Category Archives: Prayer

The ACTS of Praying

24 Wednesday Feb 2021

Posted by in grow, Prayer

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

Do you pray? According to The Pew Research Foundation, 64% of Americans do not. But, my question is not for them, it is for you. Do you pray? How often, how long? My guess is if people were to answer I’d have responses from prayer warriors and prayer beginners and even those who have lost that praying feeling.

Here’s the reality, praying can be challenging for even the most seasoned Christian. This is why we launched the 10 Minute Prayer Challenge on Sunday. When a national survey was conducted from thousands of Christians the question was asked, “What is the biggest disappointment in your Christian journey?” 86% of the respondents said, “My prayer life.”

Many respondents said they just don’t know where to start, what to say, or how to go about it. They end up feeling like it’s a waste of time trying to think of things to pray or say. Or, they feel like they pray the same general things and the redundancy just causes them to quit after a while.

I think we want to be more connected to the Lord, we want to dig deeper in our faith and sense a closeness to the Lord like David in Psalms. But, there’s something I believe that hinders most Christians. It is the ideal over the real. Too many Christians think that in order to have a genuine prayer life or a genuine prayer experience that it must be INTENSE.

Some people think if they’re not crying or screaming or sweating they must not be serious about prayer. The truth is, God is looking for consistency over intensity. To be sure, there may be times of intensity, but that is the exception, not the rule. When the Apostle Paul said, “Pray continually,” (1 Thes. 5:17) he was thinking of consistency not intensity.

The key to understanding how to be consistent is found in ACTS. Not the book of Acts but the prayer pattern known as A.C.T.S. This is a pattern that has been utilized by countless Christians over the years to help jump start their prayer life and help them stay consistent. The pattern is this:

A-doration
C-onfession
T-hanksgiving
S-upplication

When it comes to the 10 Minute Prayer Challenge, take 2 minutes on each of these prayer categories. Literally, you can put your stopwatch to it. You’ll be encouraged at how fast the time goes by and it will be a catalyst to more time spent in prayer over the year.

When beginning the ACTS prayer pattern, make sure to start with 2 minutes of clearing your mind. Have a notepad or a phone app with you to mark down the “to do” tasks and other distractions that come to your mind. That way it is captured and it won’t be a mental distraction. This may take longer than 2 minutes, but make sure you take time to quiet your mind and heart as it says in Psalm 131:2.

Adoration is simply worshipping God. Take time to focus on His greatness. Acknowledge Him as the Creator of the Universe and the One who created you. You might pray some of the psalms. Many of the psalms are simply prayers of King David. We can recite those same heartfelt prayers. Or, you might sing or listen to some worship songs. The goal is to put your heart and mind in a place of worship.

Confession is simply admitting what we’ve done wrong. We need a clean slate every day. We need to confess sins of commission and sins of omission. Sins of commission are the ones we know we did wrong. Sins of omission are the ones we committed and didn’t realize. We simply come to the Lord in prayer and admit we’ve done some things we realize and we may have done some things we did not realize and we ask for His forgiveness. During this time, God may bring to mind people we need to reach out to and apologize with a call or a text. 

Thanksgiving is self-explanatory. We need to take time to be thankful for what God has done and for what He will do. We need to be thankful for the people and the things in our life. This is one of the healthiest things you can do mentally. A plethora of scientific studies have shown the incredible health benefits of having an attitude of gratitude. God told us this thousands of years ago and I’m so glad science is beginning to figure it out too.

Supplication is simply asking God. After you’ve taken time to worship God, confess sin, and give thanks, it’s OKAY to get out the “shopping list.” And let me encourage you … BE SPECIFIC. Have a prayer journal or app. Write down specifically what you’re asking God for. It is such an encouragement to your faith when God specifically answers your request. Write down the answer, the date, and any other details of God’s answers. You will be able to return to this time and time again to encourage your faith when you need it.

2 minutes: Clear your mind

2 minutes: Adoration
2 minutes: Confession
2 minutes: Thanksgiving
2 minutes: Supplication =
10 minutes of consistency in prayer.

By praying the pattern of ACTS you begin to develop a consistency in your prayer life that will absolutely deepen your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly you will never be the same … now that is INTENSE.

Keep Praying!

16 Monday Nov 2020

Posted by in Challenge, Christian Habits, Prayer

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

What have YOU been praying for in this season? Every week, I sit down to pray with many others at our church to pray over our people and their prayer requests. One prayer request that is very common comes from people looking to God for wisdom and direction. 

As you grow in your spiritual walk, over time you will become more and more certain of when a thought is either yours, from God, or from Satan. That’s right, Satan throws his two cents in there too! Differentiating God’s and Satan’s voice is easier than you think!

When the enemy tries to talk to you, it’s called temptation.
When God talks to you, it’s called inspiration. 

That leave’s our voice in the mix. And I don’t know about you, but sometimes I mix up my desires and God’s will. A lot of people do this because we want to do what we want to do, and we hope God agrees with it. The better way to go about discerning between God’s voice and our own voice is to simply ask, “God, what do you want me to do?” 

