Take the Next Step: Prayer

As the new year begins, we focus on building a firm foundation by focusing on the five strategies of Grace Fellowship – Prayer, Missions, Discipleship, Ministry, and Worship. These strategies are drawn from our mission – Grace Fellowship exists to glorify God by bringing people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.

This Sunday we drill down on the necessity and priority of prayer using the A-C-T-S model of prayer:
A – Adoration
C – Confession
T – Thanksgiving
S – Supplication

What is prayer?
Prayer is communicating with God – ADORING Him for who He is, CONFESSING our sins to Him, THANKING Him for all His gifts of grace, and ASKING Him to supply needs while trusting in His good and perfect will.

Prayer is speaking to God, but it is so much more.
Prayer is RELATIONAL.
Prayer is REVERENT.
Prayer is HONEST.
Prayer is THANKFUL.
Prayer is an expression of our utter DEPENDENCE upon the Lord.

ADORATION

Adoration is the act of honoring and praising God for who He is – His character, attributes, and greatness – apart from what He gives or does for us. It acknowledges God’s holiness, power, majesty, love, and worthiness, expressed with reverence, humility, and delight.

[Scriptures referenced: 1 Chronicles 29:20-12; Psalm 145]

Your words will likely not equal the majesty we find in the Psalms, but they don’t have to. The Lord is not so much interested in you searching the thesaurus to find a wheelbarrow load of fancy words to use in your prayers. The simple praise of a child praying “God is great, God is good,” is sufficient. The Lord is listening to the heart of your prayer more than the words that you may use. 

CONFESSION

Confession is more than “oops, I did it again,” and it is not just about feeling really bad that you messed up.

Confession is honestly agreeing with God about our sin – 

Confession is acknowledging without excuse , turning from it in repentance, and trusting in His forgiveness and cleansing through Jesus Christ.

[Scriptures referenced: Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:8-10; James 3:2]

When we have acknowledged the greatness, the majesty, and the holiness of God, we recognize that our lives are pockmarked with sins of omission and commission, mixed motives and half-truths. 
This morning in our service, we pause to come to God in confession and repentance. We come to be honest with God about our sin and to turn from it. 

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is the intentional and faith-driven act of expressing gratitude to God for who He is and for what He has done – recognizing that every good gift comes from His gracious hand and responding with humble praise and trust.

[Scriptures referenced: Psalm 107:1; 100:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Philippians 4:6]

SUPPLICATION

Supplication is humbly asking God to meet our needs and the needs of others, trusting His wisdom, power, and perfect will as we depend on Him for help.

[Scriptures referenced: Psalm 50:15; James 5:13-18]

TAKE THE NEXT STEP

What is YOUR next step when it comes to prayer?

It can be as simple as: 

• Committing to a time of prayer each day for yourself and/or your family.
• Setting a daily reminder on your phone to stop and pray.
• Committing to praying each week for the prayer list as it comes out. 
• Adopting the ACTS model of prayer at least once each week.
• Choosing one attribute of God to acknowledge and praise.
• Committing to praying through the Psalms.
• Examining your life each day for confession and repentance.
• Finding a prayer partner who you can trust to pray with and for you.
• Praying daily for someone you know who is lost. 
• Prayer-walking your neighborhood.
• Ending each day by finding five things you can be thankful for.
• Praying daily for the members of your small group. 
• Finding one person each Sunday and pray for them either silently or in person.