PRAYER GUIDE

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Preparation for Prayer 2. Elements of Prayer a. Adoration

Adoration of The Father Adoration of The Son Adoration of The Spirit

b. Confession c. Thanksgiving d. Supplication 3. Summary

PREPARATION FOR PRAYER Before praying, ask yourself these questions: l. Have I confessed my sins (Ps. 66:18; Isa. 59:1,2; 1 John 1:9- 10)? 2. Are my relationships right with others (Matt. 5:24-25)? 3. Are my motives pure (James 4:3)? 4. Am I seeking to glorify and please God above all else (John 14:13-14)? 5. Am I seeking God's will in all things (1 John 5:14-15)? 6. Am I trusting in the Lord entirely for direction and wisdom (Prov. 3:5-6; James 1:5)? 7. Am I depending on the Holy Spirit's guidance (Rom. 8:26-27)?

8. Will I praise God no matter how He answers my prayers (Rom. 8:28; 1 Thess. 5:1618)?
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ELEMENTS OF PRAYER There are four key elements in prayer, which are easy to remember by the acronym ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.

~ Adoration ~ This is selfless prayer in which you express love for God and reflect on His attributes and works (1 Chron. 29:11-13; Ps. 50:23; Dan. 4:34-35). Adoration of The Father 1. Some attributes and works of God the Father: a. His knowledge - 1 Sam. 2:3; Job 12:13; Ps. 139:2-6; 147:5; Ezek. 11:5; Dan. 2:22 b. His foreknowledge - Acts 2:23; Rom. 8:29-30; 11:2; 1 Pet. 1:2 c. His supremacy - 1 Chron. 29:11-12; 2 Chron. 20:6 d. His sovereignty - Ps. 135:6; Isa. 46:8-10; Eph. 1:11 e. His immutability - Ex. 3:14; Job 23:13; Ps. 33:13; Mal. 3:6; Heb. 6:17; James 1:17 f. His Holiness - Ex. 15:11; 2 Chron. 20:21; Isa. 6:1-3; Hab. 1:13; 1 John 1:5; Rev. 15:4 g. His power - Job 26:14; Ps. 33:9; 62:11; 89:11-13; Jer. 32:27; Matt. 19:26 h. His faithfulness - Num. 23:19; Deut. 7:9; Ps. 36:5; 89:8; 2 Tim. 2:13; Heb. 10:23 i. His goodness - Ps. 33:5; 52:1; 119:68; Lam. 3:22-23

j. His patience - Neh. 9:17; Ps. 103:8; 145:8; Nah. 1:3 k. His grace - Eph. 1:5-7; 2:7-9; Titus 2:11-12; 3:4-7 l. His mercy - Ex. 34:6-7; 1 Kings 3:6; Ps. 86:5; 136:1; Luke 1:78; 6:36; 1 Pet. 1:3 m. His love - Jer. 31:3; John 3:16; 13:1; Rom. 5:8; Eph. 1:4-5; 2:4; Heb. 12:6 n. His wrath - Deut. 32:39-41; Ps. 7:11; Rom. 1:18; 1 Thess. 1:10; Heb. 12:28-29; Rev. 6:16 2. The Father's attributes as reflected in His names a. Elohim - Speaks of God's omnipotence and sovereignty. He is the God who created and governs all things (Gen. 1-2). b. Jehovah - Speaks of God's personal, eternal, absolute existence; His moral purity; and His covenant relationship to His people (Ex. 3:14-15; 6:2-3; Lev. 19:2). c. El-Shaddai - "God Almighty" ("One mighty to nourish, satisfy, supply") - Gen. 17:1-2; 35:11; Isa. 60:15-16 d. Jehovah - Jireh - "The Lord Provides" - Ps. 116:5, 8, 16-17; 1 John 4:9 e. Jehovah - Rophe - "The Lord Heals" - Isa. 53:4-5; Acts 4:12; 1 Pet. 2:24 f. Jehovah - Nissi - "The Lord Our Banner" - 1 Chron. 29:11-13 g. Jehovah - Rohi - "The Lord My Shepherd" - Ps. 23:3-5; John 14:26; 16:13 h. Jehovah - Shalom - "The Lord Our Peace" - Ps. 29:1; Isa. 9:6; Rom. 8:31-35 i. Jehovah - Tsidkenu - "The Lord Our Righteousness" - Ps. 48:10; 119:137; Dan. 9:14; Hos. 14:9; 1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 10:4 j. Jehovah - Shammah - "The Lord is Present" - Ps. 139:7-8; Isa. 66:1-2; Heb. 13:5-6 k. Jehovah - M`Kaddesh - "The Lord Who Sanctifies" - Isa. 6:3; 57:15; 1 John 1:5; Rev. 4:8; 15:4
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Adoration of The Son

