Christians sometimes plod in their prayer lives, plodding means to move slowly or unexcitingly. I sometimes have plodded in my prayer life. There have been days and even seasons where my prayer life is slow, disenchanted, and unexciting. My thoughts are scattered, my words are fleeting, and the time of prayer is over before it began. I am sure some of you know my experiences all too well. You may be in one of the seasons I described. In a five-part series, I’m going to introduce some habits I’ve tried and found helpful. Maybe if you try them, they will help you too. This post we will explore the A.C.T.S. method of prayer.
The Method Defined
A.C.T.S. is meant to be a memorable acronym to provide balance and wight your prayer life. Have you ever noticed that your prayers are filled with requests for your temporary needs and the temporary needs of others? Do your prayers ever include times of agreeing with God about current sin struggles? Do you spend time pondering, declaring, and celebrating the character of God? Do you thank Him for the things He has done? Do your prayers feel shallow and self-centered? In practicing this method, your prayers will be biblical, balanced, and God-centered. You may deviate from the order or not include all the parts, but at first, try and stick with the order and go through each element. In seasons of famished prayer, this method has provided a nourishing boost to my prayer life. Now let’s break down the acronym.
- Adoration: To adore God is to acknowledge and celebrate His character and attributes. The God of the Bible is quite astounding. He is infinitely worthy of our praises and adoration. The Scriptures reveal several traits of God. These traits, however, can’t be assembled to make God. God is without parts. He is simple, meaning all that God is, He is simultaneously, eternally, and infinitely. God is love, jealous, good, just, faithful, holy, gracious, sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent, sovereign, is everywhere, etc.
- Confession: When you take God for granted or fail to live up to God’s demands, then you should go to God in prayer, agreeing with God about your sin. In confession, you should not excuse your sin, but admit it, acknowledge its wretchedness, and ask for God’s forgiveness, trusting that He will through your union with Christ.
- Thanksgiving: To thank God is to remember and retell His marvelous works back to Him. What has God done? Consider that God has given you life. If you are Christian, you not only have life but have blessed communion with God and eternal life. Also, your sins have been entirely paid for and forgiven. These facts are worth celebrating daily. You have been brought into a new and eternal family, namely the church. The church universal is manifested in individual local congregations, which you have the privilege to join, serve in, and be served by such a congregation. You have air to breathe, and you have lived long enough to read it this post. You get the point. God deserves your and my thanksgiving, so we should thank Him in our prayers.
- Supplication: Supplication is the part of prayer where we come to God with others and our needs. In my experience, we tend to gravitate to this aspect of prayer more naturally. It requires less thought to voice what we need or want. By putting supplication last, it will help to request in light of God’s infinite worth, your unworthiness, and God’s magnificent grace. In such a context, your requests are likely to take on a more God-centered character.
The Method Illustrated
In practice going through the A.C.T.S. method might look like this,
- Adoration: God you are infinite in holiness. You exist above and over all things, including me. You are perfect and without sin.
- Confession: I am not infinite in holiness. Though in pride, today I have acted as if I am holy. I took the poor behavior of my children personally. I thought I should be waited on hand and foot. I not only had an improper view of myself as inherently holy, but I also transgressed your law today. I took your name in vain and coveted things that didn’t belong to me. Oh, Lord, I am wretched. Forgive me of my sins and help me to put them to death.
- Thanksgiving: Thank you, Father, for saving me a sinner. For sending your Son, who became the man Jesus, and bore the punishment for my unholiness on the cross, willingly, though He was holy in every way. God thank you for giving me your Holy Spirit to convict me of Sin and grow me in holiness.
- Supplication: Indeed, please help me to grow in holiness. Expose my blind spots and help me to live for you. Make the church I am a part of a holy and pure church. Help my pastor to grow in holiness. I pray for the unconverted in my family and community that don’t know you. May they see you and your holiness as true. May such a sight break them from their self-righteousness. Draw them to faith in your Son Jesus. Also, Lord, I pray that those who are ill, hurting, and suffering in the congregation wouldn’t forget that you are holy and, therefore, above their circumstances. May they see that your holiness means that you can’t lie and you have promised them eternal life on the New Earth with a glorified (perfect) body unencumbered by the effects of sin. God have your way with them and me. In Jesus name, Amen.
Your going through the A.C.T.S. method doesn’t have to look or sound exactly like the example above. You will raise things that are specific to you and your situation. However, the God you pray to never changes. Thus, a disciplined remembering of His character and attributes can give consistency and life to your prayers. Give it a shot and let me know what happens.