All you have to do is A.C.T.S.!

The bible gives you a simple model for praying which you can think of as the A.C.T.S. model, you wanna hear it, here it go:

A.doration- Use the bulk of your talk time here.  This means that you get all cakey with God, just like you do (which some of you need to stop but that is for another day) with members of the opposite sex.  So you say things like: God I love you, you are the best, you are wonderful, you are kind, you have shown me mercy, you make me smile, you are my happiness, when I'm with you, nothing else matters, I want to give you everything I got, etc. etc. etc.  Tell God how he makes you feel, what you think of him, what you want to give him.  Just pour it on.  It is at this stage of talking (and listening) that you will get God's attention and once you have God's attention, he will invite you to come closer to him and you will FEEL the difference.  You might start crying or speaking in tongues or trembling or any number of things.  Just like you start to feel good when someone you care about says beautiful things about you, God feels the same way about you.  AND, the best part is, God WILL talk back to you and tell you all the wonderful things he thinks about you.  I promise you, nothing can prepare you to be loved up by God.  It is thee BEST feeling, you wont even know what to do with yourself.  You really must try this right away, this is the part where you and God fall in love and get seriously booed up!

C.onfession- Most people think of this part of prayer as confessing “sins.”  But the truth, I believe, is that here you should be open and honest and tell God about some things that you might not think of as sins.  If you want to get the most out of this part ask God what you need to confess.  This part does not always involve lying and cursing and cheating (though these things are no-brainers which must be confessed and turned away from).  Many times this part involves having a dirty nasty attitude with your parents, teachers (and for the adults your supervisors and co-workers) and peers.  Sometimes this involves saying hurtful things about people because you really thought it was a funny thing to say.  You may need to confess that you are depressed, lazy, jealous, wasteful with time and money and a lot of other things.  The more you learn about Jesus Christ, the more you can confess and turn away from (or repent) things that are not like Jesus.  Please remember we are Christians and while we are not yet perfect we are trying to live lives like Jesus lived.  Keep your eyes on the prize, we are trying to get like Jesus.

T.hanksgiving-  Ok so after you finish with all the yucky stuff, it’s time to get back to the fun, giving God thanks.  This part should be easy, all you need to do is thank God for everything.  Get creative with it, thank God for your food, clothes, electricity, friends, parents, intelligence, grades, athletic ability, etc.  Think of any and everything good or necessary that you have and give God excited thanks for it.  You can even praise God, bless God, extol God for every good or perfect thing in your life.  The bible says all good and perfect things come from your Father in heaven, so tell him THANK YOU!

S.upplication- This is where many people start and end. Fail.  This is the part where you ask for stuff and the rules are simple.  Follow the rest of the model, after you have worshiped, confessed and given thanks you should be hearing from God clearly.  So the FIRST thing you should ask God is what to ask for.  You may have things that you think you want but trust me, you don’t want anything that God does not want for you.  Think about it, God is all knowing so if God does not want you to have something, you better believe there is a really good reason why not.  So while you may really want some good looking guy or girl to pay you attention, that may not be what God wants for you.  God knows if most of us got too much attention from other people, God would get NONE (and then your life would be all messed up again and you would have to start back at the first blog post).  It’s ok to ask for things you need or want but just be willing to agree with what God wants for you above all else.

You want to know how this looks in the bible?  It is in Matthew Chapter 6, verses 9-13.  

Here are a couple of translations:

First the amplified which happens to be my favorite interpretation of this passage:

⁹Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name.

¹⁰Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹Give us this day our daily bread.

¹²And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven (left, remitted, and let go of the debts, and have given up resentment against) our debtors.

    ¹³And lead (bring) us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Pray like this: Our Father who is in heaven,
uphold the holiness of your name. ¹⁰ Bring in your kingdom
so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven. ¹¹ Give us the bread we need for today. ¹² Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,
just as we also forgive those who have wronged us. ¹³ And don’t lead us into temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one. (MSG)

⁹Pray then like this:"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
¹⁰Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread, ¹²and forgive us our debts,
   as we also have forgiven our debtors.¹³Andlead us not into temptation,
   but deliver us from evil. (ESV)

(You see how many ways there are to read the bible, I got all these off the web at www.biblegateway.com)

Ok, so that is a lot to go over for today.  For all the beginners, use the A.C.T.S. model to do a 15 min prayer today.  You can do it!  Just really get into the adoration part, that will open the door to everything else.  Leave a comment here or on Facebook, let us know how it is going.