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The acrostic ACTS stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. What would happen if each were removed from devotions? (For example, what would happen if adoration were removed from your prayers?)
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255 Replies
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If we don;t adore him, then we don’t take a high view of him. If we don;t confess to HIm, then we slip into pride. If we don’t thank Him, then anxiety sets in because we can begin to become self-reliant. If we don;t practice supplication, then we can be frustrated by being self serving.
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Giving adoration to God should be the beginning of every prayer. This allows Him to see that we honor Him for Who He is, and how much we honor Him. Without confessing our sins before Him we cannot be cleansed, and God cannot be around us much less answer prayers. Thanking God shows how grateful we are for all He has done for us, and God wants to hear from us what we need and to communicate that with Him.
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If I removed adoration, I would cease to be in awe of God and to value who He is (rather than what He does for me). If I removed confession, I would cease to be aware of my sin and no longer recognize my need for grace. And I wouldn’t be in a place to receive forgiveness because I never confess sins to begin with. If I removed thanksgiving, I would cease to recognize all that God has done in my life and I would miss out on the experience of gratitude and the practice of giving thanks to the author and creator and perfector of my faith. Lastly, if I removed supplication, I would cease to come before God with all kinds of requests and would miss out on the opportunity to bring my needs before Him and present my requests to Him. I would miss the opportunity to see God move in my life where I need it most.
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Adoration: I would not be giving proper acknowledgement to the one who is responsible for my well being.
Confession : I need to bring my shortcomings to God for healing. Without it in some sense I am not acknowledging my sins.
Thanksgiving for Grace: God is going to give us grace. Without this step, I may forget that God always will show me grace.
Supplication: God wants us to lean on him for our needs. Without this step, I may think that I have to lean only on myself for my needs.
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If each was removed we would be self focused instead of God focused. We would would not know where to place our feelings and we would be constantly trying hard to please our flesh and end up in a fierce circle of confusion.
