I'm going to be reading Luke 11, a very familiar passage of scripture. You know, when people come to the Lord as new Christians, sometimes assumptions are made, people assume that Because you attend church now, that you know how to pray, that you know what you need to do. But that's why we're coming to church, is that we might learn, be taught through and by God's Word. When you think of prayer, know that when I come to the Lord, that I come in an offered up prayer of repentance. The Lord forgave me of my sin. Sometime there that I come to the Lord when I wanted something, or to ask Him to forgive me of something. There's many more forms of prayer, if you want to call them forms, or means in which we can pray. It's been categorized by someone as forms of prayer, adoration, petition, thanksgiving, confession, and intercession. I don't know if you'd want to write them down, but these here are what, as one man tried to attempt to say or to write down, the different things or the different ways that we might pray. We're going to read in the 11th chapter of Luke, I think it's this portion of scripture The disciples ask the Lord, teach us to pray. And does the Word of God back up those things? It says in the second verse, it says, And he said unto them, When we pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven. We can categorize that as adoration, a praise, adornment to the Lord. How would be thy name? Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread, a prayer of petition, and forgive us our sins. We also forgive everyone that is indebted to us. A prayer of confession. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. I think that even as this is praying, he said, when they said, teach us how to pray, that he prayed in the pool room. I think that it being an intercessory prayer, that many times that we do that very thing, that we pray in the plural, we pray, Lord help us when we think of our brothers and sisters in Christ. And if you think about it, Moses probably in the Old Testament was the best picture of a man that knew how to intercede on the behalf of the children of Israel, how to go before the Lord. and an intercessory prayer, if you want to call it that. But we find here where the disciples ask the Lord to teach us how to pray. And in this short little prayer, He has many forms or many aspects of that prayer. It wasn't just, Lord, forgive me of my sin. It wasn't just, Lord, provide for my daily substance, but that it also a couple more of those things, and then we know that there's the prayer of thanksgiving. But if the Lord would bless us today, we're going to focus in on the prayer of adoration. I think that that is missing in a lot of churches. I think that we live in a culture today that the art of adornment to our Lord and Savior has been somewhat diminished because of our fast-paced lifestyle. There's so many people that they come to the Lord and ask Him, for the things that they want. And if He would give them to them, that there is of those people, there is a few that would thank Him. And then there are those that come to Him when they have failings or shortcomings and they ask the Lord to forgive them. But if the Lord would allow, we're going to preach on adoration and what it means. It's been defined to say generally, an expression of love, admiration, or ambience toward another. In religion, the reverence and worship offered to God together with appropriate physical postures such as bowing, kneeling, prostration, etc. And as everyone prays, I want to preach this out today. And I believe a message like this, we'd be better preached with the Spirit free. Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you, dear God, Lord, that You are King of kings and Lord of lords. Lord, I pray God that You might teach us here a few a number, dear Lord, just exactly as You showed Your disciples, dear Lord. Teach us how to pray, Lord. Help our prayers to be more effective, dear Lord. I'm thankful, dear God, that just as your disciples so many years ago, Lord, had a God that listened to them, that we in this day have one as well, Lord. And I just pray, God, that you might, Lord, help us, Lord, to be more effective in our prayer. a life, dear Lord, that we might see the necessity of it and the seriousness of it, dear Lord, and that we need to pray every day, dear God, earnestly, dear Lord, regardless of whether we failed You, Lord, regardless of whether we want something in the moment, Lord, but that there's always a reason to pray, dear Heavenly Father, in Jesus' name we pray, Amen. So I begin to think about that, a prayer of adoration. We can pray, and in one prayer we can encompass, as it's already been said, many different forms, but I thought, where would we go to to find, I guess you would say, a perfect prayer of adoration? We know that the angels were created by God the Father, and that they were created for a purpose, was to bring praise to Him. If you would want to, you could turn into the fourth chapter of Revelations, and we can break into the eighth verse, and it says that there was four beasts, once again, beasts that were created by God, and it said, and they had each one of them six wings about Him, and they were full of eyes within, and they rest not day or night. Listen, they rest not day or night. And it goes on and it says, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts gave glory and honor and thanks to Him that sat upon the throne, who liveth forever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worshiped Him that liveth forever and ever, casting their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and was created." And then if you would want to, you could turn to the seventh chapter of Revelation, and we can break in once again in the eleventh verse and hear We read about these four beasts and that they circled