If prayer is transformative, and we are all interested in being transformed, then it seems that we would all regularly engage in prayer. But we all know how it goes. We intend to get around to it, and the day slips away. So we find ourselves inviting God into our presence when there is a crisis rather than living in the presence of God on a daily basis.
Prayer takes practice. There is a reason that prayer is referred to as one of the spiritual disciplines. Discipline is essentially practice. It is the regular engagement in an activity that helps us to become proficient in that activity. In the same way that a guy becomes more proficient at communicating with his wife by communicating with his wife, so we become more proficient at communicating with God by communicating with God.
Practice begins with fundamentals. Just as with learning to play a sport or play a musical instrument, there are fundamentals that need to be developed. A common acronym that has helped a lot of people in developing the fundamentals of prayer is ACTS.
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication.
Adoration – This is simply another way of saying “Praise”. If you think about it, this is the way that many prayers begin in the Bible.
Neh 9:5 – Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
Matt 6:9 – Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name
Adoration is a way of giving the king of the universe his proper recognition. It is also has a way of reminding us of who we are in relationship to the king.
Confession – This is also standard in many prayers in the Bible.
Ps 51:1 – Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Luke 18:13 – But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
In confession we are telling God what he already knows. But we are telling him that we are owning our sin. There is sometimes a tendency to minimize our sin to others, but we know we cannot minimize it before the one who knows our hearts.
Thanksgiving – Scripture encourages us to be thankful on a regular basis.
1 Chron 16:34 – Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
1 Thess 5:18 – Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
The Bible tells us that Jesus healed 10 lepers but only one of them returned to thank him (Lk. 17:12-19). Why is that? Do we fail to give thanks because we take things for granted? Is it because we imagine that things are owed to us? Is it because we are too busy?
Giving thanks is reorientation. It’s the point when I think about what I have and not what I don’t have. It’s the moment when I’m reminded that if I am blessed, there must be a Blesser.
Supplication – Supplication simply means to ask for things either for yourself or for someone else. We remember that Jesus told two stories about people being persistent in prayer. One had to do with a man who had a friend drop in on him at night (Lk.11:5-10). The other was about a widow who sought justice from an unscrupulous judge (Lk. 18:1-5). In the latter case Jesus said that he told the parable so that the disciples would pray and not give up (Lk. 18:1).
If you are seeking a fundamental practice to develop a regular habit of being in the presence of God, the ACTS acronym can be of great help.
