Yesterday, my daughter’s friend came to visit us. They were having a conversation that turned into an argument. It was about prayer and how best to say it. They were saying the same thing without knowing, the difference was that my daughter was arguing from a Catholic background, and her friend was arguing from a Pentecostal background.
They came to me for clarification, and while I was trying to answer their questions in a way they would understand, I asked them how best one could say a prayer. They both answered correctly, but I noticed some imbalance in their responses, so I told them about ACTS.
ACTS is an acronym for the four elements of prayer, which are…
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication
These prayer structures are contained in ‘Our Lord’s Prayer’ of Mathew 6: 9-13. They inculcate the elements of communicating with God and should be used in unison. Sadly, some of these elements are overused at the expense of others, creating an imbalance in the section.
I told the girls the story about angels who were positioned at the door of each of the four elements to receive prayers from people. While the angels in Adoration, Confession, and Thanksgiving were less busy, the ones in Supplication were overworked with requests.
I went further to explain to them that although these elements may not be binding in prayer as one may be led to pray differently, we must always endeavor to inculcate them for the sake of God’s kingdom. It may be the balance that’s needed for that prayer to be answered.
Aside from the special moments or occasions when we feel blessed and our hearts are filled with gratitude, life has a constellation of blessings that we live in each second of our lives. Thus, we must always be grateful and learn to transform gratitude into Thanksgiving and Adoration to God, the source of every good thing.
It is a mark of spiritual maturity to cultivate a desire to respond to God’s inestimable worth through Adoration, to acknowledge our sinful nature through Confession, to rejoice always and appreciate Him through Thanksgiving, and to seek His face in the throne of grace through Supplication.
✍️ Amara Ann Unachukwu
