The A.C.T.S. Prayer
Adoration
"Because
Thy lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise Thee." Psalms
63:3
Adoration is to adore God,
to worship him and to fulfill the commandment to love him with all of our heart,
mind and soul. As we spend time in adoration, we praise God for who He is - our
Creator, our Sustainer and our Redeemer.
When we focus our attention
on the One who can meet our needs, it takes our eyes off circumstances and
allows us to experience God's sufficiency and peace.
“Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for
his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the
sounding of the trumpet… harp and lyre… tambourine and dancing…
strings and flute… clash of cymbals resounding. Let everything that has breath
praise the Lord. PRAISE THE LORD.”
Confession
"If we claim to be without
sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness." I John 1:8-9
Confession allows us to
clear away the things in the relationship between you and God which are
displeasing to Him. All of us have sinned, and the Holy Spirit will reveal
areas in our life that are not pleasing to Him. Take some time to confess those
sins. If the Spirit reveals sin in your life, name that sin specifically and
repent. This involves a change in your attitude and an active move on your part
to no longer indulge in that sin.
Then
thank God for forgiving your sin on the basis of His promise in I John 1:9,
"If we confess our sins He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Finally, and most
importantly, ask God to fill (control and empower) you by His Holy Spirit.
Sometimes confession involves restitution or making things right with friend
you have wronged. If the Holy Spirit reveals this in your life, do not hesitate
to obey.
Thanksgiving
"In
everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Thanksgiving
allows us to thank God for what he has done for us, and through us, right now,
just as Adoration is to praise God for who he is, in his pre-existent and
eternal Being. Whereas adoration is to praise him for his character,
thanksgiving is thanking him for his actions toward us.
Each
day God is blessing us! Every moment we can recall the wonderful things that
God has done for us, and the gifts that we have been given. We need to be
constantly thanking God for his blessings.
"He who offers a
sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me." Psalm 50:23
Supplication
“Do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
Finally we come to ask God for our needs and the needs of others.
PRAY
FOR OTHERS. In the epistles of St Paul, we read of him praying for those he
has led to faith, and asking them also to pray for him. So, you too can pray
for other Christians, and encourage them to pray for you. Pray for your family members, and for neighbors and friends. It's also good to pray for those who
don't know Jesus to come to faith - many Christians have come to believe in
Christ through the prayers of others.
PRAY
FOR WORLD ISSUES. For peace in difficult situations, for leaders and those in
influential positions, for global issues such as care of God's environment,
justice for the poor, relief of suffering in less developed countries, and
other issues that come to you.
PRAY
FOR YOUR OWN NEEDS. It’s easy to neglect this, but Jesus encourages us to do so in
the Lord's Prayer - the model for prayer that He gave us.
"No
good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11
Practical Helps for God time
Set a time. The same
time every day is the best way to establish a lasting habit. When will you
devote time to your relationship with Jesus every day?
Set a place. The same
place each day is also instrumental in establishing a disciplined time with
God. Where will you meet alone with the Lord?
Avoid distractions.
What are the things that could distract you from following through with your
desire to focus only on God? TV? Music? Visitors? Phone calls? The
refrigerator? Whatever it is, how will you avoid this distraction?
Set reasonable goals.
You may know someone who spends an hour a day with the Lord, or another who
reads through the Bible completely in a year. But these goals may not be
reasonable for you to start out with. Perhaps at a later time these would be
good goals for you! Be realistic! What can you pretty much guarantee you would
do each day? The idea is to be successful at reaching your goal with
consistency. Maybe 20 minutes of Bible reading and prayer, maybe 30 minutes?
What can and will work for you?
Have someone hold you
accountable. It is always helpful to have another Christian know your goal and
be praying for you that you will reach it. They could even call you daily or
intermittently for a while to ask you if you spent time with Christ.
(Source: The origin for the ACTS method is unknown, however it's most likely taken from the Disciples' Prayer in Matthew 6:9–13)
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