Tag Archives: adoration

Adoration in Prayer and Worship

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10408578_990317387698035_3758716211840138922_n“The key is to maintain a rhythm, a heartbeat of disciplined prayer, in which I encounter Christ regularly, deliberately, and consciously. The spin-off of these times, as you will see in the character of any older person who has spent a great deal of their lives contemplating Jesus, is that His presence thereby moves by a process of osmosis from the conscious into the subconscious mind. As we open the door, again and again, to Christ, He comes in day by day and eats with us, laughs with us, shares with us, until we acquire His mannerisms and know his very thoughts. A season of 24-7 prayer can be a useful tool for bringing Christ back into the midst of our ongoing lives as individuals and as communities. And prayer rooms are an interesting expression of God’s intention, which has always been to walk in continual communion with His people.” Peter Greig and Dave Roberts

As you and I walk through life we can actually have daily communion with Jesus, the Savior of the world and King of the nations. This is an amazing realization. Let’s learn to do it with a heart of adoration in prayer and worship. In my life I want to keep the rhythm, the heartbeat of prayer, and seek to encounter God on a deeper level. I’m sure you do too.

The prayer room helps us to keep consciously aware of Christ, not only while we are there but also throughout the day. We don’t want to miss the beauty of Jesus in the midst of all of our activities. At a time when everything around us is trying to steal our hearts away from God, we want to learn to behold Him throughout the day as well as in the prayer room. The enemy wants to get us so caught up with busyness that we actually lose our purpose in life.

Let’s make every effort to continue to adore God through prayer and worship, not only on a daily basis but hour-by-hour. It will keep us focused throughout the day and alert us to open doors of ministry and evangelistic opportunities. It will help us to use our tongues wisely and will keep the joy of Jesus in our life during the difficult seasons of life.

The prayer room helps us to live a holy life because we learn to contemplate Christ and Him alone. We learn to focus on him regularly, deliberately, and consciously. We begin to think the way He thinks and act the way He acts. As we discipline our prayer and worship life, we begin to move into a deeper level of adoration. God becomes our all in all.

When we do this we learn to live in a spirit opposite of the world. Instead of taking God out of our life—as the enemy is trying to do everywhere—God infuses our daily activities here on earth. Houses of Prayer help us to experience the presence of God. This is what we are made for! In his book, 24-7 Prayer Manual, Peter Greig encourages pastors and leaders to open 24/7 prayer rooms. He says:

“These 24-7 prayer rooms are fundamentally and simply about the presence of God. Just beneath the surface of the life of every believer and pastor is a desperate longing to be in God’s presence. This is what we were created for! The prayer room is a gentle, humble expression of the heart of the Father. So many people have said, ‘Walking into the room is like walking into the arms of my heavenly Father.’ 24-7 prayer rooms transcend theological differences and worship styles because every room ultimately takes on the personality of the group that uses it. The resulting transformations are highly personal, flowing as they do from a succession of one-on-one encounters with God. I believe the Spirit of God is stirring up an appetite for his presence in this hour, and I encourage every pastor and leader to take the leap of faith and open a 24-7 prayer room.” Peter Greig and David Blackwell

What do we center our lives on?

When I went through cancer, I saw the necessity of being consumed with the person of Christ rather than my own problems. I could easily have gotten centered on the problem, and there were days when I did, but I soon found that choosing to praise and adore God was the key to victory in my life. I encourage you to do the same as you face various issues in your own life. If you and I can move pass our temporary struggles and learn not only to praise God, but also to adore Him for His attributes, we will rise up into a new dimension of relationship with Him. God wants us to be consumed with who He is.

Do you remember how you felt in those first moments after you accepted Christ into your life?

It was a joyful experience for my mother and I. We would talk about what God had done in our lives day and night! Do you remember the sheer amazement and joy of first knowing that you had eternal life? God wants us to recapture adoration in our heart just like the first moments when we were saved out of darkness. Here is a wonderful description of the word “adoration” from The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Take time to read and meditate on this because it is quite powerful.

“Adoration in the distinctively religious sense is the human response to God’s disclosure of Himself in Jesus Christ as the God who, by His free act of grace, is in all His majestic love and power the God who is for mankind… The affections of man are stirred to the limits of their intensity and respond with an unearthly delight, an unspeakable joy, and a peace that surpasses both man’s understanding and his power to articulate. Adoration is the effort of the total man to give total expression to his joyful comprehension and approbation of his vision of God in Jesus Christ. Since his response to this vision never adequately expresses that peace and joy which passes his understanding, he reaches for the liturgical aids of song, music, and symbol.”

Adoration is being wholly consumed with the person of Christ. Adoration is God-centered rather than self-centered. In adoration, just as the encyclopedia says, our affections are stirred to the limits of their intensity and we respond with an unearthly delight and an unspeakable joy and peace.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Ways to Adore God in the Prayer Room

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Our Prayers for Wisdom in Developing a House of Prayer“Your statutes, LORD, stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days” (Psalm 93:5).

