The Prayer Circle: Participants praying at home and keeping in touch by phone with each other. Members undertake to pray to the Lord regularly for all those in need or who have requested prayer. If you have suggestions as to how we might involve more parishioners to pray for those in need please contact Reverend Angela McNeill . Those in our parish for whom we are especially praying are listed in this week's Good News Times (GNT). Keep the list handy when you pray this week for your family and friends and those in need in our community.
Christians often use a simple acrostic as a guide to prayer: A.C.T.S. Each of the letters in this acrostic stands for one of the key elements of prayer:
But not only does this acrostic remind us of the elements of prayer, it shows us the priority we ought to give to each.
The first element of prayer should be adoration, or praise. The Psalms, which are inspired samples of godly prayer, are heavily weighted on the side of adoration. I’ve noticed over many years that as we grow in the discipline and in the delight of prayer, it seems that we naturally spend more and more of our time on this first element.
Second, prayer should include confession of our sin; as we remember who we are when we come into God’s presence, we see that we have come short of His holiness and have need of His forgiveness.
Third, when we pray, we should always give thanks, remembering the grace and mercy God has shown toward us.
Fourth, prayer rightly includes supplication or petition, bringing our requests for the needs of others and ourselves to God.
Here are some reminders from a pamphlet New Life in Christ:
Thank God in all things, no matter how challenging circumstances may seem;
During prayer focus on God instead of problems;
Be specific, not general, during prayer;
Pray in faith, and claim God's promises along the way; and
Put full confidence in the faithfulness of God as prayers are offered to Him
Biblical Passages To Rely On
Adoration: Praise God for who He is
Rev 4:11 11 ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things and by your will they existed and were created.’
Confession: Agreeing with God and receiving forgiveness for sin
1 John 1:7-9 '7but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.'
Thanksgiving: Appreciating God for His work in the world
1 Thessalonians 5:18 '18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
Supplication: Requesting God's intervention on behalf of others
James 5:16 '16Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.'
Petition: Asking God to attend to specific personal needs
Matthew 6: 25-33 '25 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,* or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?* 28And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” 32For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But strive first for the kingdom of God* and his* righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.'