Resources for Parents – Teach your Kids to “A.C.T.S.” Up!

  I think it’s safe to say that, as believers, we feel that prayer is important and we would like to be people who pray more. One way to orient ourselves towards a more meaningful prayer life that can serve as an example to our children is to use the acronym A.C.T.S

Here is an outline:

A: Adoration

Adoration and praise are synonyms and both can mean “to worship”.

“Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord” (Psalm 150).

“Enter His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4).

“Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:1).

 Adoration sets our gaze on the greatness of God. We recognize His strength in the face of our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9) and we are reminded how much bigger He is than any problem we may face.

C: Confession

Confession means to own or admit as true.

“I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my sins to the Lord. And You forgave the guilt” (Psalm 32:5).

“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper. But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion” (Proverbs 28:13)

Confession is choosing not to justify or excuse ourselves, but to acknowledge and agree with God about our sin. Scripture promises that God offers us forgiveness and compassion, so we can walk free from guilt. What a great feeling to know that God does not expect us to pay for our sin, nor does He hold it over us. When we confess, God is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

T: Thanksgiving

We can easily understand that thanksgiving is expressing our gratitude.

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful”(Colossians 4:2).

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”(1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Which one are you? Someone who sees the cup as half empty or half full? Choosing to take time to express thanks will keep our focus on our blessings. And when we start making a list, each of us will likely be amazed at how long that list is.

S: Supplication

Supplication is defined as “to plead humbly”.

In 1 Kings, Solomon makes “prayers and supplications to the Lord”, kneeling and pleading with God that He listen to the cry of his heart.(1 Kings 8:54). From this verse, we see that supplication is about a heart attitude. The root word of supplication is supple, which helps us to understand this attitude. A material that is supple would be soft and pliable. When we cry out in prayer and supplication, we are not only pleading with God to answer our prayer, we are bringing to Him a supple heart that is willing to be changed and drawn closer to the Lord. A prayer of supplication might be one where we are crying out to God to work in our children’s lives, acknowledging that God is working in our hearts as well.

When you spend time with God, trying following “A.C.T.S” as a guide and use it to help your children learn to pray.

-Adore God by praising Him for His great qualities like faithfulness, unconditional love, sovereign power and more!

-Admit how you have not followed God’s ways and say sorry.

-Make a list of blessings and thank God for them.

-Cry out to God to work in you and others to meet the needs that are deep in your heart.