Prayer Lesson 3-ACTS

The following prayer format can be used alone or with a group of people. The examples are all written for small group, but know you CAN adapt the format to fit your own personal prayers. Try stepping out of your comfort zone and lead others through this format.

A – Adoration
Pray to God in adoration. Love Him. Let Him know how much you love Him and adore Him. Give Him all the glory and praise.

C — Confession
Confess your sins to God.

T — Thanksgiving
GIve thanks to God for all things. He is awesome and provides. Thank Him for that.

S — Supplication
Lift up prayers for yourself and for others as well. Let your requests be made known to God.

The prayer format is simple. Try it out alone. Try it in small groups. Pray through the format a few times this week and report back to us on how you feel about it.

Agreeing in Prayer
We are called to agree in prayer. This format is perfect for agreeing in prayer. Here is more info on agreeing:

Jesus calls us to agree in prayer (Matthew 18:19)

Scripture does not call us to agree about everything, but we ARE to agree about what we are praying. That means that people from different denominations, husbands and wives who have just fought, etc. can join together in prayer, even if they do not agree on things. The important thing is that they be focused on the same thing in prayer.

You can pray in accord (agreement) even if you are not together (example: people praying for reqeusts submitted bia an email list — all members recieve the reqeusts then pray, all in one accord)

Charles Finney, in his book Lectures on Revival of Religion, suggests the following for praying in agreement:

• avoid long prayers — keep everyone in agreement
• avoid lectures or sermons — keep to the point
• focus on one thing at a time — pray for one thing, let othes pray, then when the Spirit prompts you, move on to the next
• follow the Spirit’s leading — listen, be sensitive to the Spirit. He will lead you. He will move things along.
• Pray loud and clear — people can’t agree if they can’t hear (if you are using email, proofread for typos and grammar)
• Stay focused — check personal thoughts and prayers, and stay focused on the prayer others are speaking
• Feel free to vocalize your agreement — many people agree silently, others vocalize their agreement with an “Amen” or “Yes, Lord”
  

Study Questions:

1. What do the Letters stand for?
   A
   C
   T
   S
2. Can you still pray with people even if you are not in the same room? What is this called?

Think About It

Examine your prayers. Are you always asking and never thanking? Are your requests focused only on you or are you also focusing on the needs of others?

Prayer Series Index | Prayer Lesson 4