A.C.T.S. Part 2

 

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word:

 

Last night at our men’s Bible Study we talked about the devil’s tool of distraction, and wouldn’t you know it, this morning, the hymn that showed up in my devotion was, “Look Upon Us , Blessed Lord,” and the first line goes like this: Look upon us blessed Lord, take our wandering thoughts and guide us.”

 

“You trying to tell me something Lord?

Devotional distractions! They can be a problem, right? But you know what, they don’t have to be! The Holy Spirit is at work, even in your distractions. The moment you become aware of your drifting away, just, stop and thank the Holy Spirit for calling it to your attention and get back to the business at hand.

 

Last time we talked about the A.C.T.S. method of praying where A stands for adoration, C stands for confession, T for thanksgiving, and S for supplication. (requests) We’re really good at that last one, (making requests?) often skipping the other three.

 

Jesus invites us to make requests of Him in our prayer life, Php 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

 

“Let your requests be made known to God!” Give voice to them, but don’t omit that thanksgiving part. Try this as you work out the A.C.T.S. method of praying, when you get to the thanksgiving part, write down those things you are thankful for from the day before, or just look around at your present surroundings! That in itself should give you plenty to be thankful for.

 

As I look around my surroundings today, I am quick to thank God for the white snow outside my window, the warm house, Jesus, and my cup of coffee, and there’s so much more!

 

I hope this short study on the A.C.T.S. method of praying will jump start your time with the Lord every day! Thanks for joining me.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s today’s living word.

A.C.T.S. Part 1

I really don’t know who started it, or when it all began, but the A.C.T.S. method of prayer is a useful tool given to Christians as an aid to prayer. The acronym is simple and easy to remember and while not the catch all of all prayer, it certainly is a good place to start.

A is for adoration. C is for confession. T is for thanksgiving, and S is for supplication. We are all usually quick to supplicate, (make requests) but not so quick to do the other three.  How quickly we forget that thanksgiving part mentioned in Php 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”

 

Just recently, I have dusted off this method of praying in my own devotional life, and it’s been eye opening and refreshing to me. I start out with singing a praise hymn or chorus and then move on to confessing my sins of the past day. There are days when my preceding days sins hit my like a ton of bricks with my name stenciled on them, but other times the specifics escape me, and I begin to think more highly of myself than I ought! It’s times like this that I reach for the Lutheran hymnal and use the general confession as a guideline.

  

Almighty God, my Maker and Redeemer. I a poor sinner confess unto you that I am by nature sinful and unclean, and that I have sinned against You in my thoughts, my words, and my deeds, and by what I have done and left undone. Therefore I flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy and ask You for Christ’s sake to grant me forgiveness of all my sins, and by Your Holy Spirit increase in me, true knowledge of You  and of Your will, and true obedience to Your word, to the end that by Your grace I may come to eternal life, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.

 

This confession is typically used on Sunday’s, but I’m finding I need it a lot more than once a week. How about you? I’m Duane Matz and that’s today’s Living Word