the thrones day and night. That they circled the thrones, what it's expressing to us, continually for 24 hours. if you could measure it in a day. And then it goes on to say in the 11th verse of the 7th chapter, it says, And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these that are arrayed in white robes, and which came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they which come out of great tribulation, and hath washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and served him day and night in his temple. and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sunlight on them nor any heat. For the Lamb of God, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them and shall lead them unto living foundations of water, and God shall wipe away all the tears from their eyes." Now you might say to me, well, Darrell, this is reading and revelations, other things to come. But I think that as Christians, there's no need for us to wait until we gather around the throne of God to adore Him. There's no reason why we should have to wait in order to lift up a prayer of adoration. Because I want to tell you today that my God is truly worthy of all praise to be given. I'm thankful that I have a means of which I might petition Christ for my needs, and yes, even my woes. I'm thankful that when the Lord, through His many wonderful, bountiful blessings, that I can come to Him, that I need not just hunger in my heart to communicate to him that I love him, and that I'm thankful to him, that I have the means in which that I can show my thankfulness, and that I'm still going. in a secret place and begin to thank God for all He has done for me. So many times that when we thank Him, we are brought back to our many confessions that He has forgiven us of. of our many failures and shortcomings. Or at least when Daryl thanks God, Daryl honorably thanks Him for what He has done here in the present, for what He's done in the past. And each and every one of us, we would do well to thank the Lord a little bit more. But I would pray, and it's my will and desire, that we would be better at adoring our Lord and Savior. I believe that we would have more spiritual services that we would practice during the week to lift up and give Him the praise He deserves. You know, it's a good thing to intercede on behalf of our brothers and sisters, and we've already mentioned that many of us say that Moses was a picture of Christ. We find that God in the Old Testament was many times a I was so confused by Moses that I knew Moses interceded for the children of Israel. Only children today of the Almighty God ought to do the same thing. I'm afraid that the world's in the condition I'm in is because there is a less I'm praying that intercessory prayer, but you know I have no means of which to know. To hear people, to talk and to see how they live. It seems there's just so many people seeking to have only one source for all. For only one purpose, to pray. That is competition God. And that is a wonderful thing that we have. We can rejoice in knowing that we have access to the throne. We got more to pray about than just what we want, whether it be spiritually or physically. We got a God that deserves the praise of His creation. so that there was four beasts that was created to surround them through God and to say, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. I know it said day and night, speaking on a battle, a nightmare on the throne, and a dismay continually. But there is no doubt in the presence of God and in His throne. And I think today we can take a lesson. And the angels, and those that gather around, and we'll gather around the throne, and bow ourselves, our knees, unto an almighty God, that we can do it today. But sometimes, when we feel the need to pray, we go out and we tell ourselves, we're going to thank the Lord for all He's done. And before you know it, we're asking Him, we're producing Him for a need that we have. Our minds be drawn and our hearts be drawn to who He is, that we might lift up praise to Him. Well then, you might ask me, Daryl, how would you do it? Here, here, in Revelation, they're giving credit for all that He has created. I'm thankful. In the simple fact that God created it all, that he's in control of it all, because he is the one that made it. We hear the old joke, I don't know who told it first, but the father telling his son. I'm bigger than you CREATOR! as one would be in the process of science. That he is creator of all. Not just the power of a cell, but the power of a universe. And he got it all in order that he might receive praise. For he is truly worthy of all praise. And we come up with the smallest plane of gravity. And look how the world, how the environment revolves around him. that little blade of grass, we see the insects, that find a home there, we see the cattle, that eat that which comes out of the dirt, which really brings no nutritional value to a cow at all. And yet the blade of grass grows and the cattle eats it. And from it comes life. That's worthy. God is worthy of all praise. My God created that. Just as He supplies for the cattle. He'll supply and provide for us if we would just look to Him. There is one thing that is certain. God blesses those that give Him praise and I like to think that the more we praise Him, the more that He enjoys Him. Though He is self-existent and He don't need my praise to feel self-worth because He is who He is. He loves to hear His creation acknowledge who He is. Some of us in our relationships have been married and we just assume our wives For our girlfriend, or husband, or our children, we ought to just know that we love. But listen, a loving father or a loving son is just not content with the assumption that his loved one knows that they care about him. I've seen men 12 or more hours a day. When