Before We Ask: Worship
“When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. ‘Sovereign Lord,’ they said, ‘you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.’”—Acts 4:24 (NIV)
How might our faith deepen if adoration became the doorway through which every prayer begins? It’s a beautiful act of worship to pray to the King of kings. In this one verse we see an aspect I love to start my prayers with: adoration—acknowledging and adoring the greatness of our God.
Have you ever heard of the ACTS model for prayer? It’s an acronym that helps us remember how to pray. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t need a special formula to come to God, He’s not going to turn away if you don’t include all the elements of the ACTS model. He simply wants your heart. Whether your prayer comes out in a soft whisper or in front of a crowd like Peter and John in the Book of Acts, He hears you. He loves you.
The ACTS model includes these elements:
Adoration: The A in the ACTS model stands for adoration, which means worship—a deep love and respect for God. “Sovereign Lord” used in this Scripture verse is an acknowledgement and gratefulness for God’s power and His Kingship. Adoring God for who He is, His character, and His greatness humbles us. Think of it as dropping to your knees in pure amazement before the greatest being in the universe.
Confession: The C in the ACTS model stands for confession. The word confess means “to agree with.” When we confess our sins, we agree with God that we’ve broken fellowship and have sinned against Him in either what we’ve done, thought, or said. Confession allows us to be washed clean for the things we’ve done. Confession provides freedom from the bondage of sin. 1 John 1:9 (NIV) states, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Thanksgiving: The T in the ACTS model represents thanksgiving. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV) states, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will for you in Christ Jesus.” It’s the “in all circumstances” part that sometimes trips me up, if I’m being honest. I seem to overflow with thankfulness when things are going my way, but a little tight lipped when my situation is hard. I’m working on it! Isn’t thanksgiving and adoration the same? They’re similar; however, here’s how they differ: Adoration focuses on who God is, while thanksgiving focuses on what God has done. We can thank God for many things including His love, salvation, protection, all of our blessings. Because He’s so generous, even in the hard times, the thankful list is still so long.
Supplication: The S in the ACTS model stands for supplication, which refers to prayer for our needs and the needs of others. A supplication is a request or petition. The apostle Paul encourages us to make “supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18 NKJV), which means to pray diligently for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
May our prayer life be richer and fuller as we add these elements to our prayers.