It’s time to learn how to love and adore God in the prayer room both personally and corporately. Let’s get ready for the harvest. Here’s some ways we can do this:

  • Express your love and longings for God as a group – Have extra times of worship without asking for anything but just praising God.
  • Delight in Jesus Himself – Don’t just worship God for what He has done for you, but delight in Jesus Himself and Who He is.
  • Learn to be unselfish in your prayers – Don’t always be me-centered but learn to be God-centered.
  • Pray the attributes of God and Jesus – In your prayers say: “You are holy,” “You are righteous,” “You are good, forgiving, loving, merciful, etc.”
  • Pray the names and descriptions of God and Jesus – Worship God as: “Wonderful Counselor,” “Prince of Peace,” “Savior,” “King of Kings,” Pray verses that go along with each name or description such as Isaiah 9:6: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

As the days grow darker may we be consumed with the person of Jesus Christ. May our affections be stirred to the limits of their intensity, and may we respond with an unearthly delight and an unspeakable joy.

This is what happened to a woman who delighted to worship Jesus with all that she had. She knew how to sit at Jesus’ feet and seek one thing—Him alone. She was not caught up in the tyranny of the urgent as many of us are today. She knew what was essential. She was determined and single-minded. She beheld the beauty of the Lord (Psalm 27:4). She went beyond the call of duty in her devotion.

It was extravagant—it was powerful—it was a consuming reality.

In Matthew 26:6-13, we read about this woman who took an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus’ head as he was reclining at the table. This woman crossed the line of social and religious propriety when she entered a roomful of men.

But nothing could stop her from pouring on Jesus’ head a jar of very expensive perfume worth a year’s wages. We read in verses 8-9: “When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. ‘Why this waste?’ they asked. ‘This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.’” But Jesus defended this woman when He said to those present, “She has done a beautiful thing to me.” The word “beautiful” means noble, fine, and elegant. It pleased God. I am sure it excited His heart.

Adoration means extravagant passion. This woman knew what really mattered. Everything else springs from this. She teaches us the most important lesson—to love God extravagantly. Let’s learn from her example. Let’s learn to continually love God in the prayer room and to take that adoration and love everywhere we go.

“Whether we think of, or speak to God, whether we act or suffer for Him, all is prayer, when we have no other object than His love and the desire of pleasing Him. All that a Christian does, even in eating and sleeping, is prayer when it is done in simplicity according to the order of God… In souls filled with love, the desire to please God is a continual prayer.” John Wesley

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

The Heart of David

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11214163_990325321030575_6399602475697441857_nKing David was a  Bible character that adored God. He was one who sought God’s face continually. He was a man after God’s own heart
(1 Samuel 13:14) and a student of God’s emotions, who continually worshipped Him all His life. He committed himself to obeying the commands of God.

David’s primary occupation was to seek God’s beauty (Psalm 27:4). He knew the love of God in good times and bad. God was with David when he adored Him out in the fields as a shepherd boy. And God was with him as he adored Him while ruling as King. Even while being pursued by Saul, while hiding in damp dark caves, David experienced the love and strength of God. David, as shepherd and king, knew how to pray and strengthened himself in God (1Samuel 30:8).

The highest and chief goal in David’s life was to know God.

He dedicated his life to finding a resting place for God on earth
(Psalm 133:1-8). He sought the Lord with his time, talents, and treasures. He spent time in God’s House fasting and worshiping Him continually. He prioritized seeking God even as a military leader. He prioritized seeking God as a shepherd when nobody was watching. When he was young and when he was old, he sought after God. Whether he was in victory or in depression, David set His heart on God’s beauty.

After becoming King, David set up a worship tabernacle in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6). He had a revelation of worship according to God’s order in his heavenly sanctuary. He then prepared a place for the Ark of God and set it in the Tabernacle of David (1 Chronicles 15-16:1). He established Levites to worship before the Ark. During David’s lifetime, he raised up four thousand paid musicians and 288 paid singers to worship in God’s house (1 Chronicles 23:5; 25:7).

God has promised to restore David’s Tabernacle in the future. This speaks of Jesus’ Millennial government over all nations based on 24/7 Davidic worship and intercession (Amos 9:11). Now is the time when God’s end-time Church will have a vision to restore worship and prayer as David commanded, and will rise up to do this all across the earth. Adoring God was David’s main ambition. He was on a lifelong treasure hunt to discover the beauty of the Lord.

God wants to pour out His love within our hearts as well. He wants us to love Him wholeheartedly as David did. If this is not the case, we are out of alignment with what we were created for. This can bring great emotional fatigue and feelings of hopelessness. God wants to fill us with hope that nothing can destroy in all the situations we face in life. Read 1 John 2:5; 4:12; and 17-18. Romans 5:2b, 5 says:

“And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God… And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

  • Is the secret of our life loving and adoring God?
  • Are we a people after one thing—God Himself and His glory?
  • Is knowing God intimately the preoccupation of our life and our highest ambition?

We need to tap into our power source. We need to find our identity in intimacy with Christ. Refreshment in God’s love helps us to stand firm. Mike Bickle prays the following:

“Father, I ask to be supernaturally empowered to give a witness of the glory of the Man, Christ Jesus and of His delivering power from all the oppressions of Satan so that many unredeemed people might be made whole and then passionately filled with our perfected love for your beloved Son and His dear church.”

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOP-KC