It seems daily there is a steady stream of people requesting prayer, and for good reason, our world needs it! Your channels of prayer requests may include Facebook, prayer chains, emails, the Bible app, etc. Those requests each represent a life that is important to God. Be sure to pause whatever you are doing to pray for those you agree to pray for.
How is your prayer life overall? Do you have a set time each day when you stop and pray? Do you pray out loud or silently? Do you pray with others? With your spouse? The Bible isn’t strict on HOW you pray, just that we DO pray.
Jesus would take time away from the crowds and demands of life to hike up a mountain to pray. He would pray in the quiet surroundings of the Garden of Gethsemane. He would teach others how to pray by saying, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” Paul writes in Philippians to “pray without ceasing.” Praying without ceasing seems to indicate we just live our lives with a constant running dialog with the Father. It’s a mindset. He’s always with us. Always listening.
Here’s an acronym to help you pray. Use A.C.T.S. to remember this useful routine of prayer.
- A – Adoration – Begin prayer by recognizing who you are speaking to. The creator, sustainer, redeemer of the earth. Praise God with your words. Thank him for his salvation through His son Jesus.
- C – Confess – Confess to God the areas of your life where you mess up. Tell Him you are sorry for disappointing Him. Come clean with God where you are weak and where you need help.
- T – Thanksgiving – Give thanks in all things the Bible says. What are you thankful for today? Tell God. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” Share with Him in prayer what you are thankful for.
- S – Supplication – This is the easy part of prayer and the one most people spend the majority of their time on. Asking God for things. “Ask and it will be given to you,” is Biblical. God wants us to come to him with our petitions.
Thank you to all the prayer warriors in the world today. Remember the last prayer in the Bible, “Come Lord Jesus, come!”