is a description of some practical ways we live a life as James has been describing it so far in his letter. This is a life where beliefs and behaviors are in practical, everyday alignment. If I am in trouble, since God is alive and involved, of course I will pray. If I am happy, since God is the source of every good thing, of course I will give him thanks. If I am sick and unable to care for myself, of course I will lean into my church family; it is how God has designed the world to work. Faith without works is dead. These are not works that earn relationship with God. These are the kinds of behaviors that demonstrate that we have relationship with God.