There are a lot of different ways to pray. There are a lot of books written on the subject and, of course, how Jesus taught the disciples to pray in Matthew 6:5-15. But today, with Thanksgiving coming up this weekend, I wanted to share the simple way that I very often structure my prayers and how they end up with a posture of gratitude.
My Connecting Point group was talking about how we can strike a balance between being open and real in our communication with God while still maintaining a sense of reverence and awe while we approach a holy God. I shared with them that I follow the ACTS model when I pray for just that reason. It starts with Adoration (taking time to simply offer words of worship and praise), goes into Confession (a time to confess sin and receive forgiveness), and moves to Thanksgiving (tell God how grateful I am for anything and everything as it comes to mind). These three things always come before Supplication (bringing my requests) and I'm glad for this pattern because it repositions the posture of my heart. Walking through these steps builds a solid foundation of gratitude and changes my attitude to align with kingdom values before I ever start into telling God what I need.
Not only that, but intentionally walking a path like this when I pray helps me to wrestle down the distraction and busyness in mind.
On this weekend that's devoted to pausing and counting our blessings, I encourage you to follow this path when you pray as well. In fact, being a joyful, prayerful, thankful person is God's will for you - how great is that!? 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Grateful for you and with you,
P. Tracy
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
This Sunday
Grateful
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Join us on Sunday at 10am as our Pastor Del shares the Word.