Learning Adoration Prayers
Bible Verse
“Our Lord and God, you are worthy to receive glory, honor, and power. You created all things, and by your decision they are and were created.” (CEV) Revelation 4:11
A few years ago I was introduced to the ACTS prayer guideline. I had been struggling with my prayer life, and it seemed like a good thing to try. As I decorated a page of my prayer journal with the word adoration, I realized that I didn’t know how to implement adoration into my prayer life.
After searching the internet with a few questions, I began to understand that to adore God we have to give ourselves the chance to be in awe of him for who he is and what he has done for us. Unfortunately, I didn’t know how to pray like that—let alone teach my children how to do it.
For those of you who may feel the same way I felt, the good news is I’ve spent three years grappling with this type of prayer. Along the way, I discovered three different types of prayers of adoration I’d like to share with you so that you can share them with your children.
Praying Scripture
The first idea is to pray different scripture passages that adore God. One of my favorites is 1 Chronicles 29:10-19, David’s beautiful prayer of adoration. Other passages that you could use are Psalm 99, Revelation 4:11, and Revelation 5:13.
Praying the Names of God
Another idea is to pray the names of God. There are a couple of different ways that you can pray God’s names back to him:
List them: “Heavenly Father, you are the Alpha, the Omega, the Great I AM. You are the God Who Sees, and you are God With Us. We praise you and thank you for who you are.”
Pick one and pray about that name: “Heavenly Father, you are the God Who Sees. You see me. Let me know you as the God Who Sees; make that name real in my life, and allow me to glorify you for it.”
Praying through the Alphabet
Finally, another way to pray in adoration is to say a name or quality of God for each letter of the alphabet. For example, you might say amazing or awesome for A, beautiful or brilliant for B, or creative or compassionate for C. Some letters will be easy, but you might need to get creative for others, and that’s okay. It means you're spending time thinking about God. And that is what prayers of adoration are: taking the time to let yourselves acknowledge who God is, what he’s like, and what he’s done.
If prayers of adoration are new to you, it might feel weird at first, but don’t let that scare you. Prayers of praise and adoration are beautiful prayers, and—like I tell my kids—everyone likes to know they’re appreciated, and that includes God.
Explore the why, when, and how to pray with your family. Check out Kids Corner's Faith Practices for Families: Prayer eBook.
Want to do a deep dive? Check out Family Fire's article https://familyfire.com/articles/teaching-our-children-to-adore-god
Christina Van Starkenburg
Christina Van Starkenburg is an award-winning freelance writer and author of The Key Thief and One Tiny Turtle: A Story You Can Colour. In her free time, she enjoys reading, dancing, and exploring the world with her husband and three kids. Visit her at www.christinavanstarkenburg.com to read more.
