The ACTS prayer model can be a wonderful tool to engage a mind that wanders in prayer and break you of the habit of always praying a very limited range of prayers. ACTS is an acronym which stands for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. The prayer model helps sharpen your focus by giving you an agenda to engage your attention while praying. You will also find that by praying for four distinct types of prayer your prayer vocabulary expands.
Start the ACTS prayer by praising God with words of adoration. I praise God in three specific ways. First, I adore God, by telling God, "I love you, Lord." Next, I acknowledge God for who He is. For example, "Lord you are gracious, good and kind. Your mercy endures for eternity." Lastly, I adore God for what He does. For example, "Lord, You continue to reach out to us even when we are unfaithful. You seek the lost and redeem them. For your steadfast love I praise You, Almighty God."
You will likely feel moved toward gratitude as you praise God, but I would resist saying thanks during your time of adoration as you are learning the ACTS model. Why? Adoration and gratitude aren't exactly the same. Tell someone, "I love you" and then tell someone, "thank you", if you don't believe me and see if you get the same response to both statements. Adoration is a matter of purely honoring God for being God and letting God know how much you love Him.
The next step is to confess what you have done wrong and acknowledge it as sin. You will increase your odds of changing your behavior, if you strive to be honest and specific when confessing sins. Avoid generic confessions. Don't make generalizations, such as, "I am not as loving as I should be." Instead state specific sins, such as, "I have been talking about Lisa behind her back. This is hateful gossip. God I know this is wrong. I ask for your forgiveness and want your help to change."
The third step in the ACTS pray is to thank God. Think about the blessing that have come your way during the day. Also, consider more permanent blessing like health, family, friends, and the gifts that God has given you. Hold these blessings up to God vividly and with a grateful heart.
The fourth step, supplication, simply means asking. At this point in your prayer offer God the concerns of your heart. You may lift up other people, situations, and your own needs. I would encourage to be sure and specifically spiritually intercede for people. The apostle Paul often prayed for people to come to full maturity in Christ.
You may need to pray the ACTS prayer for several days before you get use to the model, so don't be too hasty to judge its merit until you have maintained the practice for several weeks. I have no doubt that you will be meaningfully transformed as a disciple, if you faithfully pray daily in the four areas of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Even though the ACTS prayer is a very simple model, it is an extremely powerful prayer practice.
Start the ACTS prayer by praising God with words of adoration. I praise God in three specific ways. First, I adore God, by telling God, "I love you, Lord." Next, I acknowledge God for who He is. For example, "Lord you are gracious, good and kind. Your mercy endures for eternity." Lastly, I adore God for what He does. For example, "Lord, You continue to reach out to us even when we are unfaithful. You seek the lost and redeem them. For your steadfast love I praise You, Almighty God."
You will likely feel moved toward gratitude as you praise God, but I would resist saying thanks during your time of adoration as you are learning the ACTS model. Why? Adoration and gratitude aren't exactly the same. Tell someone, "I love you" and then tell someone, "thank you", if you don't believe me and see if you get the same response to both statements. Adoration is a matter of purely honoring God for being God and letting God know how much you love Him.
The next step is to confess what you have done wrong and acknowledge it as sin. You will increase your odds of changing your behavior, if you strive to be honest and specific when confessing sins. Avoid generic confessions. Don't make generalizations, such as, "I am not as loving as I should be." Instead state specific sins, such as, "I have been talking about Lisa behind her back. This is hateful gossip. God I know this is wrong. I ask for your forgiveness and want your help to change."
The third step in the ACTS pray is to thank God. Think about the blessing that have come your way during the day. Also, consider more permanent blessing like health, family, friends, and the gifts that God has given you. Hold these blessings up to God vividly and with a grateful heart.
The fourth step, supplication, simply means asking. At this point in your prayer offer God the concerns of your heart. You may lift up other people, situations, and your own needs. I would encourage to be sure and specifically spiritually intercede for people. The apostle Paul often prayed for people to come to full maturity in Christ.
You may need to pray the ACTS prayer for several days before you get use to the model, so don't be too hasty to judge its merit until you have maintained the practice for several weeks. I have no doubt that you will be meaningfully transformed as a disciple, if you faithfully pray daily in the four areas of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Even though the ACTS prayer is a very simple model, it is an extremely powerful prayer practice.
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