The Five A’s of Prayer are appreciation, adoration, asking, atonement, and absolution. These five facets are the basis for all prayer. These next five devotionals will cover these topics. After all five topics are covered, there will be a large practical application to apply the five virtues discussed. These five facets are inspired by the Lord’s Prayer primarily, but also draw from other biblical inspiration.
The smallest things in life are often what give us the most joy. I, for one, love feeling a breeze or even a strong wind when I am walking around. The soft breathing of a sleeping dog is a soliloquy to the ears. Getting a back scratch right when you need it most gives meaning to the term “heaven on earth.” It is these little things that I think I would miss most. After all, the big things to enjoy in life only come around once in a while. It is these little things that make our days brighter.
When we pray, it is important to appreciate God for all the things He has done. Whether it is the big things in life or the small, all come because of His unending grace. I have tried to base my approach to prayer primarily on the Lord’s Prayer. However, when we read the Lord’s Prayer, there is not a blunt way of thanking the Lord for all He has done:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
(Matthew 6:9-13)
I believe being appreciative is an important aspect of being of a good person. No one likes ungrateful turds. We are called to be humble. If we do not appreciate what we have—knowing that it could be taken away just as quickly as it was attained—we do not live by humbleness. In prayer, I believe we need to give God the thanks He deserves for showing us grace.
Appreciation is the response to God’s grace. We are called to be thankful:
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. (Hebrews 12:28)
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. (1 Chronicles 16:34)
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)
I could go on, but you get the picture. Giving thanks is the key to the continuation of grace. However, appreciation is not something that should be done out of greed to receive more. Appreciation with greed is gluttony. True appreciation occurs only when we are humble.
Appreciation may seem like a simple aspect of prayer, but it is one of the most difficult to cultivate. After all, true appreciation is something that must come naturally. We cannot force ourselves to feel appreciative. This gratitude only comes as a response from a change within. This change is only enacted through the rapture of salvation. It is only when we are broken that we can truly come to acknowledge the fact of having nothing. We can clothe ourselves in as many worldly possessions as we want, but until we realize that we have nothing without God, we will never know the true sense of appreciation.
Some of the most appreciative people in the world are those that have literally nothing. By adopting a life of poverty—whether voluntarily or involuntarily; physically or metaphorically—we can learn the true meaning of appreciation.
Once we have learned what it means to appreciate, we can then truly pray it in the Spirit. When we pray to God in the Spirit to give thanks for what we have been given, we are acknowledging the power of His name. When Jesus says, “hallowed be your name,” he is espousing the power, sanctity, and holiness of God’s name. When we have the humbleness to appreciate the power of God, we are ready to admit the total and insurmountable power that even the mere utterance of His name brings.
Now you have thanked God. What comes next? After we thank God, we are ready to praise Him. We have declared the power and holiness of His name. Now it is time to sing of it. When we pray, we must adore God. In the next devotional, we will learn about the power of praying in praise.
Nomad 