Prayerful A.C.T.S.

Matthew 6:9-15

9"This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 
10your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 
11Give us today our daily bread. 12Forgive us our debts, 
as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from the evil one.14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.


It has been said that adequate kneeling will keep you in good standing with God. Great men and women of the Bible consistently provide support of the fact that prayer is a vital component of a victorious walk with God. Jesus Himself entered into periods of prayer and as we will see in our scripture passage, felt it important to methodically teach Christians to pray. Inarguably, this life is fraught with temptation, disappointment, and a myriad of difficulties. Sometimes a singular celebrated step forward gives way to two dismal steps back. What a sinking feeling we have all experienced when realizing a lack of progress and growth in a given area of life. There are precious few days that pass when we are not confronted with some sort of real life situation that can not be resolved using our intellect, financial resources, or physical strength. After we have done all that we can do, we finally realize that we must simply trust God. While this fundamental trust, or faith, is the key to the door blocking us from the blessings of God, prayer remains the most valuable instrument that unlocks the door. It is critical that we have a clear understanding of how to pray as well as possess a simple approach to prayer that we can share with the new and developing believer. A.C.T.S. is a mnemonic for four phases of prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. I also like to consider Intercession as an additional phase of prayer, but we will discuss this later.

Adoration: “God, You’re Everything to Me!”

When we come before the living God in prayer, we should do so with a humble heart and a spirit of adoration. In the film inspired by Alice Walker’s book of the same name, The Color Purple, there is a line spoken by Shug Avery that resonates with me each time I hear it: “God wants admiration and wants us to enjoy the things it has created. "I think it [angers] God if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it." For anyone who has seen the film, Shug is certainly no saint, but the scene in which this quote is couched reveals a heart that honors God as Creator and Sustainer of all. Psalm 100:3 reminds us “3… that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture." Adoration is to tell God of His inherent greatness as well as His powerful acts in your present and past life. Jesus, in teachingus to pray in verse 10, proclaims the Holiness of God: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 
10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The Book of Psalms provides many useful examples of how to go before God in Adoration. Pray back a Psalm to the Lord and in doing so you remind yourself of how wonderful our God truly is!

Confession: “God I’m sorry.”

Even on our best days, we will do something that does not reflect the glory and holiness of God. Even Paul, my Biblical super-hero, shares in Romans 7:15 (NLT) “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” As believers, the Holy Spirit will convict us and this conviction should then propel us to repentance, or confession. Refuse to carry guilt and shame around with you. Don’t let yesterday’s sins contaminate today’s prayer time. Go back to the basics of salvation: 1John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Jesus tells us how to ask God to forgive sin in our lives: “12Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Tell Daddy-God you’re sorry and through the grace of His Son Jesus, accept His forgiveness for your life. Recall that “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1) Confession of sin positions you securely at the throne of God and prepares you to move into thanksgiving for what He has done in your life.

Thanksgiving: “Lord I thank You!"

In 1897 Johnson Ottman, Jr penned the now traditional hymn, “Count Your Blessings”. The familiar words, now widely adapted, simply state: Count your blessings, name them one by one,
 Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
 Count your blessings, name them one by one,
 And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.” In this phase of prayer simply begin to praise and thank God for all that He has done in your life. Even thank Him for what He is doing behind the scenes. Romans 12:12 proclaims that we are to “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Thank God for spiritual, relational, physical and material blessings. “Thank you God for saving me and my family! Thank you that my needs are met. Thank you for taking me to higher spiritual levels in Your Kingdom!” Even when you are burdened with life’s sorrows and the worries of everyday life, press your way into thanksgiving. Develop an attitude of gratitude and carry that forward into prayer!

Supplication: “God I need Your Help!”

Jesus, our Elder Brother lets us know that we can pray to God for our fundamental needs: “11Give us today our daily bread.” God desires above all a relationship with man, but He also desires to meet our needs according to His riches in Glory! Many people, who have superficial relationships with God, overlook Adoration, Confession and Thanksgiving, while moving right into Supplication. “God give me this and God grant me that.” Often such prayers are not God-centered and hence go unanswered. When we know that we are living worshipful lives of adoration to God, accompanied by consistent confession of sin and thanksgiving, we can go boldly to the throne of grace! Our hearts and deeds are right with God. When I was a college student living many hours from home, I had a very difficult time asking my mother for money if I knew I had frivolously squandered her funds. I had such guilt, as I knew that she was working very hard to keep me comfortably enrolled, housed and fed. Alternately, when I had been frugal and had gone to the limit of my resources, I did not hesitate to go to her with expectant palms outstretched. Of course, she met me at the point of my need. God is just like that. He is so faithful that He not only meets our obvious needs, His Holy Spirit makes intercession on our behalf. Romans 8:26-27 reminds us of this marvelous truth: “26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.”

Dr.’s Orders:  Be a blessing: Share the A.C.T.S. prayer phases with a young person or new Christian you know. Recall that many people simply don’t pray because they feel intimidated by the many eloquent prayers they have heard in the past. Use A.C.T.S. to simplify this critical exercise for them. The enemy desires to deceive us into believing that an active prayer life is unattainable, only for special people, or even unnecessary. Encourage young brothers and sisters in Christ that sincere prayer is essential to maintaining a right relationship with God.