Prayer (Part 1): A.C.T.S. Overview

The Elders have Asked Me to Do a Series on Prayer

Here’s the Reason:

We’re Going to Begin Amplifying Our Focus on Prayer in Our Worship Services

I’ve Always Found it Odd that We Only Pray Twice When We Assemble

Technically We Pray 5 Times…

But 3 of Those Times are Focused on the Lord’s Supper & Giving

The Other 2 Prayers are Just Generic Prayers

And Often They Either Consist of:

Prayer Leaders Saying the Same Exact Things They Always Say…

(Which There’s Nothing Wrong with, So Long as They Mean it Every Time)

Or the Prayer Leaders are Racking Their Brains…

Trying to Think of What Else to Say While They’re Up There

I’ve Thought for a Long Time:

Why Don’t We Pray More?

And How Do We Get Our Prayers to Be More Thoughtful/Intentional?

Well, that’s Exactly What We’re Going to Attempt to Do

We’re Going to Be Adding 2 Prayers to Our Worship Services

Not Counting the Lord’s Supper & Giving…

We’ll Be Praying 4 Times in Our Worship

Here’s How it’ll Work

For Our VBS this Year, We Learned about the A.C.T.S. of Prayer

Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication

These Don’t Necessarily Represent All Kinds of Prayers…

But They are Broad Enough to Cover Pretty Much All the Bases

This isn’t a New Way of Dividing Up Different Types of Prayers

An Early Church Father Named Origen…

Essentially Gave this Exact Model Nearly 2000 Years Ago (185-225 AD)

Lexham Bible Dictionary Says this in the Topic of Prayer:

The prayer practices of the early church continue to influence believers in the modern world. The “A.C.T.S. Model” of prayer (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) has its genesis in the teaching of Origen (AD 185–225). Origen counseled that good prayer consisted of four components: ascriptions of glory to God through Christ, common thanksgivings, a recitation of personal sin, and then “the asking for the great and heavenly things, both personal and general” (Origen, On Prayer, 23.1).

Here’s What We’re Going to Do

We’re Going to have Specific Times in Our Worship…

When Prayer Leaders will Lead Each of These Types of Prayers

Order of Prayers

Very First Thing We’ll Do is have a Prayer of Adoration

Then, After a Few Songs, We’ll have a Prayer of Supplication

Then, After the Invitation Song, We’ll have a Prayer of Confession

Then, to Close Out the Service We’ll have a Prayer of Thanksgiving

The Men Who Lead Prayers in Services will No Longer Be Told:

“You have Opening/Closing Prayer”

They’ll Now Be Told:

“You have the Prayer of Adoration or Confession or Thanksgiving or Supplication”

Our Hope is that this will Lead to…

More Intentional/Thoughtful Times of Collective Prayer

We’ll All Be United Together in What We’re Doing

Our Hearts/Minds will Be on the Same Page…

As We Go to God in Prayer

Let’s Talk About A.C.T.S.

If You were Here for VBS…

Then You’ve Heard Lessons on These Types of Prayers

But Tonight We’re Going to Go Back Over Them…

To Make Sure We All Understand Exactly What They are

I Want to Make Sure We are All on the Same Page

A - Adoration

If You Go to Dictionary.com…

You’ll Find this Definition:

“The Act of Paying Honor, as to a Divine Being; Worship.”

A Prayer of Adoration is a Prayer of Praise/Worship

This is Different from a Prayer of Thanksgiving

Adoration is Praising God for His Characteristics/Nature

Thanksgiving is Thanking God for What He has Done

The Prayer of Adoration is Going to Be…

The First Thing We Do in Our Worship Services

We are Going to Begin Our Worship…

By Adoring/Praising/Honoring/Worshiping God in Prayer

What Might a Prayer of Adoration Sound Like?

“We Praise/Worship You for Your…”:

Love

Mercy

Compassion

Patience

Justice

Righteousness

Omnipotence

Omnipresence

Omniscience

Unity Amongst the Trinity

When You Think about God, Who He is, and What Makes Him Worthy of Praise…

What Comes to Mind?