Now it’s not a big deal if you’re just trying to figure out where to eat after service. But, it’s an issue if you’re talking about who you’re going to marry, a career change, or a big move. We can trust that God has our best interests in mind, and He wants to speak to us!

Here are three ways you can double-check to see if you’re on track to hearing God clearly!

  1. Does it agree with the Bible? Your situation is not a surprise to God. He’s known it and He’s seen it before. He’s given us His Word to help us line up truth against lies. It says in Luke 21:33, that “Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away.” God will never give you an idea or tell you to do something that contradicts His Word.
     
    When you’re wondering if a thought or idea is from God, the best place to start is always His Word. It is the primary way He has chosen to communicate with us. Many people tend to use it as a last resort, your prayer life will take on new meaning when you go to the Bible first.
  2. Will it help my growth as a Christian? The reality is that we have a ton of freedom in Christ! But in that freedom, we want to be growing in a direction that makes us more like Jesus Christ. Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 6:12.

    You say, “I am allowed to do anything” – but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.

    If you’re struggling with a decision that doesn’t go against the Bible but it may not be helpful to your walk with Jesus Christ it’s important to check it up against this test.  Seek God’s wisdom even for something that isn’t bad for you … but may not be wise either. 
  3. The Jerk Test. Ideas from God don’t cause people to act like jerks. So, if someone ever tells you that “God told them to do this or that ” and they’re acting like a complete jerk, then you know that idea did not come from God. God isn’t going to tell you to do something if it makes you act like a jerk. There are a lot of things going on in our world that people blame on God, yet Scripture reminds us in Proverbs 19:3

“People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD.” Don’t use the “God told me” card and then act the opposite of Jesus Christ.

I want to encourage you to continue praying! Continue reaching out to your small group, mentors, and church family. I’m certain that God wants to direct, guide, and show you what He has for you in this life. He’s got plans for you even if we in San Diego are in the purple tier, red tier, or have torn down the tiers, God has a plan and He will come through for you. Keep praying, keep hoping, keep on keeping on!

I want to continue praying for you too. Send your prayer requests by filling out a Connection Card at SkylineChurch.org. Or download our APP and send in your request there. AND, if you believe God has answered your prayers and given you the wisdom to make a decision, we want to celebrate with you! Fill out the same connection card and tell us about your Praise Reports! 

God bless you, friend! May God give you wisdom as you prayerfully seek to be more like Jesus Christ. 

Who Knows My Future

17 Tuesday Mar 2020

Posted by in emergency room, Holiday, Prayer

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

What a week! And what a Sunday! We saw 20 people make a decision for Jesus Christ … online! When Jesus said He was going to build His church, He meant it. And nothing is going to stop that. For the near future, we will continue to be the church in a virtual experience, yet with real decisions and real life change for Jesus.


Everyone is so interested in their future. Especially now with the Coronavirus pandemic, people are wondering even more about when, in the future, this thing will end.  We all want to know about the future and so there are some amusing ways people go about finding this information … Astrology. Tarot cards. Magic 8 ball. Tea leaves … and none of it works! But God sees your tomorrow, today! He knows your future. Psalm 139:16 says, “The days allotted to me had all been recorded in Your book before any of them ever began.” If you want to know the plan for your life, talk to someone who knows what it is.  

Take St. Patrick’s Day for example. Did you know that today we are celebrating a young man who was kidnapped from Britain by Irish raiders? We celebrate him because when he escaped and returned to his homeland, God called him to bring the Gospel to Ireland (of all places!). Patrick accepted this plan for his life and brought spiritual freedom to the Irish people. I am of Irish heritage, who knows he may have led my ancestors to the Lord!

Sometimes our greatest source of pain is our greatest ministry. If we had our whole life laid out for us, we’d get discouraged if we saw some of the painful stuff, or we’d get prideful seeing all the good stuff. Trust in God’s plan for your life and His timing as He reveals it to you piece by piece. Hebrews 4:13 says, “Nothing in creation is hidden from Him.” And Psalm 147:5 says, “His understanding has no limits.” God knows everything! He’s never shocked. He never says, “Oh really?” Or, “Oops!” As my life unfolds, it may surprise me, but it’s never going to surprise Him. 

Knowing this about God should encourage our prayer life. I wouldn’t be surprised if Patrick spent those 6 years in captivity praying to God about what was next for him. We should want to be in prayer with Him more because we need to ask Him for advice about things He already knows will happen. If you call to Him, He will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know (Jeremiah 33:3).

Here’s a practical way for you to apply this to your life today. 

Pray: God, you know everything that is going to happen today. Would you prepare me for today?

For more practical ways to lean into God’s Word, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and tune into our daily devotional, Today Matters.

 

Video

The Different Ways We Can Hear From God

13 Monday May 2013

Posted by in Christian Habits, Prayer

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

In this video we take part two of our Crank It Up! series and build on last’s week talk from the Parable of the Sower in Luke 8. There are different ways that God talks to us. He can choose however He wants…but usually, it’s one of these four ways.