Examples of the attributes and works of Jesus Christ: 1. He is the Head of all things - Col. 1:15-20; 2:10 2. He is the Lamb of God - John 1:29; 1 Cor. 15:3; Col. 1:14; Rev. 5:12,13 3. He is our Savior - John 3:17; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5; Jude 24-25 4. He is the King of kings - Phil. 2:9-11; 1 Tim. 6:15; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 11:15 5. He is the Good Shepherd - Ps. 23:1-4; 103:1-4; 107:8-9; Ezek. 34:11-16; John 10:14; 2 Cor. 9:8; Phil. 4:19 6. He is the Way and the Truth - John 8:32,36; 14:6; Eph. 2:18; Heb. 10:20 7. He is the Bread of Life - John 6:33-35, 48-54 8. He is the Light of the World - John 1:9, 8:12; Rev. 21:23 9. He is the only Mediator between God and man - 1 Cor. 1:30; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 1:3; 7:25 10. He is the resurrection and the Life - John 11:25-26; Rev. 1:18 11. He is God - John 1:1; 14:9, 11 12. He is the Alpha and Omega (beginning and end) - Rev. 1:8 13. He is Beloved of the Father - Eph. 1:6 14. He is the Great Counselor - Isa. 28:29; Col. 2:3 15. He is our Deliverer - Ps. 18:2; Rom. 11:26 16. He is Immanuel (God with us) - Isa. 7:14; John 14:7 17. He is the faithful One - 2 Cor. 1:20; 1 Thess. 5:24; Rev. 19:2 18. He is the Head of His Church - Eph. 5:23; 29-30 19. He is the Light of the World - John 8:12 20. He is the Prince of Peace - Isa. 9:6; Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:14

21. He is the Righteous Judge - 2 Tim. 4:7-8 22. He is the True Vine - John 15:1-5
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Adoration of The Spirit Examples of the attributes and works of The Holy Spirit: 1. He was sent from God - John 14:26 2. He is the Comforter - John 14:16 3. He indwells believers - 1 Cor. 3:16; Gal. 4:6; Heb. 3:7 4. He glorifies Christ - John 16:13, 14; 2 Cor. 2:10 5. He imparts the love of Christ - Rom. 5:5; Eph. 3:19 6. He produces spiritual fruit - Gal. 5:22-23 7. He motivates, guides, and intercedes in prayer - Rom. 8:26; Eph. 2:18; Jude 20 8. He renews believers - 1 Thess. 1:6; 2 Thess. 2:13; Titus 3:5 9. He baptizes believers into Christ - Matt. 3:11; 1 Cor. 12:13 10. He imparts spiritual gifts - 2 Cor. 12:4, 7, 11 11. He unites and edifies believers - Eph. 2:20-22 12. He grants assurance of salvation - Eph. 1:13-14 13. He guides believers - Rom. 8:14, 13 14. He fills believers - Eph. 5:9, 18 15. He brings conviction - John 16:8-13
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~ Confession ~ The Greek word translated "confess" literally means to agree with God about your sin. You agree that your sin violates His holiness and hinders your relationship with Him, and you respond accordingly--by repenting of it and turning from it. This is also a good point in your prayer time to reaffirm your desire to live fully within the scope of His will (Isa. 59:1-2; 1 John 1:9-10). An unknown Puritan reflected the essence of confession in this insightful prayer: Merciful Lord, Pardon all my sins of this day, week, year, all the sins of my life, sins of early, middle, and advanced years, of omission and commission, of morose, peevish and angry tempers, of lip, life and walk, of hard-heartedness, unbelief, presumption, pride, of unfaithfulness to the souls of men, of want of bold decision in the cause of Christ, of deficiency in outspoken zeal for His glory, of bringing dishonor upon Thy great name, of deception, injustice, untruthfulness in my dealings with others, of impurity in thought, word, and deed, of covetousness, which is idolatry,

