How to Begin the Practice of Prayer

More and more people are finding out that prayer can be a very important exercise to engage in daily. It is even health promoting, but still many people do not know how to pray beyond what they experience at church, or they don’t know how to start personal prayer in their daily lives. The bottom line is that they are uncomfortable approaching God on a personal basis. There is no test or standard you have to meet in prayer, and the best way to begin a prayer relationship with God is to follow a simple method. Named after the Book of Acts in the Bible, an easy method to follow is the ACTS method in prayer. Let me explain what this means, but remember, this is a highly personal matter and even if you have never prayed before, or haven’t prayed for a long time, it is God’s promise to you that he is there, listening, and waiting for your prayers because he loves you. Psalm 34:15 says, “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”

A – stands for adoration. This is simply the praise you give to God mainly for who he is to you. For example, “Lord, I praise you because you have given me life. You are my God and I give you praise Lord because you are worthy of it.” Reading the Psalms is a great place to find words of praise. Read some of the Psalms and try to see how you, like David, can give God praise.  Look at Psalm 8:1-9.

C – stands for confession. This is simply telling God the mistakes you’ve made, fallen short, or sinned. For example, “Lord, I confess my sins to you. I’m struggling Lord with my short temper. I really blew it this week when I lost my temper at work and yelled at my neighbor a nasty name. I’m sorry for using your name last night when that car pulled out in front of me Lord. I want to turn away from my bad temper Lord. I confess it to you and ask for your forgiveness. Help me to repent and turn away from sin in my life, wash me clean by the blood of Christ, and help me to stand strong against them.” When dealing with sin, it is best to get right to the point and not try to hide things from God because he can see them whether you confess them or not. Refusing to confess them and hiding them from God only shows God how much you want to hang on to them as if God can’t forgive them. The Bible tells us in 1John 1:8-9, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God is faithful to us. There is no sin too big for God to forgive and no sin Jesus has not already paid the penalty for, so why not just come clean, confess them, and move forward?

T – stands for thanksgiving. After some confession, it is good to recount how Jesus has taken those sins and wiped them clean. God has thrown them “as far as the east is from the west” the Bible tells us, and blotted them out forever. For example, “Lord, I thank you for my forgiveness. Thank you Lord for loving me and for your patience with me. Thank you Lord for hearing my prayers and for all that you do in my life.” Thanksgiving is the fruit of a cleansed heart. Psalm 107:1 says, “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: his love endures forever.”

S – stands for supplication. This is where you let God know what is on your mind. This is where you share what is going on with you, what your wants, needs, and desires both for you and for others in your life. For example, “Lord, I want to lift up to you my job situation. Lord I would like to find a good, stable job so I can provide for myself and my kids. Please help my sister in her marriage. Give me the words Lord to say to her that would comfort her. I want to pray for my daughter in college as well. Watch over her Lord and help her do what is right. Keep her safe everywhere she goes and let her know you love her. Help me Lord to be the best person I can be for you. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.” These are all good examples of supplications for prayer. Your situation of course is different and all the prayers above are just examples.

Before you begin, however, take a few moments to think about each letter, maybe even jot some notes down and begin. Finding a place you can be alone and quiet for a few moments always helps. Sometimes the best place to begin is at a desk with your head bowed and hands folded in front of you. After a while, you won’t even need to think about the letters ACTS anymore. It will be as natural for you as conversation.

Many people miss out on the blessings from God because they do not pray. Many people also miss out on the therapeutic benefits of prayer as well. One time I was at a hospital for a meeting. One of the topics they discussed was the important role prayer seems to play in the overall healing process of many patients. A recent study they quoted showed that patients who prayed before and after a hospital event, such as illness or surgery, faired much better than patients who didn’t. Those who did the best were those people whose families also prayed with them. Another health benefit to prayer was the reduction of stress. A few moments of prayer talking the problem over with God significantly reduced stress to manageable levels. Needless to say the hospital was rethinking its pastoral care policies and was beginning to explore more opportunities for people to explore spirituality and prayer.

Prayer is very important. It can literally move mountains. I read a story about a church in West Virginia that wanted to expand their parking lot behind the church, but there was a small mountain behind them. The pastor told the people to pray for a miracle. They began to have prayer meetings about the parking lot. Two weeks later a construction foreman came into the church office asking if his company could dig away the mountain behind the church because the work they were doing a few miles down on the interstate needed more fill dirt. To make it worthwhile for the church, the foreman said his company would pave the area dug away.

I hope this has helped you to begin a prayer life with the Lord or encourages the prayer life you do have. I would also like to encourage you to keep your church and ministry in your prayers because we can’t continue without them. And finally, if you are new to the practice of prayer, welcome aboard!

Prayerfully yours,

Pastor Rob