ACTS Model of Prayer

A few evenings ago in our mid-week service I shared with those gathered another model for prayer.  It is called the ACTS Model of Prayer.  This is an acronym for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication.  As I was going through the introduction I shared how I prefer to start with confession as to remove all hindrances to prayer.  I then pointed out that would make this the CATS Model of Prayer.  Well…  That was not the desired outcome.  So, for the purpose of this writing I will follow the original  model.

I.     Adoration – Adoration is worship.  Now, I can see why start here.  We should worship the LORD both publicly and privately.  He is worthy of our worship!  As we worship Him this will bring into perspective how lowly and sinful we really are.  Then we can move on to the next topic of confession.

Worship is ascribing worth to Someone, someone or something.  I think it would be safe to say that if we have a wrong view of our God we will not worship Him as He deserves.  As I have shared in the past series on “How to Pray for an Hour” there is no time limit here.  You can be as free as you want to worship as long as you please.

II.     Confession – What is confession?  Some people have the idea that confession is letting God in on a secret.  This could not be further from the truth.  God is All-Knowing.  He knows very well what sin we are ensnared in.  Remember, Jesus died to pay the price for that sin.  He suffered the penalty for our sin.

Confession means that we say the same thing about our sin that God says.  It means that we agree with God about our sin.  Then when we confess our sin we can forsake it and move on in life with a clean account before God.  This frees us to live as God created us to live.

III.     Thanksgiving – For some people this is just a “most wonderful time of the year”.  When in reality this should be a lifestyle for a Christian.  What are you thankful for?  Think about Christians in other parts of the world that are thankful to have one page of God’s Word.  Think about the people that live on the street who are thankful to have one small meal a day.  Think about the elderly person that has been abandoned in a nursing home by thoughtless family and forgotten.  Think about the children that fill children’s hospitals all over the world.  Are you thankful yet?

Thanksgiving should be such a part of us that it flows like the breath from our nostrils.  Bible commentator Matthew Henry was robbed once.  Someone asked him how he could obey I Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  Mr. Henry’s response exemplifies this thought of thanksgiving.  He said that he was thankful that he had the money to be taken.  He further said that he was thankful that he was the one robbed and not the one doing the robbing.  Wow!  That is real thanksgiving.

IV.     Supplication – Supplication is where you pray for your own personal needs and the needs of others.  This is where I struggle.  Sometimes I feel prideful when I pray for my own needs.  Yet, we must.  God wants us to come to Him and ask.  He wants us to seek Him for ourselves and for others also.

There are times when God will bring someone to your mind and my mind.  When He does this we need to stop what we are doing and pray immediately for whomever that is.  You never know what the results might be.  We could be the one that prays a prayer that saves someone’s life.  Prayer is serious business.  It is the King’s business.

So, how are you doing?

Pray For One Hour 8

Matthew 26:40-41, “And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

VIII.  Pray for one hour – thanksgiving:  confessing my blessings.  I Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks:  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Notice what this verse does not say.  It does not say, “For everything give thanks…”  It says, “In everything give thanks:…”  Sometimes this seems very difficult to do.  Since God tells us to do it then it must be possible.

I remember reading about the Bible commentator Matthew Henry.  He was robbed and his money stolen.  He took this verse to heart and started out by saying that he was thankful that he was the one robbed and not the one doing the robbing.  Wow!  That is giving thanks in a very difficult situation.

So, how are you doing?

A Gift From God 12

Last night I was watching the news; as depressing as that is.  I saw a story that caught my attention.  It was a story about infertility.  It caught my attention because a Pastor I know from another state is going to be a father.  His wife is 51 years old and he is 65 years old.  Yes, when their child turns 18 he will be a whopping 83 years old.  Well…

I thought about how this child; just like all other children, is a gift from God.  This Pastor even referred to himself in the context of Abraham and Sarah.  Thankfully he is in good spirits about it.

I thought about “A Gift From God” and this pastoral family now expecting.  Some in our world would see this as a set back or an interruption to their life.  Not this family.  They are taking it in stride like they should.  They see it as God sees the child.  A gift.

