Acknowledging God

Over the next few weeks, we will be discussing PRAYER. I pray that you will be inspired and gain a better understanding on prayer. We will start with “Acknowledging God”, as we reference the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:9-13

Absolutely no one likes to go unrecognized. It is not a great feeling. Many times, we jump into prayer head first with our request and we do not take the time to recognize God. When it comes to God, we must acknowledge Him, not because He has an ego but because we need to recognize who He is. God is higher than we are and by every meaning of the word, He is “perfect”. He is without flaw. When we truly reverence Him in our heart, we exalt Him above everything else. 

Proverbs 3:6 reads  ^"In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths."

Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer to acknowledge God first because we reverence Him while shifting the posture of our prayers. Reverencing God leads to repentance, praying in faith and everything else we need for our prayers to be effective. There is no coincidence that this is the first step in our model prayer. Again, Hebrews 11:6 tells us “…for he who comes to God must believe that He is…” 

In our prayers, we should declare who God is and declare specifically who God is to us personally (make it personal). For example, declare who God is….”Our father who art in heaven” and when you make it personal, “Heavenly Father, You are my Lord, my Rock and my everything”. Acknowledge God BOTH for who He is and specifically for who He is to you. This sets the stage and tone of our prayers because it causes our human minds to intimately reverence God.

Isn’t that why we give people titles? In a healthy way, it causes us to respect who they are. We hold them to a higher standard and in high regards. I know in today’s age, titles have been abused but let’s not miss the purpose for them when they are used correctly and the people carrying them are deserving of them. Of course, with God, we cannot limit Him to one title. He is God, the highest reigning ruler and maker of all of heaven and earth. He carries millions of titles because He is God and He is the only one deserving of ALL of them. Acknowledging God is giving Him the respect and reverence He is due and when done with a sincere heart, we are humbled before Him.