they go home, they really have no relationship with the family. But yet they're there at that job. Come four in the morning, they're close, they care for their family. But I want to tell you a line, a line creation looks to their Creator and says, thank you for all that you've given me. But Lord, I want to thank you, just not because of what I have received, but I want to worship you. because of who you are. You are my comfort in the midst of sorrow. You are my bread in the time of hunger. When the gnaw comes, have you ever got a craving? Late at night and you don't know what to eat? Listen, that's where I was, spiritually, and the Lord came by. And He satisfied that hunger, and that is worthy of all praise. And I'm looking forward to the day when I can gather around that throne and join in on that course with those four beasts and the elders and say, holy, holy, the Lord God Almighty. But I don't know when the Lord will take me home, but I do know that I can give Him that praise today. And so, Leanne, what are you doing? What are you doing? How do you spend your prayer life and your prayer time? Is it well balanced? Is it one-dimensional? Now, just as the disciples ask the Master, ask Jesus Christ, Lord, that teaches how to pray, as parents, as elders of this church, the little ones of this church, the babes in Christ Jesus as well, as those that are young physically should be able to hear our prayers and from hearing our prayers know the different aspects, the different forms and prayer. You know, I can remember as a child that we would go to this one church and they put an emphasis on prayer as it would seem, and there was those that would come up and ask to be prayed for. And there would be people that would gather around them, and they would place their hand upon them, and they would raise their hand. And I can remember as a child, and even as a young Christian, and they would begin to pray, and then you would hear. Their prayer would last maybe a half a minute or a minute. And then all they would begin to say is, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. And I'm thankful that I have a Jesus I can call to. But as a child, my observation coming from the church where I come from, where we gathered around the altar because that's part of adoration. It's just not words, but it is a posture in which we take. And I can remember as a kid, would gather around the altar, and one would start praying, and then they all began to pray. And I might hear a prayer of thanksgiving. I might hear a deep concern, a petition for a particular need. But as a kid, I'd listen a little closer, and I might hear other prayers of confession. And I heard a many intercessory prayer, but praying for the lost. praying for the church members that weren't at church that day. The one, as it were, that the devil was fighting sore. And I knew when I went, and I visited that church or that house where they were having service, and I began to hear those people in a child's mind. I said, these folks must not pray very often, for they're quick to run out of words. There's been time, that's all I can say. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. He will have us. Tell Him the concerns of our hearts. He will have us. Lift up the praise to the one that is worthy of it all, and that's the one we pray to. Listen to me, if you and everything you have is because of some man, I reckon you can bow your knee and thank the one that gave it to you. But if you think it's a man, if you think it's this one or that one, You're simply confused. Because God is the giver of all. And I'm thankful about it. And He is worthy of all praise and adoration. As we travel around, we've been where people feel the need to pray. Feel even at times to lift up a prayer of adoration. And say, let us stand. And they would all stand, and one would lead, as it were, they would say, might you lead us in prayer? But he's the only one that anyone hears pray. And you say, well, Darrell, the Lord don't have to hear our audible voice. He sees and hears our heart, and for which I would have to agree. But listen. I truly believe that there's never been a revival that didn't take place, that men were not willing to bow their knee, as it was defined in a religious sense. It said the appropriate physical posture would be such as bowing, kneeling, or prostration. We know that in the Old Testament, as well as the New, That men of God stretched out and put their face on the ground. That's a good place to start. Have you drifted away? Have you been far from God? Why don't you come to Him? Why don't you give Him the honor that is due Him? And bow your knee. Oh, do more than bow your knee, but lay flat on your face and show God. You say, I don't need to show God. He knows my heart. If you're thinking such as that, that's the problem. He knows my heart. There's never been a man willing to balance need but yet refusing to do so. It's time and high time that the church uses the altar at the church, but yet that they might set up an altar at the house and see the power in prayer. There's more. than just having an altar of petition. There's more than just having an altar of confession. There's more than an altar of intercession. But then we have, or should have, an altar of adoration, where we can give Him praise. And when we do, we can get better at it, and get more eloquent. You say, girl, I don't know that that's or really important, God thought it so important that he created creatures, these, that would surround his throne continually, telling him who he is. This is the absent-minded knowledge that he is worthy of all praise because of who he is. Notice the Roman Catholic Church that they believe in given adoration. I don't know the Greek words for it, but they have three different ones. There's the adoration given to God, the adoration