Prayer: Adoration

Isaiah 60:1-6 and Matthew 2:1-12

Today we begin a sermon series on prayer.  More specifically over the next four weeks we will be focusing on four different types of prayer or four different parts of a prayer.  You can remember them by remembering the word ACTS: Adoration; Confession; Thanksgiving; and Supplication.  This week we will focus on the A: Adoration.

Adoration.  Adoration means to give homage or to worship something or someone.  Adoration is a profound love or admiration. It is an act of worship, praise, or honor.  Today is Epiphany.  Adoration is what the celebration of Epiphany is all about.  Today we celebrate the magi, the wisemen, who followed the star to the place where the baby lay.  They came to pay homage and honor to the holy family.  They came to bow down and worship this newborn babe.  They came to adore the one whom the star shone down upon.

These characters from the East didn’t just come alone, empty handed.  They came bearing gifts.  Isaiah states, “They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.”  I am sure over the past few weeks you have went several places bearing gifts.  You have visited family and friends, taken gifts to school or work, and shared things with those you love.  As we celebrate the season of Epiphany, I want you to think about another gift you have to give.  That is the gift of prayer.  This is a gift we are all capable of sharing.

Now, I am sure the idea of prayer makes some of you uncomfortable.  You immediately think of long eloquent prayers that are said in front of large groups of people.  Yes, that is prayer.  But, prayer is also much more than that.  Let me share a quote about prayer that appeared on my Facebook this week.  Father Richard Rohr writes, “[Prayer] is not a technique for getting things, a pious exercise that somehow makes God happy, or a requirement for entry into heaven.  It is much more like practicing heaven now.”  Prayer is practice and just like anything else we do it also takes practice.  Prayer can be silent meditation alone in your room or in your car.  Prayer can be one word long and whispered.  Prayer can be spoken or sung.  Prayer can be memorized and recited at the table before a meal.  Prayer can take on many different styles and forms.  The ways to pray are endless.  Let me share a few ideas.

Pray for others.  There are many people in our congregation, both members and friends and family, that are in need of our prayers.  The list of prayer requests on the back of your bulletin is created by people submitting the prayer request form that is in the lifelines.  Each week you could commit to taking your bulletin home and holding those people in prayer.  Maybe that means reading through them as you eat your breakfast or before you go to bed.  Or, once our new photo directories come you could commit to paging through it and praying for all the families on a page for one week.  We all could use some prayer.

Did you know there is also an email prayer chain at South Canyon?  Sometimes when people fill out this prayer request form they ask for their loved one to be placed on the prayer chain.  From there Lorys sends an email to people at South Canyon who are committed to receiving these emails and offering prayer on behalf of others.  The list of people that Lorys sends those emails to is very short.  If you would like to be included in this ministry you can let her know or sign up in the Koinonia Room.

Pray publicly. Maybe you feel called to lead our congregation in prayer.  That is the role of the assisting minister in worship.  Each week someone leads us in the mission prayer and the prayers of intercession.  Yes, the prayers are written out for you, but it is still an important ministry for those voices to lead us in prayer.  We are always looking for new people to share their gifts through this ministry.  Let us know if you are interested.

Pray through Scripture.  Adoration is a common theme in scripture.  Not only in the texts today, but in other places as well.  Throughout the Psalms we find themes of adoration, praise and honor.  Those words can be read as your own personal prayer.  Phrases like “praise the Lord” and “I will sing praises to your name” are very repetitive in Scripture.  Check the index of your Bible for some ideas or just start paging through the Psalms.  Let those words be your own as you give adoration and praise to God for who God is.

Pray through song.  When I ponder the word adoration this time of the year especially, I think of the Christmas carol “Oh Come All Ye Faithful.”  The chorus invites us to adoration.  The chorus invites us to come and adore Christ the King.  Other songs that come to my mind are “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” and “Father, I adore You.”  The song we will join in singing after the sermon, “Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness,” is full of praise and adoration.  If you haven’t figured it out yet, I enjoy music.  These songs and many others are filled with adoration.  They, in themselves, are a way to pray.  Music is prayer.  Although this is debated, some claim that St. Augustine even said, “Singing is like praying twice.”  So, I would invite you to sing boldly today.  I don’t care if you are perfect at it or not.  Sing and as you sing think of those words as prayer.  Notice the feelings and emotions that come with each verse of the songs.  Pay attention to verses that are about adoration and praise.

As you pray for others and for yourself, in whatever way you choose to, let your prayer begin and be rooted in adoration and praise.    When we pray prayers of thanksgiving, often when things are going well, it seems easier to give praise and adoration to God.  I would suggest that even in situations of declining health, difficult divorce, financial hardship, and impending death, it is important to offer praise and adoration to God the source of our being.  It is important to center ourselves and remind ourselves who it is we are praying to.  In doing so we remember that no matter what we may be facing there is a God, our God, that is facing it with us.  Giving our praise and love to God comes first.  From that the rest of our prayer flows.  On this celebration of Epiphany, may our gift, the gift of prayer, proclaim the praise of the Lord.  Amen.