A Blog of Encouragement from our Pastors
The WEekly Word
weekly word – 4/25/24
Prayer - Part two
Several weeks ago, I submitted a word on “Prayer.” This is a follow up to that article.
My Bible Study lesson for this week deals with prayer, and as I dug into the lesson, I found some information that I thought I would share with you.
I gave you, in the earlier article, the acronym “ACTS” that was a simple guide for a way to pray. This week I ran across an article by a young pastor who searched the scriptures and identified seven types of prayer in the Bible. He came up with ACTS, and then identified three more.
A – Adoration – Praises God for who He is.
L – Lament – Brings our fears, doubts, and despair to Him.
T – Thanksgiving – Praises God for what He has done for us.
P – Petition – Asking God for something for us or for someone else.
D – Deliverance – Praying to Him to keep us from harm or challenging
situations. Similar to but still different from Petition.
C –Contrition or Confession – Asking forgiveness for things we have
done that are not in step with His will for
us.
G – Guidance – Similar to Deliverance but more of an acknowledgement
of Gods knowing what is best for us and following the
Holy Spirit’s lead in us.
We can see these as individual prayers, in other words “stand alone,” or we can combine them as we did in the “ACTS” acronym. Most of the time I find myself doing just that, combining them.
Let’s look at a couple of prayers and see how this works. The Lord’s prayer in Mathew 6:
Our Father in heaven,
your name be honored as holy.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. - Adoration
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, - Petition
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not bring us into temptation, - Petition
but deliver us from the evil one. - Deliverance
A prayer of Petition: Mark 10:51: Jesus and the blind man
51 Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Rabboni, the blind man said to him, “I want to see.”
A prayer of Lament and Petition: Ps 13:2-3 - King David
How long will I store up anxious concerns within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me? - Lament
3 Consider me and answer, Lord my God.
Restore brightness to my eyes;
otherwise, I will sleep in death. – Petition
I found myself, after reading the article, reading prayers, the prayers of Paul, the prayers of David, the prayers of Neamiah, the prayers of Jesus, and seeing how powerful they were, and I had to reevaluate my prayer time and what I need to change as I pray to my Heavenly Father.
I hope that by reading this, you will consider your time with Him and the way that you pray. That time should draw you closer to Him and make you realize what a privilege it is to spend time with our Creator and have Him listen to us and guide us.
Ed Johanson
PREVIOUS ARTICLES
4/11/24 – How Do You Measure Faith? – Bryan
4/04/24 – Where is "my" God? – Ed
3/21/24 – Speaking Through Your Ears and Heart – Bryan
3/14/24 – Consternation in the Congregation – Ed
3/07/24 – Zechariah and The Branch – David
2/29/24 – Who Do You Say Jesus Is? – Bryan
2/22/24 – Love is........... – Ed
2/15/24 – Zechariah's Eighth and Final Vision – David
2/08/24 – It's-All-Good! – Bryan
2/01/24 – Becoming a Roman's 12 Christian – Ed
1/25/24 – Zechariah's Seventh Vision – David
1/18/24 – Temple Cleansing – Bryan
1/11/24 – The Devil made me do it – Ed
1/04/24 – Zechariah's Sixth Vision – David
12/28/23 – Many Facets to Forgiveness – Bryan
12/21/23 – Jesus, Others, You – Ed
12/14/23 – Zechariah's Fifth Vision – David
12/07/23 – We Are Royalty! Believe It and Live It. – Bryan
11/30/23 – An Essay on Prayer – Ed
11/23/23 – Zechariah's Fourth Vision – David
11/16/23 – Victory Through Prayer – Bryan
11/09/23 – Do you see God's hand in the things around you? – Ed
11/02/23 – Zechariah's Third Vision – David
10/26/23 – What's My Purpose – Bryan
10/19/23 – Pride vs. Confidence: The Delicate Balance in Light of
10/12/23 – Zechariah's Second Vision – David
