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Acronyms are an integral part <strong>of</strong> our everyday lives. There are several acronyms related to prayer that highlight the importance <strong>of</strong> personal prayer in our daily Christian lives. These three acronyms are ACTS, ASK, and PUSH. ACTS provides a guide to prayer. It involves four different types <strong>of</strong> biblical prayers: • Adoration (acknowledging <strong>God</strong> as the Creator <strong>of</strong> the universe) • Confession (confessing our own sinfulness and weaknesses) • Thanksgiving (thanking <strong>God</strong> for His personal benefits to us—forgiveness, family, and material comforts) • Supplication (asking for what we need) Praying biblical prayers taps into the original power and anointing <strong>of</strong> the Holy Spirit that was working when the prayer was first prayed. The first biblical prayer <strong>of</strong> ACTS is Adoration. This is prayer centered wholly upon <strong>God</strong> and His eternal characteristics—His majesty, glory, and power; His beauty and lavish love; His mercy and grace. Personal devotional prayer should begin with a prayer <strong>of</strong> adoration. King David’s prayer is one <strong>of</strong> many scriptural examples <strong>of</strong> a prayer <strong>of</strong> praise and adoration to <strong>God</strong>: “Praise be to You, O Lord, <strong>God</strong> <strong>of</strong> our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom, You are exalted as head over all” (1 Chronicles 29:10, 11 NIV). The second biblical prayer <strong>of</strong> ACTS is Confession. This next step in personal prayer is confessing our sins unto <strong>God</strong> and asking for forgiveness <strong>of</strong> sins. Psalm 51 is our best-known prayer <strong>of</strong> confession in the Bible: “Have mercy on me, O <strong>God</strong>, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me” (NIV). The third biblical prayer <strong>of</strong> ACTS is Thanksgiving. This is a prayer <strong>of</strong> appreciation for the gifts <strong>God</strong> has given us— most importantly, salvation and eternal life. Thanksgiving should be a part <strong>of</strong> every prayer. The following is an example <strong>of</strong> a prayer <strong>of</strong> thanksgiving from Psalm 7:17: “I will give thanks to the LORD because <strong>of</strong> his righteousness and will sing praise to the name <strong>of</strong> the LORD Most High” (NIV). The fourth and final biblical prayer <strong>of</strong> ACTS is Supplication. Supplication means to ask for something and should come last in our prayer regimen. After we have worshiped and confessed our loyalty and our appreciation to <strong>God</strong>, then and, only then, we can ask Him for anything. Supplication brings us to the acronym ASK. ASK points to the scriptural passage in Luke 11 where Jesus admonishes His children to Ask, Seek, and Knock on <strong>God</strong>’s door through prayer for whatever we need: “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:9, 10, 13 NIV). ASK involves three aspects <strong>of</strong> supplication: Asking, Seeking, and Knocking. Asking speaks to the humility we need in approaching <strong>God</strong> (Isaiah 66:2). Seeking demonstrates our spiritual hunger and desire to find and do <strong>God</strong>’s will in our lives (Jeremiah 29:11). Knocking signifies our perseverance in pursuing <strong>God</strong>’s opportunities in our lives (Ephesians 5:15). ASKing <strong>God</strong> in prayer involves our whole being: body, soul, mind, and spirit. Personal prayer is a spiritual discipline that requires humility <strong>of</strong> our soul and mind. It involves action on the part <strong>of</strong> our body and spirit, which demonstrates faith in the Word <strong>of</strong> <strong>God</strong>. The emphasis <strong>of</strong> this passage is persistence. It is found in the tense <strong>of</strong> the Greek verbs used. The verbs for ask, seek, and knock are all in the present tense. Present tense indicates “continuous action.” This means that we are to “keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking.” PUSH is a new acronym that highlights the necessity for persistence in prayer. PUSH stands for Pray Until Something Happens! If at first prayer we do not see anything result, we are to continue to pray in the pattern <strong>of</strong> ACTS until we get an answer from <strong>God</strong>. As in the Luke ASK passage, we are to continue to pray, continue to intercede, continue to ask, seek and knock on <strong>God</strong>’s prayer door until we see <strong>God</strong>’s plan become reality. Douglas R. Stephenson Rossville, Georgia WWM S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9 27