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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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Adoration- a loss of awe at all that He is.
Confession- a loss of connection and ability to hear His voice as I become spiritually calloused.
Thanksgiving-a loss of awareness of all that He has done for me to show me He loves me.
Supplication- a loss of sharing my day to day hurts, worries, and questions with Him.
ACTS- a complete loss of having an ongoing relationship with Him.
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simply just would not work:)
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Removing any aspect of this acrostic would be akin to refusing to acknowledge who God truly is. Each element acknowledges a characteristic of who God has revealed himself to be. Removing any one element leaves an incomplete picture.
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Even Jesus gave the disciples a template to pray when they asked Him. Knowing the basics of respecting and approaching the Almighty God is important. We are instructed to humble ourselves and pray. This template facilitates our doing so.
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All four aspects of ACTS are important and helps to have the right relationship with God. Adoration helps to understand the greatness of the God and his character, leading to awareness of our shortcomings and gratefulness and gratitude heart , which in turns opens us to share all our vulnerabilities and anxieties with our loving savior. If one of these is removed, it creates an imbalance and dependencies on our strengths instead of handing over the burden to the loving lord.