By Pastor Glen Eickmeyer, Missions & Seniors
(Revised Reprint from February 2009 bulletin)
Over the years, I’ve wanted my prayer life to become more practical and relational with God. Formerly, any prayer longer than a meal blessing ran the risk of my mind wandering. However, I am impressed with the A.C.T.S. approach which lends some structure to my personal quiet time with the Lord. The acrostic stands for these four words:
Besides using this simple outline for my prayer, I am always penciling out my thoughts in my own shorthand, which keeps my hands busy and my mind focused.
ADORATION is my enjoyment of God as I review His names and attributes, purposefully thinking about how they touch my current life and experiences. Thus, I become aware of ways He impacts me and my circumstances. In my quest to know God better, I decide to memorize some compound names which all begin with Jehovah. As I look at the list, I see six which spelled STRESS:
When I meditate on these names, the benefit is obvious to me - my stressors seem less overwhelming in light of God’s dynamic person!
CONFESSION: Similar to when Isaiah saw Jesus seated on His throne, high and exalted, I too must confess my sinfulness (Isaiah 6:5). My confession is my agreement with God concerning my sin. In these moments, I again experience His forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9).
THANKSGIVING: I love to thank God daily that my debt is paid! As I review Christ’s finished work on the cross, this keeps me focused on His great sacrifice. I am refreshed in my awareness of the simple message of the cross which we have to share with others. I also enjoy thanking God, that along with Jesus, He has graciously given me all things (Romans 8:32). This leads to much thankfulness for the good, the bad, and the unsettling things, all of which evidence God’s involvement in my life!
SUPPLICATION: Because I have already enjoyed fellowship with God (face to face relationship), cleansing, and thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6) in my prayer time, I am now ready to bring my requests to God. I begin by praying through my priorities: 1) my wife, Debbie, 2) my kids, 3) my extended family. It’s only after these are thoroughly covered in my time with the Lord that I begin to lift up personal struggles, friends, and ministry challenges etc.
Recently I have realized another, greater by-product of the ACTS approach to prayer. I now see that the structure of my prayer life has contributed to the rest and peace I have experienced in past years. There have been major issues to deal with: Debbie’s health, the death of my brother, water damage to our house, and huge transitions and changes in our church family—none of which has been easy for me. It is my relationship with my loving Heavenly Father, my Sympathetic Savior, and our indwelling Holy Spirit that has generated the wonderful blessing of rest and peace for me.