Most people pray and most people have questions about it. Prayer is mysterious. It’s nothing sort of miraculous that we can communicate directly with our great God.
But have you ever thought, “Why pray if God is omniscient?” I have.
Since He knows all, I wonder,“Why do I need to fill Him in on my life?” “Why do I need to ask for what I need since He knows?” “Why do I need to share my concerns when He is well aware of them?”
I don’t totally understand how prayer works but what I do know is that people in the Bible prayed. Waaay back in Genesis 4, people began calling on the name of the Lord, regular people like Elijah prayed and amazing things happened (James 5:17-18), prayer is sprinkled throughout the Bible (hundreds of prayers are recorded), and Jesus prayed (a lot) and taught us how to pray (Luke 11).
Have you heard of the A.C.T.S. prayer model: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication?
It is loosely crafted after the LORD’s prayer. Often, I jump to the requests and skip all that other stuff. I want to get down to business and not waste any time. I sometimes forget that the power of prayer is not in the one who prays BUT in the one who receives the prayer, the One for whom nothing is impossible.
God has moved me to look at prayer through heaven’s eyes.
If my kids only came to me with requests (demands dressed up nicely), of course I would be glad to hear them. I love being with my kids, listening to them, and hearing their heart’s desires.But when my children come to me with a grateful heart– expressing appreciation, I feel blessed and honored. Those types of exchanges are PRICELESS. If their tender thoughts are penned, I save the notes and cards.
Perhaps God feels like that too.
What if… we focused on the A (Adoration of who God is) and the T (Thankfulness for all He’s done)? A prayer of adoration and thankfulness. This type of prayer changes perspective and hearts.
What if... at Thanksgiving, rather than going around the table and saying what we are thankful for, what if we prayed a prayer that was solely centered on God? What if we spoke words of adoration and thankfulness as it relates to the Lord?
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.
Psalm 96:1-2
How do you bring God into your Thanksgiving celebration? I’d love to hear.
© LoriWildenberg. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Lori Wildenberg is a licensed parent and family educator, parent coach, and co-founder of 1Corinthians13 Parenting.com. She has written 6 books including Messy Journey: How Grace and Truth Offer the Prodigal a Way Home; The Messy Life of Parenting: Powerful and Practical Ways to Strengthen Family Connections; and her most recent book, Messy Hope: Help Your Child Overcome Anxiety, Depression, or Suicidal Ideation. Contact Lori for your next event or for parent consulting or parent training courses. Lori can also be found mentoring over at the MOMS Together Group on Facebook.
Love this, Lori! I love the idea of focusing on praising God at the Thanksgiving table. I love ACTS prayer and use it myself every morning. In years past, I’ve tried to keep our focus at Thanksgiving dinner on the Giver of every good gift by making place cards with scriptures on them related to Thanksgiving. Blessings on your Thanksgiving celebration!
Thanks for the comment, Elizabeth! I like your place cards idea!