given to Mary, and the adoration given to the saints, those that they would see or deem fit to pray to. And they said that though ultimately all adoration goes to Christ, that we as Christians should give our adornment, our adoration to these three. But you know what? If that was required of God, I truly believe that at some point one would be lacking for how can we adequately give our adoration to three when most of us don't do it to one. And I'm thankful that I don't have to give my adoration to Mary. Though God seemed fit when he looked down on her, that he'd seen a virtuous woman, one worthy to bear his son. But listen, she was but a woman. She had to come through the blood of Jesus Christ, though he was her natural-born son. She had to look at him as the Son of God. That's the only way she made it into heaven, Acknowledge that this is not the son of Mary, but that this is the son of God. He wasn't the son of Mary that died for the sins of the world, though he was. But that he was much more than the son of Mary, for all that is all that it would take. She had many sons, but that he was the son of God. that she come from the womb of Mary. We stand today and preach God's word because he was much more than the son of a woman, but because he was the son of God. And, oh, I can be very thankful that she was willing, but, well, it really didn't matter. God told her that she was scaring the child because she was who she was and she rejoiced and she went to Elizabeth and Elizabeth rejoiced but listen to me Mary doesn't care and she don't have to hear about my problems she don't have to hear about yours so let's not talk to her well whether we talk to her or not she'll not hear for she's in the presence of God and Mary has left enough of a voice of adoration. So many saints. We are to valor them, as some would think. Let us look at them. Why are they saintly, as one might say. You know, I'm not familiar with all of the different saints, but I know of those that are in the Bible, St. Peter, St. Matthew Mark, Luke and John, when we read about all of those. And truly, these were men that had a great mission in life. For they were to spread the gospel. But look, who they are. Peter was just a fisherman. And we find that the disciples was there. Along the sea of Galilee, Andrew and Peter, James and John fishing, but is it not because of Jesus Christ that they became who they were? And if any adoration should be lifted up, is it not to the one that came and changed their life as well as our own? Was it not because of Jesus that Peter gave his life? wasn't because of who Peter was, wasn't because of what Peter did, but he was crucified because of who Jesus Christ was and what Peter stood for. And though it's a noble thing to die for the cause of Christ, there is no redemptive power in it. But I'm thankful that Jesus seemed fit to elevate His Word above His name, to give His Word to mankind, that we might pray and lift up a word of praise. This week as you find time to pray, might you not start your prayer out with a prayer of adoration? Might you maybe steal away this week for the purpose of just having a soul prayer of praising God for who He is. And I declare unto you that if you do it with a sincere and a blood-washed heart, that though your prayer might start on your knees, though it might start with you on your face, that God can raise you up from that position, and that you can truly rejoice in Him, and that you'll find yourself lifting your hands to one that is truly worthy of all praise. Let's get some song to sing. Have you failed somehow in your obligation to declare to God who He is? You know, some people would find that somewhat humorous. Why do I need to tell God who He is? He knows who He is. He's from everlasting to everlasting. Why do I feel the need, or why should I feel the need of declaring to Him the things that He already knows, the things that He's declared to me? Because in that declaration, there comes an understanding of the more. You know, I've experienced trials and troubles, and even temptations in life, and have been driven to my knees, and it's in, oh, when I lift up, those words of praise that I begin to fully comprehend what they mean. And though I have an understanding to a certain extent of what it is, of who He is, of what I should be, when those words leave my lips in an audible sound, not only do they reach the ears of God, but they reach my heart, and they fill my mind. And that's why the Lord would have us to adore Him. Because in the very words we might use, we will find understanding so much better of what we can be in Him, of what He can do in us. I think if there was more prayers of adoration, that people's theology would not be so skewed. We hear people seeing only one aspect of God and focusing totally on that. and not realizing that the God we serve, for instance, is a God of love as well as a God of wrath. You know, you'd say, well, Darrell, to adorn Him, would I truly even say that you are a God of wrath if that's who He is? If His Word has described Him as such and gave Him that title, well, then that's a title that we should address Him as. And if we are faithful to adorn Him, and to offer up praise to Him, it always brings us back to the other aspects of prayer. And though if we only come to Him to petition Him and to thank Him, sometimes our prayers would be so short. But when we begin to give Him all the names that He has given us to address in Mass, Sometimes it brings peace into our hearts, and sometimes it even brings fear into our hearts for those that have yet to make their peace with an Almighty God. And we find ourselves once again interceding on behalf of a loved one. Because any time that we would humbly I tried to address God as who he is. We will see that so many other people need to have that same understanding.