10/05/23 – The Battle Belongs to the Lord – Bryan
9/28/23 – To Forgive or Not to Forgive, That is the Question – Ed
9/21/23 – Zechariah: Unlocking the Future – David
9/14/23 – Battle of the Wills. What Did You Expect? – Bryan
9/07/23 – The Tyranny of the Urgent – Ed
8/31/23 – Holy Quills and Medical Bills – David
8/24/23 – Sow the Seed – Bryan
8/17/23 – R.A.L.E. Part 2 – Ed
8/10/23 – Harmonizing Jesus' Parable of the Sheep and the Goats
8/03/23 – Don't Stagnate – Bryan
7/20/23 – Chewing – Rethinking Bible Study and Prayer – David
7/13/23 – Be, Know, Do – Bryan
7/06/23 – Anger Management (Part 5) – Ed
6/29/23 – Prophecies Will End – David
6/22/23 – Essential Component – Bryan
6/15/23 – Anger Management (Part 4) – Ed
6/08/23 – A Study Guide for Zechariah – David
6/01/23 – Avoidable Difficulty – Bryan
5/25/23 – Anger Management, Time to Take Action – Ed
5/18/23 – How to Prepare a Lesson on a Bible Passage – David
5/11/23 – Trust in God: Free, with Priceless Results – Bryan
5/04/23 – More on Solving the Anger Issue, (2 of 5) – Ed
4/27/23 – Without Excuse – David
4/20/23 – Is Worry A Sin? – Bryan
4/13/23 – Defining Anger (Part 1) – Ed
4/06/23 – Effective Easter Evangelism – David
3/30/23 – An Essay on Prayer – Ed
3/23/23 – Should We Fast – David
3/16/23 – 2 Chronicles 7:12-22 – Ed
3/09/23 – Scarlet Threads of Hope – David
3/02/23 – Joseph: An Authentic Leader – Ed
2/23/23 – The Amalekites – David
2/16/23 – Becoming More Like Christ – Bryan
2/09/23 – "Bringing in the Sheep!" – Ed
2/02/23 – Four Mistakes Christians Make – David
1/26/23 – Living for Christ vs. Living with Christ – Bryan
1/19/23 – Bad Things and Good Things – Ed
1/12/23 – The Advancement of the Gospel – David
1/05/23 – Simpler Is Better – Bryan
12/22/22 – No Writer's Block This Time – Ed
12/15/22 – You've Got A Friend – David
12/08/22 – Tell the Story – Bryan
11/24/22 – How to Go Deeper in the Word – David
11/17/22 – The E's of Christian Living – Bryan
11/10/22 – "The Parfait of God" – Ed
11/03/22 – Fearless Obedience – David
10/27/22 – The Allocation & Bestowment of God's Blessings – Bryan
10/20/22 – 2 Chronicles 7:14 – Ed
10/13/22 – Evil Meant For Good – David
10/06/22 – Christ-Like Obedience – Bryan
9/29/22 – The "Be" Attitudes – Ed
9/22/22 – Six Parenting Lessons Learned from Lot's Failure as a
9/15/22 – Grace Greater than our Sin – Bryan
9/08/22 – Philippians 4:13 – Ed
9/01/22 – Jacob & Esau Pt. 2: A Silver Lining For Edomites – David
8/25/22 – Jesus Is All I Want and All I Need – Bryan
8/18/22 – Does God Expect Us to Color Within the Lines? – Ed
8/11/22 – Jacob & Esau Pt. 1: The Danger of Holding a Grudge –
8/04/22 – Pros and Cons of Technology – Bryan
7/28/22 – What Could Make Christianity Attractive to the World –
7/21/22 – The Curse that Became a Blessing – David
7/14/22 – No Loitering – Bryan
7/07/22 – The 23rd Psalm: – Ed
6/30/22 – Share Christ This Summer For $5 – David
6/23/22 – Serving with SOUL – Bryan
6/16/22 – Have you walked in their shoes? – Ed
6/09/22 – Habakkuk, Babylon, and the American Christian – David
6/02/22 – The Gospel That Leads to Salvation: Simple & Free, Yet
5/26/22 – Love Your Neighbor As Yourself – Ed
5/19/22 – Mutual Funds and Vice Stocks – David
5/12/22 – Make A Joyful Noise – Bryan
5/05/22 – A Romans 12 Christian | Part 2 – Ed
4/28/22 – Biblical Church Membership – David
4/21/22 – What Does Love mean? – Bryan
4/14/21 – Identifying & Resisting Satan's Attack | Part 5/5 - David
3/31/22 – Keep Sin from Harboring in our Hearts – Bryan
3/24/22 – Identifying & Resisting Satan's Attack | Part 4/5 – David
3/17/22 – Punishment or Training? – Ed
3/10/22 – Maintain the Unity in the Body – Bryan
3/03/22 – Identifying & Resisting Satan’s Attack | Part 3/5 – David
2/24/22 – Are You a Good Listener? – Ed
2/17/22 – Biblical Love – Bryan
2/10/22 – Identifying & Resisting Satan's Attack | Part 2/5 – David
2/03/22 – Is It Really Alright? – Ed
1/27/22 – The Faithfulness of Joseph – Bryan
1/20/22 – Identifying & Resisting Satan's Attack | Part 1/5 – David
