Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
1 16 2026

Audio Version

Learning the Protocol of the King. Part I of II

Before we ask anything of God, we must remember who He is—and who we are.

A preacher once challenged his congregation:
“For 30 days, pray for your enemies—and watch what happens to your heart.”
Not to them.  But to you.

Prayer doesn’t just move heaven.
It rearranges the furniture of the soul. Some of us have some big furniture lurking.

That’s why Christians through the years have leaned on a simple structure…
the ABC’s of prayer, the old acrostic:

ACTS
A – Adoration
C – Confession
T – Thanksgiving
S – Supplication

Now before you tune me out because you know all this.  Please pause. 
Honestly, I had to readjust some of my prayer habits because I, too, had fallen into my own kind of gimme pattern with too little Adoration.

So, This is NOT a formula.
Not magic.
Just simple guidelines to help us know God—and know prayer.
Truth be told, many of us are still at the ABC level. And that’s okay.

Adoration First: Remember He’s the King

Before Jesus taught His disciples what to pray, He taught them how to approach:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” — Matthew 6:9

Adoration means we remember who we are speaking to.

There’s a story about Babe Ruth being introduced to the King of England. He was given strict instructions:
“When you enter, bow. Address him as ‘Your Majesty.’”

Babe Ruth walked in…
and said, “Hi, King.”

Very American.
Very casual.
Very improper.

We have a reputation for being informal…even with God. We rush into His presence like He’s a buddy:
“Hey Jesus, what are we doing today?”

Now, Jesus is our friend—but He is never our chum.

If Christ walked into the room, no believer would stay slouched in a chair, scrolling a phone, saying, “What’s up, JC?”

Adoration corrects our posture of the heart.

People often ask, “What’s the right posture for prayer?”
Kneeling? Standing? Hands lifted? Face down?

Scripture shows all of it:  (Surprise)

  • Kneeling before a King
  • Standing, hands lifted, eyes heavenward
  • Falling flat on one’s face
  • Even crawling into a quiet place…building a tabernacle under a table

There’s no prescription.
But there is a principle.

Did you know Posture reflects attitude.

Kneeling says, “I honor You.”
Lifted hands say, “I need You.”
Prostrate says, “I am undone.”

The whole prayer…not just the beginning…should carry a posture of adoration.

Remember two things:

  1. To whom are we speaking
  2. Who is doing the speaking

That awareness changes everything.

When prayer begins with adoration, it reorders the soul.
Before we ask God to change circumstances,
He changes US!  I know… but don’t be afraid!

Part Two will take us deeper—into confession, thanksgiving, and why we rush too fast to supplication.

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Matt West  Don’t Stop Praying