Prayer
Finding the Heart’s True Home
by Richard Foster
Week 11
Part 1— Moving Upward
Chapter 8— The
Prayer of Adoration
“In the school of adoration the soul learns why the
approach to every other goal had left it restless.” Douglas Steele
OPENING PRAYER
The 3
Monks—Leo Tolstoy
1. What is Adoration?
Prayer is the human response to
the perpetual outpouring of love by God to our souls.
The
most direct response is adoration: to
worship, honor, magnify and bless God.
Not a
form of prayer, but all true prayer contains it.
Selfless
devotion
Praise
is higher, more pure-- love of God for who He is
Thanksgiving
is still self-referential-- love of God for what He does
Blessing—jubilant
praise, the soul is enraptured
2. Tears In the Eyes of God
God
thirsts to be thirsted after. St.
Augustine
God
is not so high up that we can’t touch His heart.
What
touched you as a mom?
God
celebrates our feeble expressions of love.
3. Obstacles to Adoration
1. Inattention—we are busy with legitimate
concerns
We
also get caught up in sinful excesses
2. Wrong kind of attention
Analysis
instead of worship
Putting
the flower under a microscope vs. contemplating the flower
Paying
attention to solving trials rather than looking for God in them.
3. Greed—wanting more rather than finding the
wealth in what God gives us.
Quantity
vs. quality; surface vs. depth
4. Conceit—being proud of how much of God we see
that other overlook.
Turning
our attention back to ourselves rather than God.
4. Stepping Stones to Adoration
No
one needs training in asking for things.
But we do need to be taught to say Thank
You.
1. Watch and observe the little things
No
analysis, just appreciation
2. A Grateful Center
Find
that place from which you face struggle and hardship and practice whispered prayers of
thanksgiving from that place. (cognitive reframing)
3. Practice Gratitude—make a habit of saying
thanks for small things.
For
every complaint, find 10 things to be grateful for.
4. Big step:
Magnify God. Like a magnifying
glass, make a practice of seeing Him as
bigger than everything else.
We
can make ourselves too big, but we can never make God too big.
Let
words from the Psalms become your own.
5. Joyous, foot-stompin’ hilarious celebration
Dance,
shout, clap, like Miriam, David, Mary, the angels
Start
with Baby Steps.
Closing
Prayer
O most high, glorious God, how great is my
dilemma! In your aweful presence silence
seems best. And yet, if I keep my peace,
the rocks themselves will cry out. But
if I do speak, what will I say?
It is
Love that calls forth my speech, though it still feels like stammering. I love you, Lord God. I adore you.
I worship you. I bow down before
you.
Thank
you for your gifts of grace:
--the
consistence of the sunrise nad sunset,
--the
wonder of colors,
--the
solace of voices I know.
I
magnify you, Lord. Let me see your
greatness—to the text that I can receive it.
Help me bow in your presence in endless wonder and ceaseless praise.
In
the name of him whose adoration never failed.
Amen. (Richard Foster)
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here in person by referring them to
http://christian-transformationblog.blogspot.com
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