of substance unduly hoarded, improvidently squandered, not consecrated to the glory of Thee, the Great Giver; sins in private and in the family, in study and recreation, in the busy haunts of men, in the study of Thy Word and in the neglect of it, in prayer irreverently offered and coldly withheld, in time misspent, in yielding to Satan's wiles, in opening my heart to his temptations, in being unwatchful when I know him nigh, in quenching the Holy Spirit; sins against light and knowledge, against conscience and the restraints of Thy Spirit, against the law of eternal love. Pardon all my sins, known and unknown, felt and unfelt, confessed and not confessed, remembered and forgotten. Good Lord, hear; and hearing, forgive.
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~ Thanksgiving ~ Thanksgiving is expressing gratitude to the Lord for His abundant blessings. "Now therefore, our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious name" (1 Chron. 29:13). "Now anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which

surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6-7). Here are some other examples of thanksgiving prayers. You may want to use some of them as models for your own prayers.

Ex. 15:11, 13 1 Chron. 29:10-13 Neh. 9:5-6 Ps. 8:1, 3-6, 9 Ps. 12:6-7 Ps. 19:1 Ps. 34:1-3 Ps. 50:23 Ps. 57:7-11 Ps. 74:16 Ps. 84:1-4, 11 Ps. 86:5, 8-10, 12-13 Ps. 89:11 Ps. 91:5-9, 11-14 Ps. 96:1-2, 4-6 Ps. 97:1, 2, 6, 9, 12 Ps. 98:2, 3, 9 Ps. 99:3 Ps. 100, 103 Ps. 104:1, 24, 27-30, 33, 34 Ps. 136 Ps. 139:1-12, 14 Isa. 25:1 Isa. 58:11 Isa. 66:1, 2 Jer. 31:9; 32:17-19 Mal. 3:6 John 10:9-11, 28-30 1 Cor. 10:13; 15:51-57 2 Cor. 1:3, 4; 2:14; 8:9 2 Cor. 9:8; 12:9-10 Eph. 1:3-10; 2:8-10 Phil. 4:6-11, 14, 19 Col. 1:14; 2:10 1 Thess. 5:16-18 2 Thess. 3:3 Heb. 13:8 James 4:7-8; 5:13 1 Pet. 1:3-5; 2:24; 5:6, 10-11 2 Pet. 1:4 1 John 1:7 Jude 24-25 Rev. 4:11; 5:9-13
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~ Supplication ~ "Supplication" is a general term that speaks of humble, earnest prayer in any form. It often includes intercession, which is speaking to God about the concerns and needs of others.

Regarding supplication, Paul wrote, "I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior" (1 Tim. 2:1-3). 1. A suggestion: Keep a written record of your prayer requests and how the Lord answers them. That will be a great source of encouragement. 2. Examples of supplications include:

Luke 1:13; 2:37; 5:33 2 Cor. 1:11; 9:14 Eph. 1:16-19 Phil. 1:4-6, 9-11, 19 Col. 1:9-11 Heb. 5:7 James 5:15-16 1 Pet. 3:12
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SUMMARY What I can pray about? Adoration (worship) - Rev. 5:8-14

God's person (who He is) - Isa. 6:3 God's Works (what He has done) - Ps. 103

Confession - 1 John 1:9

Personal sins (in deed, thought, or word) - Ps. 32:5 Family sins - Lev. 26:40 Church body sins - Dan. 9:3-19 National sins - Jonah 3:5-10

Thanksgiving - Ps. 50:23

For trials - James 1:2-4 For blessings - 1 Chron. 16:7-36 For everything - 1 Thess. 5:18

Supplication - Matt. 7:7-11

For my family - Matt. 6:11 For my local church - Col. 1:9-12 For the church worldwide - Eph. 6:18-19 For individual Christians - Acts 12:5 For individual non-Christians - Matt. 5:44 For my nation - 1 Tim. 2:1-2 For myself - James 1:5
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