A Pattern for Prayer - Part 4 of 4

As always, "Good morning to ya." Hope your day is going great or went great!

Let's pray again today, "Lord Jesus Christ, speak to me."

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. " 1 Peter 5:6-7

The 4th letter in the ACTS prayer pattern stands for "supplication." This is my least favorite word of the four - adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. My reason for not liking it so much is, "Who uses the word supplication in everyday life?" What does it mean? It basically means, "ask." Supplication means to ask God or request God about certain things in your life. It is what most of think of when we think of prayer. Most people think of prayer as asking God for stuff. And asking is a part of prayer. But only a part. God wants us to bring our requests, our hurts, our problems, our needs, to Him. He wants us to pray for other people. For the sick. For the hurting. For people apart from God. God is there for us. He wants us to "cast all our anxiety on Him" because He cares for us.

I was recently sharing these ACTS of prayer with some teenagers from our church. And I asked them, if God were come in the door, what do you think you would say to Him? One young lady said, "I would probably start asking Him a bunch of questions." She thought she would want Him to answer all the unanswered questions in her life. She was basically saying that she would start asking God for things as soon as He walked in the door. I asked her to think about it her response and she realized that doing so would be a little presumptive. She realized that a more natural and appropriate response to God's presence would not be to being with questions/requests/supplication, but with praise/adoration/confession. God does want us to ask, but as we pray, I think the ACTS prayer is a good pattern to follow. Start with adoration. Begin with praise. Move to confession. Ask for God's forgiveness. Thank Him for his forgiveness. Thank Him for His blessings. And then lay your requests before Him. Sit at his feet and pour out your heart. Talk to Him. Tell Him about your life. And enjoy being in His presence. He enjoys your company.

Take some time today and everyday and pray through the ACTS of prayer.