1/06/22 – What Are We To Do? – Bryan
12/30/21 – A Biblical View of the Conscience – David
12/23/21 – "Tis the Season" – Ed
12/16/21 – Every Little Detail – Bryan
12/09/21 – The Gospel and Christmas – David
12/02/21 – God is good, all the time! – Ed
11/25/21 – Thankful for Everything! – Bryan
11/18/21 – How I Began to Take Solid Food – David
11/11/21 – Does God Talk to Us Today? – Ed
11/04/21 – What Happened...and What Will Happen? – Bryan
10/28/21 – Pray to Share Your Faith – David
10/21/21 – The Way We Preach – David
10/14/21 – Justification and Sanctification – Bryan
10/07/21 – The Fix for Spiritual Laziness – David
9/30/21 – Falling Away is Falling Away from Jesus – David
9/23/21 – Beyond Sovereign - Bryan
9/16/21 – Why We Need Hebrews – David
9/09/21 – Glory and Honor – David
9/02/21 – Consider the Source. Compare to THE SOURCE – Bryan
8/19/21 – Pray for the Afghan Christians – David
8/12/21 – Now is the Time! – Bryan
8/05/21 – For Three Crimes, Even Four – David
7/29/21 – So What Are Husbands Supposed To Do? – David
7/22/21 – From Foes to Fellow Saints - Bryan
7/15/21 – Sharing the Gospel with an Atheist Israeli Jew – David
7/08/21 – When You're Afraid of Sharing the Gospel – David
7/01/21 – Farewell Dear Friends - Bryan
6/24/21 – Examples to the Flock – David
6/17/21 – Biblical Joy 301: How to Lose Joy, Pt 3 – David
6/10/21 – It Is Well with My Soul – Bryan
6/03/21 – Biblical Joy 301: How to Lose Joy, Pt 2 – David
5/27/21 – Biblical Joy 301: How to Lose Joy, Pt 1 – David
5/20/21 – What Does Biblical Giving Look Like? – Bryan
5/13/21 – Biblical Joy 201 – David
5/06/21 – Biblical Joy 101 – David
4/29/21 – Perspective & Attitude – Michael
4/22/21 – Jesus' Most Offensive Teaching – David
4/15/21 – The In-Between Times – David
4/08/21 – Spiritual Readiness – Bryan
4/01/21 – When in Doubt, Read the Directions – Michael
3/25/21 – Four Major OT Archeological Findings – David
3/18/21 – God's Timing and Faithfulness – Bryan
3/11/21 – The Pepsi Challenge between You and Jesus – David
3/04/21 – LORD of Lords – Bryan
2/25/21 – Numbers 20:6 – Michael
2/18/21 – Lessons from the Disqualified – David
2/11/21 – How to Study a Familiar Bible Verse – David
2/04/21 – Phase 2 is here! Do you know what that means? – Bryan
1/28/21 – Love God Carefully – David
1/21/21 – One of the Answers is Right Here – Micheal
1/07/21 – The New Religion – David
12/31/20 – Our Blessed Hope – David
12/24/20 – One Thing Remains – Bryan
12/17/20 – Do You Aspire to the Office of Overseer? – David
12/10/20 – Psalms - A Political Guide for God's People – David
12/03/20 – Getting Tired of Manna? – Bryan
11/26/20 – Advice on Loving Better – Michael
11/19/20 – Styles of Idolatry: BC, AD, and Today – David
11/12/20 – Fight or Flight? – David
11/05/20 – Take it to The Lord in Prayer – Bryan
10/29/20 – The Anathema Council – David
10/22/20 – Church History – David
10/15/20 – Growing In Our Faith – Bryan
10/08/20 – Finding Jesus – Michael
10/01/20 – Godly Division – David
9/24/20 – Nothing Beyond What Is Written – David
9/17/20 – Stay the Course Continued – Bryan
9/10/20 – “What did you say? I wasn’t listening." – Michael
9/03/20 – How to Assess Your Relationship with God – David
8/27/20 – All The More – David
8/20/20 – Serving With the Right Heart & Attitude – Bryan
7/30/20 – How Firm a Foundation – Bryan
7/16/20 – We Came, We Saw, We Sharpened – David
7/09/20 – Stir Up One Another – Bryan
7/02/20 – Don't Be Afraid to Be Courageous – Michael
6/25/20 – The Gentle Correction That Changed Me – David
6/18/20 – Witnessing Like and For Christ – Bryan
6/04/20 – Resistance, Riots and Romans – David
5/28/20 – Ambassador is Not a Part-Time Job – Bryan
5/21/20 – The Church is Not a Building – Michael
5/14/20 – Proclaim Jesus at the Grocery Store – David
5/07/20 – Stay the Course – Bryan
4/30/20 – It's the Little Things – Michael
4/23/20 – Living With Certainty & Purpose in Uncertain Times –
4/16/20 – Binge-Praying – David
4/09/20 – An Opportunity to Grow – David