It Doesn’t have to Be a Long List

It can Be Just One Simple Thing

These Prayers Don’t have to Be Laundry List Prayers

As Long as They are Said from the Heart…

It Doesn’t Matter if They’re Long or Short

The Shortest Psalm in the Book of Psalms is a Psalm of Adoration

Psalm 117 (CSB)

1 Praise the Lord, all nations! Glorify him, all peoples! 2 For his faithful love to us is great; the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever. Hallelujah!

Many of the Psalms are Simply Prayers Put to Music

In this Prayer, God is Praised for 2 of His Characteristics:

His Faithful Love - Love that is Forever Loyal to His People

His Faithfulness - Trustworthy/Reliable

Join with Me in a Prayer of Adoration to God:

“Our Father of Compassion & Justice, We Praise You for Being Who You are, a God Who Wants to Save Us & Make All Things as They should Be. In Jesus Name, Amen”

C - Confession

Confession is the Act of:

Acknowledging/Admitting to/Declaring Our Sins to God

This is a Time of Prayer When We Open Ourselves Up to God

Where We Fully Accept/Embrace the Fact that We are Guilty of Sin…

And Specifically Acknowledge/Admit/Declare Those Sins to God…

With the Request & Expectation that He will Be Merciful/Forgiving Toward Us

The Prayer of Confession is Going to Be Directly After the Invitation Song

This Seems like the Ideal Moment for Such a Prayer…

Considering the Sermon is Fresh on Everyone’s Minds

Obviously the Prayer Leader Can’t Be Specific with Everyone’s Sins…

But this will Provide Everyone the Opportunity to Pray Along…

And Personally Acknowledge/Admit/Declare Our Sins to God

We Find an Amazing Prayer of Confession in Psalm 51:

This is a Psalm David Wrote…

After He had Confessed His Sin Concerning Bathsheba & Uriah

Psalm 51:1–17 (NASB95)

1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. 4 Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise. 16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

The Sacrifice that God Wants for Our Sins…

Is to Be Broken-Hearted Over Our Sins

Feeling the Guilt & Broken-Heartedness of Sin…

Will Lead to Confessing Those Sins to the God Who Already Knows Them

Confession of Sin Leads to Forgiveness

1 John 1:8–10 (NASB95)

8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

Confession of Sin Leads to Forgiveness

A Prayer of Confession Doesn’t have to Be as Long/Intense as David’s

But, Obviously, Confession is an Important Type of Prayer

Join Me in a Prayer of Confession to God:

“Father, You Know that We are Sinners. We May Not All Be Separated from You By a Lifestyle of Rebellious Sin, But We’re Still Tempted Everyday & Sometimes We Fail. May We Never Try to Hide Our Sin from You Because We’ll Never Be Able to Do So. But May We Always Acknowledge Our Sin to You Because We Know that’s Where Grace is Found. Forgive Us, Lord. In Jesus Name, Amen.”

T - Thanksgiving

According to Dictionary.com, Thanksgiving is:

“The Act of Giving Thanks; Grateful Acknowledgment of Benefits or Favors”

Expressing Thanks/Gratitude to God for What He’s Done for You

This is a Time of Prayer Where…

We Thank God for His Working in Our Lives & the Blessings We’ve Received

The Prayer of Thanksgiving is Going to Be…

The Very Last Thing We Do in Our Worship Services

We will Begin with Praise & End with Thanks

Thanksgiving is a Pretty Simple One

Think of the Things that God has Blessed You/Us with…

And Thank Him for Those Things Specifically

What Might a Prayer of Thanksgiving Sound Like?

