A.C.T.S. Prayer Method

Are you struggling with your prayer life? Do you feel disconnected from God and like He isn’t answering your prayers?

Get ready for that to change!

This is the most powerful prayer method I’ve ever used, and I want you to experience it.

Welcome to the A.C.T.S. method of prayer.

Not to be confused with the Book of Acts in the Bible. 

A.C.T.S. stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.

A.C.T.S. Method of Prayer- Adoration

What does it mean to Adore God?

The dictionary definition of Adoration is deep love and respect.

Think of someone in your life you truly love. How does it make you feel when think about them? What are some things you say to them?

I loved my daughter, Macy. Every time I think of her, I feel overwhelming love. 

I remember telling her that if I could line up every little girl in the whole wide world and had the chance to pick who I wanted for my daughter, I would pick her. 

I told her she was smart and beautiful on the inside and out and talented and kind and empathetic and a joy to be around.

As much as I loved Macy, I love God more.

Adoration goes deeper than love. 

Adoration should be reserved for God alone.

Adoration gets to the heart of who we are. To truly worship God, we must let go of our self-worship. We must be willing to humble ourselves before God and surrender every part of our lives to His control.

When we show Adoration for God, it is worshipping God and thanking Him for who He is. The focus is not on what He’s done for us but rather who He is.

It is all about Him and none about us. 

It is powerful when we start shifting our prayer to focus on Him. 

How do I adore God?

During this part of the prayer method, spend time worshipping and praising God. Take a reverent posture as you acknowledge all the truths of God’s character. You may even find yourself sitting in awe at being in His presence. 

A Sample Prayer of Adoration

You are God alone; there is no other God and there never has been and there never will be. You are the Lord and there is no other Savior. From eternity to eternity You alone are God. All honor and glory belongs to You forever and ever! You are the eternal King, the unseen One who never dies; You alone are God. Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. 

A.C.T.S. Method of Prayer- Confession

What is Confession?

The second part of the acts method of prayer is confession. 

The biblical definition of confession is to tell or make known, to acknowledge sin to God.

The sin in our lives isn’t fun to think about or talk about. 

Often, our human (sin) nature helps us gloss over our sins and even justify them. But, unconfessed sin keeps us out of fellowship with God.

The Lord is unchanging. He doesn't move. But when we move, by that I mean when we have unconfessed sin, then there is this barrier, and we feel out of fellowship with Him.

The fact is God already knows all our sins…. Those actively committed, the thoughts we’ve had, the bad attitudes… all of it.

How Do I Confess My Sins?

Despite God already knowing your sins, He wants you to humble yourself, acknowledge them, and ask His forgiveness. The best news in the world,

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

To confess your sins simply tell God what you’ve done and ask Him to forgive you. If you are sincerely sorry and want to turn away from your sin, He will immediately cleanse you. 

If you’re struggling with an ongoing sin, ask Him to help you turn from it. He will help you when you press in to His strength and not your own.

If you feel disconnected from God, spend time confessing your sins. You might just be amazed at how near He will feel.

A Sample Prayer of Confession:

Dear Lord, I’m sorry for my poor attitude. I’m having a hard time getting my feelings under Your truth. Forgive me for the unforgiveness in my heart. Please give me the strength to forgive as you’ve forgiven me. Please forgive me for trying to do things in my own strength and my own way. I want to live under Your authority.

A.C.T.S. Method of Prayer- Thanksgiving

What is Thanksgiving?

The third aspect of this acronym is Thanksgiving.

(Psalm 107:31; Philippians 4:19-20; James 1:17; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Philippians 4:8)

The definition of Thanksgiving is the expression of gratitude, especially to God.

This part of the prayer method is focused on thanking God specifically for all He has done for you. 

When we take a minute to count our blessings and name them one by one, we shift our focus from what we don’t have to what we do have. It also becomes abundantly clear just how the Lord has blessed us.

Something really neat happens when you thank God for His many provisions. Your perspective changes, your heart changes, and your attitude changes.

How Do I Offer Thanksgiving?

It’s as simple as telling God specifically all the things you’re thankful for. Think of counting your blessings and naming them one-by-one.

A Sample Prayer of Thanksgiving:

Dear Lord, thank you for all your many blessings. Thank You for the mountain filled with Your beauty and wonder. Thank you for my sweet pups who keep me company every day. Thank You for your financial provision and for giving TJ three extra jobs this month. Thank you for allowing my mom to get her surgery scheduled.

A.C.T.S. Method of Prayer- Supplication

The supplication portion of the act method is where you humbly and earnestly ask or present your requests to the Lord. 

Under supplication, there are 4 focuses of our requests:

God-Centered, God-Commanded, Others, and Ourselves.

God-Centered Prayers

The first one is to pray God-centered prayers. 

These requests are focused on growing in our knowledge and love of the Lord. They are rooted in Scripture and are in line with God’s will for you as a believer.

A few examples of God-Centered prayers are asking for wisdom, to know God more, for godly discernment, greater faith, to avoid temptation, to be complete in Christ, to name a few.

You can also rest assured that God will answer those in His perfect time. When you are persistent and you seek to know God, He tells us we will find him.

These are prayers you can write down and bank on them. 

God-Commanded Prayers

The second type of supplication is God-Commanded. These are prayers God tells us to pray in the Bible for others. 

We are told to pray for our nation, pray for our families, pray for our marriages, pray for our church leaders, pray for believers around the world, and pray for unbelievers to know Christ. Though this isn’t an exhaustive list, it will help you get started.

So what do God-Commanded prayers look like in real life? 

You may break up these different types of prayers to different days of the week.

For example, on Mondays, you pray for all the people in your family. On Tuesday, you pray for governmental leaders nationally, regionally, and locally. On Wednesdays, you pray for the world. You pray for believers that are out ministering to the lost in foreign countries.

You are free to break it down however you like. You want to figure out what is going to work in your real life.

Prayers for Others

The third part under supplication is prayer requests. 

You know, all those times people have asked you to pray for them. This can be from your life group, on Facebook, a friend you ran into at the store. 

It’s helpful to write these down so you can remember to pray for them. 

Prayers for Yourself

And then finally, you pray for yourself. 

You tell God what you want. 

What I found about this method of prayer is that going through the process of praying in a way that honors God, honors His Word, honors others, I find the things that I want sometimes change in the midst of it.

Things I may have asked for had I started with my requests don’t seem so important.

In Conclusion

The A.C.T.S. Method of prayer is certainly not the only way to pray, but it is a powerful way to fellowship with God.

We're never going to change God's mind with our prayers. 

We're never going to change His heart. (Thank goodness!) 

The powerful thing that happens when we pray this way is to experience Him changing our hearts.