The ACTS of Prayer

The simple acronym ACTS can be used as a guideline to help you remember the main parts of prayer:

A- Adoration -- "Lord, I worship you today because You are____________."
C- Confession -- "Lord, I confess and ask forgiveness for_____________."
T- Thankfulness -- "Lord, Thank you today for your blessing of________."
S- Supplication -- "Lord, I ask you today to meet my need of__________."

"Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms." James 5:13.

2-The Lord´s Prayer

The Lord´s Prayer, from Matthew 6:9-13:

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

5-Provision in Prayer

"Give us this day our daily bread." We are to ask for what we need. I´m not so sure, though, that God would answer "yes" if we asked like this, "Lord, I´ve spent years getting myself into deep credit card debt, and I need to get out from under it instantly. Please let me win the lottery today!" I think this would be more apt to get an answer: "Father, you know how hard things have been lately. Please show me areas I can improve in my financial management. I want to be a good steward with what you have given me. This week Jana needs shoes badly. I only have a few dollars. Maybe you could guide me to a sale ad or a store discount display, or maybe a yard sale. However you decide to do it, I know you will provide for you have promised to when we put you first. Thank you for the shoes you have in mind for Jana."

Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

7-Protection Through Prayer

" And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:" Ask God´s protection daioyfrom sin and evil. "God, today I will be facing new people and new situations. Go before me and keep me strong during temptations that I may not see coming. Keep me strong when trials come, and deliver me from the evil that is all around me."

"Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Cor. 10:12-13

6-Personal Relationships in Prayer

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." If you can´t forgive others, don´t expect forgiveness for yourself from God. He forgives us "as we forgive…" That´s one reason prayer needs to be a daily thing, to keep bitterness from building up. "Lord, Jim did me really dirty today. He cheated me out of a lot of money. I am so mad! But I know you loved him enough to die for his sins the same as you did for mine. I can´t get the money back, but please release me from the anger I feel and the control Jim has over me this moment. Forgive me for the hate I´ve felt in my heart today. Help me to turn this over to you for you know how to best handle it."

"If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee." Proverbs 25:21-22

5-FINGER PRAYER REMINDER

You can use your hand as a reminder to pray for others. Hold your hand with your thumb pointing toward you. The thumb reminds us to pray for those closest to us -- family, friends, neighbors. The index finger (pointer) reminds us of those who have pointed us the right way -- teachers and spiritual leaders. The middle finger is the tallest and brings to mind our President and other leaders of our country. The next finger is called the weak finger and we can pray for the weak, sick, the poor and those who need help. We finish with the little finger, praying for ourselves and our own needs. -- adapted from PresidentialPrayerTeam™ Newsletter.

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1-The Model Prayer

What we call "The Lord´s Prayer" is a model prayer that Jesus used to teach his disciples how to pray. If you are new to prayer, a good place to start would be to use the Lord´s Prayer as a pattern. In fact, it´s still a good pattern for us older Christians to follow. (Matthew 6:7-13.)

"And it came to pass, that, as (Jesus) was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." Luke 11:1

Pray From the Heart

Prayer is simply your heart talking to God´s. You don´t have to use a certain language with "thou´s" and "thee´s" before he hears you. Talk to him as if he were right beside you, as you would a friend. Be yourself and be honest when you pray. "Lord, I am so hurt and angry at what happened today. You are the only one who knows what I´m going through, and I need your help to get through this. Thank you for being there for me."

Philippians 4:6-7,"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

8-Praise and Amen

"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever." When you pray, begin and end with praise and thanksgiving. "Lord, you are the one who has all power and authority. I praise you that you hear my prayers. You don´t have to, but you do because you love me. That is so awesome to think about -- the God who made heaven and earth loves me enough to listen when I bring my petty complaints to him!Thank you, Lord, for being such a wonderful God. Thank you for all the prayers you have already answered and I forgot to say ´thank you.´ May your will be done always in my life. In Jesus´ name, Amen"

Prayer--Our Connector to God

Prayer gets us "connected" with God. You wouldn´t be reading this if you had tried to access this site without first connecting to the Internet via your booted-up computer. Prayer connects us to the right "site," the Throne of God. God mainly speaks to us through his Word, and we talk to him through prayer, either aloud or in our heart. Having a quiet time alone with God, reading the Bible, and prayer, all work together to keep us in tune spiritually.

Jeremiah 33:3, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

4-Priority in Prayer

Using The Lord´s Prayer as a model helps us keep priorities in order. After praise and worship, the next thing in prayer is to make God´s priority our priority, to submit our will to his: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Here´s an example: "Lord, this is the day you have made. I give myself to you anew this morning. May your will be done in my life today, and may I not do or say anything that would hurt another today."

Psalm 55:17. "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice."

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Our Father in Heaven,
We give thanks for the pleasure
of gathering together for this occasion
and for all who could not join us physically
but who are with us in Spirit.
We give thanks for this food
prepared by loving hands.
We give thanks for life, the freedom
to enjoy it all and all other blessings.
As we partake of this food,
We pray for health and strength to carry on
and try to live as You would have us.
This we ask in the name of our Heavenly Father. Amen
-- Author Unknown (Contributed by Shirley Sullivan)

Psalm 9:1, "I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart."

Plan Prayer Time

Just as we hear from God through his Word, he hears from and communes with us through prayer. We need to pray regularly and have planned times of prayer. What we don´t plan, we generally neglect. When you awake, when you read God´s word, at mealtimes, and at bedtime are all good times to pray.

Psalm 55:17, "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice."

3-Praise and Worship

The first part of the Lord´s Prayer is praise and worship. "Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." We need to praise and worship when we pray, as Jesus taught his disciples to do. Today, we might say something like, "Heavenly Father, You are the God that made heaven and earth, and I praise your name today."

Psalm 111:1, "Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart…"

Prayer for Leaders

Christians should honor our nation`s leaders and pray for them. (Romans 13:1-8) If they act in a dishonorable manner, they need our prayers even more! We can strive to change hearts and minds, when needed, through the powerful influence of prayer. Our leaders need prayer to make right decisions on issues that affect each of us. And we need to encourage those in office by letting them know that we are praying for them.