When Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, He said “When you pray…” not if, but when you pray. As Christians we are called to pray without ceasing, and though that sometimes feels like a chore, it shouldn’t. We should see it as an honor and joy that the God of the universe wants us to talk with Him! But what do we say? How do we start? How formal is prayer supposed to be?

Over the next 21 days we will be praying, together as a church, and we’ll be using the Psalms and the handy acronym ACTS to do it. ACTS stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Adoration is simply acknowledging God for who He is, giving Him the praise due. Confession is admitting our faults, being honest with God that we have fallen short and repenting before Him. Thanksgiving is just how it sounds, giving thanks for all that He has done, and is doing for us. And supplication is laying our needs before Him and asking Him to provide knowing that he promises to give us what we need. These four categories lead into each other, like Isaiah seeing God for who he is drives us to confess and having been forgiven we are inspired to give thanks, which prompts us to bring our needs before Him trusting that our Father in Heaven knows what we need.

We will be guided through this four-step progression five times using the Psalms as our pathway. On the 21st day we’ll host a 24-hour prayer vigil at the church, and we encourage you to sign up for a block of time with your family and/or life group. At the end of 21 days hopefully you feel confident and capable of prayer. The ACTS framework is a helpful way to pattern your daily prayers as well as your overall prayer life. It’s meant to encourage and empower you in approaching God through prayer.