“Lord, teach us to pray…” When Jesus’ disciples wanted to learn how to pray, they went directly to their Lord and asked (Luke 11:1). Today, if we want to learn how to pray, we have an entire Bible full of examples, inspiration, and instruction.

Prayer is an essential part of the Christian life. It’s one of the spiritual disciplines, or habits, that the Bible instructs us to practice (if you want to read more about spiritual disciplines, click here to check out this article next.
But sometimes, we can struggle to find the right words.
We might wonder, how do we pray on the days when our minds draw a blank?
Often, we focus on asking God to meet our needs. Scripture does teach us to bring our burdens to Him (Psalm 55:22), but prayer is much more meaningful when we include other principles. If you want to offer whole, meaningful prayers to the Lord, the ACTS Acronym for prayer might help. While you won’t find the term “ACTS Acronym” in the Bible, you’ll see each principle—Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication—woven throughout its pages.
Let’s look at how each part can enrich your relationship with God.
Adoration
Adoration is about recognizing how wonderful, powerful, and holy God is. If the word adoration isn’t part of your everyday conversation (it certainly isn’t in mine), think of synonyms like praise, respect, reverence, amazement, worship, and even wonder and awe.
Are praise, reverence, and awe part of your prayers? The Bible is full of prayers that include these traits! Take a look at a few scriptures below.
“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.” — 1 Chronicles 16:29
“But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.” — Psalm 59:16
“Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!” — Psalm 150:1-6
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” — Revelation 4:11
Confession
Confession is about acknowledging truth. Often, we think about confessing our sins, but confession involves more than that. Confession involves acknowledging who God is and how much we need Him. Take a look at these verses:
“Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.’” — Matthew 16:13-20
“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long… I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” — Psalm 32:3, 5
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” — James 5:16
Thanksgiving
It’s easy to ask God for what we want and need. Do we also remember to thank God for all He’s done for us? Gratitude reminds us of His faithfulness and goodness, especially in giving us the tools we need for spiritual growth—His Word, prayer, and the support of our church families. Thanksgiving transforms our hearts, grounding us in trust and joy.
Here are some examples of Thanksgiving found in the Bible:
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” — Psalm 107:1
“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” — Colossians 4:2
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” — Philippians 4:6-7
Supplication
Like adoration, supplication is another word we might not be familiar with outside of biblical context. Supplication means “to ask for humbly and earnestly.” Synonyms include appeal to, beg, implore, petition, and plead.
Supplication gives us the chance to take our needs, burdens, and desires to the Lord. When we trust God to supply our needs, we give Him the opportunity to be our provider.
“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” — Psalm 34:17
“Do not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:6-7, 19
“Give us this day our daily bread.” — Matthew 6:11
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” — James 1:5
Reading the Bible with an ACTS Mindset
As you read through the Bible with the ACTS Acronym for prayer in mind, you’ll notice verses in a new light. You might even see multiple principles pop up in the same verse, like in Jesus’ model prayer found in Matthew chapter 6. Jesus begins his prayer with adoration—“hallowed be your name” (verse 9)—before weaving into supplication throughout the rest of his prayer.
Whether you use it regularly or as a way to recenter your prayers, this prayer system will hopefully help you nurture a rich prayer relationship with the Lord.
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