A.C.T.S.

I got an email this morning asking for some help on how to pray. This is a great request. It's an important request. Even the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.

I remember learning an acronym back in middle school that has helped me pray. What's funny is that I've just started using this outline again to shake things up with my own prayer. I thought I'd share it for anyone looking for prayer help.

It's based on the acronym A.C.T.S.

Adoration – Spend the first part of your prayer time praising God, acknowledging him for who he is, quoting verses back to him about his greatness and holiness. Adore him. Prayer is one of the main ways we grow in our affection for God so begin your prayer time with adoration.

Confession – Spend the next part of your prayer time confessing your sins to God. This is the natural follow-up to adoration because when we see how holy God is, we see how sinful we are. Confess specific sins, not general sins. We have a God who forgives us when we confess our sins.

Thanksgiving – Spend the next part of your prayer time giving thanks. This naturally flows from confession since we have a God who graciously forgives all of our sins. We have so much to be thankful for. This time gives God credit for all he’s done for us. As James says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above." An attitude of gratitude is essential to a fulfilling life, so give credit where credit is due.

Supplication – Spend the last part of your prayer time bringing your requests to God. Too often, we start here, but God already knows what we need before we ask him, so there’s no need to start with supplication. But we are told to present our requests to God. No prayer is too big for God. No prayer is too small. God cares about the big and little things.