“Generous Father, We Thank You for…”

Jesus

Holy Spirit

Forgiveness

Freedom from Guilt

Adoption into the Family of God

The Resurrection to Eternal Life that’s Coming

Scriptures that Tell Us about You & Your Plan to Rescue Us

This Congregation that We Get to Call Family

Our Health

Our Ability to Provide for Ourselves & Our Families

Your Providential Protection that We’ve Received

There are Lots of Psalms of Thanksgiving

Here’s One Example

Psalm 30 (NASB95)

1 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my enemies rejoice over me. 2 O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. 3 O Lord, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit. 4 Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name. 5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

6 Now as for me, I said in my prosperity, “I will never be moved.” 7 O Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong; You hid Your face, I was dismayed. 8 To You, O Lord, I called, And to the Lord I made supplication: 9 “What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness? 10 “Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me; O Lord, be my helper.” 11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, 12 That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

The Psalmist is Thanking God for Saving His Life from His Enemies

There are Lots of Things for Us to Thank God for

Join Me in a Prayer of Thanksgiving to God:

“Our Father, We Thank You for Your Wonderful Blessings, Both Earthly & Heavenly. We Thank You for the Blessings We’ve Received in this Life. And We Thank You for the Blessings of the Life to Come that We will Receive When King Jesus, Whom You Gave to Us, Returns. In Jesus Name, Amen.”

S - Supplication

A Prayer of Supplication is When…

We Humbly Ask/Beg God for Something

Origen Described it as:

“the asking for the great and heavenly things, both personal and general”

What Might We Typically Ask God for?

Jesus Gives Us Some Examples in His Teaching on Prayer:

Matthew 6:9–13 (NASB95)

9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’

There are 6 Imperative Requests in this Prayer

6 Times Jesus Asks God to Do Something

“Hallowed, Come, Done, Give, Forgive, Deliver”

We’re Going to Study this Prayer in Depth in One of the Coming Weeks

But What We See Here is an Entire Prayer of Supplication

In Teaching His Disciples How to Prayer…

Jesus Prays a Prayer of Supplication…

Making 6 Requests of God

The First 3 Requests are for God’s Will to Be Done

The Last 3 Requests are Personal in Nature

This should Inform Us on How to Pray Prayers of Supplication

Pray for God’s Will in the the World & in Your Life

Pray for His Providential Care, Forgiveness, and Spiritual Protection

Join Me in a Prayer of Supplication to God:

“Our Father, Make Us as Individuals & as a Collective Church Be a Glory to Your Name. Do Your Will Through Us in this Community & in this World. Please Continue to Care for Us. Continue as You have, to Provide Us with Food, Clothing, and Shelter. And Give Us the Strength to Walk in Your Ways, to Follow Your Lead, and to Deny Our Fleshly Lusts. In Jesus Name, Amen.”

Questions/Comments?

We’re Not Going to Start the Prayers Sunday

We’re Going to have a Meeting After Sunday Morning Worship

All the Men Who Lead Prayers or Who Want to Lead Prayers…

Will Be Asked to Stay to Make Sure We’re on the Same Page about this

Invitation

Lexham Bible Dictionary Says this in the Topic of Prayer:

The prayer practices of the early church continue to influence believers in the modern world. The “A.C.T.S. Model” of prayer (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) has its genesis in the teaching of Origen (AD 185–225). Origen counseled that good prayer consisted of four components: ascriptions of glory to God through Christ, common thanksgivings, a recitation of personal sin, and then “the asking for the great and heavenly things, both personal and general” (Origen, On Prayer, 23.1).

This is an Early Version of What We Know as the A.C.T.S. Model of Prayer

A.C.T.S. = Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication

These are 4 Different Types of Prayers

Praising & Worshiping God

Acknowledging & Admitting Sin to God

Expressing Gratitude to God for What He’s Done

Humbling Asking God for Something

Each Wednesday Night…

I’m Going to Try to Leave You with a Different Prayer Challenge

Tonight is this:

For the Next 7 Days…

Try to Use the A.C.T.S. Model of Prayer Each Day

It Doesn’t Matter if You Do Them All at Once…

Or Separated Throughout the Day

However You Do it…

Praise/Worship God in Prayer Every Day

Acknowledge & Admit Sing to God Every Day

Express Gratitude to God Every Day for Things He’s Done for You

Humbly Ask God for Your Needs Both Earthly & Heavenly Every Day