I thought about the promise God made to Abraham.  Look at Genesis 17:5, “Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.”  That is a promise from God.  “a father to many nations have I made thee.”  This is a fact.  Now, we can look back and see God bring this to pass.  Abraham submitted to God’s plan for the most part until he and Sarah stepped out of God’s plan and then Ishmael was born.  For the most part Abraham’s response was of faith and God blessed him with a tremendous gift.

Sarah’s response was a little different.  Look at Genesis 18:12, “Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”  No, I am not sharing this to knock or beat up on Sarah.  I am simply point out the difference in their responses to the promises of God and His gift to them.

So how do you respond to the gift of God?  We need to respond in faith and thanksgiving.  I thank God for the gifts He has given to me and my family.  Yes, even those gifts we did not really think we wanted or needed.

So, how are you doing?

Thanks-Living 7

As we close out this series of “Thanks-Living” I find it funny that it is the seventh installment.  Seven in the Bible is the number of perfection or complete.

As I close out this series I have to ask myself, “Am I a thankful person?”  Maybe you should ask yourself that question.  Now, we both have to answer honestly.  This is the painful part of this little exercise in thankfulness.

I am afraid that if the truth be known to us we would find that we might not be as much of a thankful person as what we might want to be.  I mean truly thankful.  I don’t mean just flippantly throwing out a “Thanks” or “Thank you” on occasion.  I mean that we need to be thankful, sincerely thankful all the time.

How much would you do for someone that was not thankful?  It would not be too long and you would want to quit doing anything for them.  I know.  We need to work on being genuinely thankful and doing it all the time.  Look at Ephesians 5:20, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”  I know this is hard for me as I get caught up in circumstances and I seem to lose my thankfulness.  God forgive me!

So, how are you doing?

Thanks-Living 6

My wife was able to spend time with her side of the family on Thanksgiving afternoon.  I was glad that she did.  Her Grandfather was there and both of her sisters and their family and of course her parents.  They had a good visit together.

As they were enjoying the evening the doorbell rang.  At the door was a couple that are friends with Tara’s uncle in California.  They had come to see her Grandpa.  A little while later the doorbell rings again and nobody was again expecting anyone else.  This time it was the son of the visiting family and he brought his family along.  Yes, I realize that they people were not really “Thanksgiving Crashers” as I have portrayed them in this post; but, only Tara’s Grandpa knew them.  To the family they kind of were.  Nobody cared; but, they all had a good laugh about these strangers that came to visit.

This caused me think.  I began to think about salvation and Heaven.  There will be no strangers in Heaven.  The only people that will be in Heaven are God’s children.  The only way to be one of God’s children is to trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour.  Look at His words in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” Today, are you one of His sheep?  Are you living and dwelling in His pasture?  If you will trust Him today then you can do just that and be His eternally.

So, how are you doing?

Thanks-Lliving 5

There have been times in our marriage of over twenty years that times were lean.  Most times we would tell family about it and they would come to our rescue.  God has used them many, many times to deliver us.

The other day I received a message that a friend wanted to bless us for Thanksgiving.  I knew that meant food.  I was excited.  I like to eat for sure.  So, Tuesday evening I went to pick up the food.  To my surprise there was double the amount for one family.  I knew what that meant.  It meant that we could either keep a double portion or find someone to “bless” with a feast also.

So, at 9:30 at night I drove twenty-five miles to a relative’s house who I know struggle with finances and she has children.  It worked out that my Grandmother got out of the hospital on Wednesday after having three stents put in the back side of her heart.  My Dad was staying with her after she got home from the hospital.  So, I because someone blessed my family and I we were able to bless my Grandmother, my Dad and my cousin and her family.

On my way home God spoke to my heart about a dear Pastor friend in our area that has fallen on hard times and is struggling financially and is living with their youngest child and their family.  God told me to bless them with the food that was given to us.  I talked to my wife and she immediately so yes, let’s do it.  So, Wednesday evening we met this dear Pastor and gave him the food we had been given and we even purchased a little more to go with it.

Why am I sharing this?  Please know that I do not share this so you will know how wonderful I am and what a good person I am.  Not at all!  I share this in order to help you see the truth of God’s Word.  Look at Acts 20:35, “I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  I promise you this is true.  I have lived this for the past four days and I cannot describe how I feel.

