A Grandfather as a Disciple-maker (part 2)
After giving much more thought and doing a bit of research, I have come to the conclusion that one of the best things we can do is to pray for our grandchildren. This should be daily and highly valued, do you agree? The problem I have run across is that we misunderstand prayer. Many of us go to the Lord with our requests, but avoid aligning our thoughts and wills with God, thus praying for wants and our perceived needs, as well as those of our loved ones. This explains the title of this article. Like Ralphie in the movie, “A Christmas Story,” we approach God as a spiritual Santa Clause, even when we pray for our grandchildren.
Grandparents and parents truly want what we perceive as best for our children. We ask God for peace in their lives, success in their endeavors, good grades, friends, nice toys, and happiness. These are all great things, however, when we pray, we must seek God’s heart first and foremost. This goes much deeper than asking him for nice things in our children’s live. What if God, being all-knowing and having all provisions at his disposal, wants the true best for them instead of what we think is best?
How do we pray for this? It sounds good, but will God respond to our prayers? Do we even know how to approach him? To begin to pray for our children and grandchildren, we must consider our own individual closeness to God. I do not mean our church attendance, our number of daily devotionals, how much we give to the church, or even how nicely we treat people. Those should be byproducts of the depth of our relationship with the Lord.
Years ago, I was taught to consider utilizing the acrostic A.C.T.S. in my prayer life. You may have heard of it or read about it. It has been around for a long time. The elements of the acrostic are drawn from elements of the Model Prayer, or as we have traditionally called it, the Lord’s Prayer as Jesus taught the disciples. The A.C.T.S. acrostic is simply one of the ways I use to ensure my prayers are more closely aligned with the heart of God. There is no formulaic mojo, juju, or magic in it, but it allows me to organize my prayer life in a way that really helps when I make a request of the Lord.
A – adoration. The first portion of our approach to the throne of God must be to recognize his holiness and perfect character. Telling God we love him and focusing upon him in this manner helps us focus on exactly who it is to whom we are speaking. The Almighty, perfect King of the Universe allows us to address him. Dwelling on his perfection and allowing our prayer to him as we consider his majesty and power brings our hearts toward humility.
C – confession. Confession of sin is simply agreeing with God that each sin is in violation of the perfect One whom we adore and reverentially fear. It is a time to slowly acknowledge how we transgress even when we know he saved us from the penalty of our transgressions. It enables us to apologize to him and declare our intention to turn toward holy living. It deepens our humility.
T – thanksgiving. Listing the things for which we are grateful allows us to focus on so much; life, eternal life, sustenance, relationships, joys, peace, and every blessing, great or small. It enables us to truly address the God we have adored and to which we have confessed our transgressions. I find it amazing that I have so much for which to be thankful. This warms my heart and turns my desires from so many petty things I may have had on my mind. It finalizes my preparation for the final portion of this acronym.
S – supplication. Supplication is simply a word for earnestly or humbly asking for something. After adoring, confessing, and thanking, my heart and mind have come from “I want what I want,” to “I want what you want, Lord.” There is a deeper humility present after having come through adoration, confession, and thanksgiving. My perspective changes. My needs seem smaller in the presence of such a great God, against whom I continually rebel, yet still loves me and blesses me time and time again.
It is in supplication that I approach God and seek his best for others and for myself. It is in supplication that we can approach God and seek his best for our grandchildren. This is much more spiritually healthy for us, as well. By this point we have been drawn closer to God in our humility. When we realize his greatness, we become humble enough to seek his heart instead of our desires.
All that being said, I challenge each of us to draw near to him and he will draw near to us; (Read James 4). Praying for our children and grandchildren should involve seeking the best; not our best, but God’s best. To do that, we must seek to align our hearts with the heart of God. May you grow closer to the Lord and may your families receive God’s best.
Get Content Delivered Directly to Your Inbox
Church Leader? Check out my book to help you as you seek to help your church’s guests become family.
kevingarrett.org 