Reading the Bible is how we hear God speaking to us. Prayer is for the most part how we speak to God. The outline of the Lord’s Prayer is rich with many guidelines, but how can one remember all of those when praying? I’d like to share with you a simple acronym, not original with me, but helpful when praying. This takes truths taught in Jesus’ lesson to His disciples and puts them in a fun and easy way to remember the points. It is the word ACTS.
A is for adoration. Adoration means contemplating the worthiness or beauty of someone or something. When we adore God, we tell Him what we worship and appreciate about Him. We do this in our churches through our songs (called liturgical music) such as Worthy is the Lamb, You’re a Good, Good Father, To God be the Glory, Great is Thy Faithfulness, Majesty, etc. It can be done in song or by simply telling God what you appreciate about Him.
T is for Thanksgiving. This has a specific goal of being thankful to God. We can thank Him for both who He is (thank you, God, that you are a comforter, and for the comfort you have given me during this trying time; thank you God that you are faithful to always do what you say and that I can trust in that) or for what He does (thank you God for keeping us safe on the road this week; thank you God for speaking through Pastor Brian and into our hearts as he preaches). The goal is thanksgiving.
C is for confession. This one is often the easiest to overlook, unless it is time for communion. Remember that all your sins are already in the future compared to Christ’s death on the cross. The purpose of confession is not to secure forgiveness (that is already given when you accepted Jesus’ death on the cross for your sins) but to keep short accounts of sin with God. We are not perfect this side of heaven, and even as believers we sin. So we come to God with repentant hearts, talk to God about what we have said, thought or done that is less than pure and godly, and both thank Him that Jesus’ death covers it and ask Him for strength through the Holy Spirit to not continue in this sin anymore. It can be a simple confession of impatience, yelling at the kids, or comparing what someone else has against your own blessings. It is making sure that your heart doesn’t let bitterness, resentment or selfishness grow (as a few examples) by going unchecked.
S is for supplication. This is the time you present your wants and needs before the Father. To some, this is NOT an easy thing to do, and many even feel wrongly doing so. We will look further at this later this week. For now, recognize that Jesus asked God to take the cup from Him, and cites that we should ask for our daily bread when He teaches us to pray.
A C T S
A simple acronym that can serve as a reminder throughout the day that God is near and desires to hear from us. And we can do that in keeping with the example that Jesus set by remembering to adore or worship God, confess our sins, be thankful and submit our requests to Him, while recognizing that His kingdom done, His will be done. Maybe we have a set time to pray. Maybe it is remembering this outline as we drive to pick kids up from school, or as we walk around the block or on the treadmill each morning. Whenever it is, know that God is never too busy and eagerly listens, for He already knows, even before we ask. It’s about the relationship.
Our song for today is Lord I Need You by Matt Maher.