So, how are you doing?

Thanks-Living 3

Well, today is the day that strikes fear in the heart of many turkeys.  This could very well be their last day on this earth and then they become the centerpiece of somebody’s Thanksgiving meal.  That makes me happy!

Tomorrow is the official Thanksgiving holiday.  Many of us will gather around the table with family.  Some will even take time to say one thing they are thankful for before starting the meal.  I like this as a tradition.  The problem is that I have such a hard time coming up with just one thing to say that I am thankful for.  I am blessed beyond measure!

I was thinking.  If a person is an atheist to who is he thankful?  I mean, really.  Are they thankful to “Mother Earth”?  This makes we want to vomit.  As a Christian we are to be thankful to God Almighty.  He is the Creator and Sustainer of life.  He is the Object of our Thanksgiving.

Look at Colossians 1:3, “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,”  I am thankful to God for so many things.  Most importantly I am thankful that He love me so much that He died for my sin.

As you sit down to the Thanksgiving table tomorrow I hope you can genuinely offer Thanksgiving to God Almighty for what He has done for you.

So, how are you doing?

Thanks-Living 2

As I sit and write this blog post it is raining very hard.  As we continue this line of thinking about Thanks-Living I can honestly say that I am thankful that this is rain and not snow.  We would be under snow like the east coast of our nation.  I cannot imagine getting six feet of snow in one day.  That just kind of blows my tiny mind.

It does not matter how bad things are we can still find something to be thankful for even in a seemingly bad situation.  A woman that was known for her positive speech was told one day that someone thought that she could even find something nice to say about the devil.  She said, “He sure is persistent.”

Being thankful is a choice that we make every moment of every day.  Some old sower people just make a choice to be that way.  We must make a choice all the time to be thankful no matter.  Look at Ephesians 1:16, “Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;”  Notice Paul just simply says, “Cease not to give thanks…”  What stops you from being thankful?  Maybe you need to work on removing that obstacle and becoming a thankful person.

So, how are you doing?

Thanks-Living

With the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching I have been thinking about that very subject.  It will not be too many days and I will be standing before the men at the mission and I am looking for some nugget of truth to share with them.

I have been rolling around the idea of “Thanks-Living” and “Thanksgiving Living”.  Either idea is a good one I believe and I think they both convey about the same message really.

We have all met people that are so self-centered or self-focused that they would not say “Thank you” to anyone.  That is sad.  As I get older I try to let those around me know that I am thankful.  I especially try to let those in the public who serve us know that I am thankful for their service to me and my family.

Someone wisely said, “If you can read thank a teacher.  If you can read in English thank a soldier.”  This is especially true in this day and age.  When was the last time you thanked your trash man for picking up your stinking garbage.  Don’t give me, “He gets paid to do that.”  I try to let them know that I appreciate them picking up our nasty smelling garbage.  In return when I need to get rid of something a little outside the parameters for pick up they usually just take it.  Then I give them a little something with a “Thank you!”

Look at Romans 16:4, “Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.”  When you look at those who serve you in this light of Scripture it changes things dramatically.

So, how are you doing?

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving 30

Today is the last official post for Thanksgiving.  I have been reflecting back on many days gone by.  We have endured some really tough days.  There have been days of sickness.  There have been days where our son’s autism nearly killed us.  There have been days that friends turned against us.  There have been days of all kinds.

Thankfully there have been days of victory.  There have been days of joy.  There have been days that put a smile on your face as well as deep into your heart.  Yet, the Word of God tells us to be thankful no matter what kind of day it is.  This is easier said than done some days.  I know you understand.  The fact remains that we have been commanded.

Look at I Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  Please notice that this verse of Scripture does not tell us to be thankful for every thing.  The Word of God tells us, “In every thing give thanks:”.  It is like one man said after he was robbed.  He thanked God that he had something to be taken from him and he was thankful that it was not he who was doing the robbing.  No matter what your circumstance give thanks “in” in no matter if you cannot give thanks for it.

So, how are you doing?