The ACTS Prayer Model

The ACTS Prayer Model provides a simple guide for anyone who desires to learn how to pray or wants to rekindle their prayer life.

• A – Adoration
• C – Confession
• T – Thanksgiving
• S – Supplication

Whether a new Believer or a seasoned saint, we can connect with the Lord in prayer through ACTS. Our prayer starts with Adoration (praise and honor), moves into Confession (repentance), celebrates with Thanksgiving (appreciation and gratitude), and concludes with Supplication (bringing our needs and concerns before God).

Adoration (Honor)

Adoration is praising and honoring God for who HE IS. What an honor to bring our praise and worship before the Living God. We have the privilege to exalt the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, to lift up the great I AM, to behold Him in His majesty and holiness.

We can use Scripture, our own words, or a combination of the two. We can pray in silence, out loud, or sing our prayer. We can sit, kneel, walk, or dance. The key is to focus on who HE IS, then praise and adore Him with all our hearts.

Confession (Acknowledgment)

Confession is admitting our weaknesses and sins to the Lord. Confession also involves recognizing the work of Christ on the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit in Christ’s resurrection, when He conquered sin, death, and the grave.

I believe it is important that, when we confess our sins to the Lord, we leave them with Him. Many people misunderstand confession and keep confessing the same sins again and again, without realizing that Christ cleanses us from our sins, washes our hearts clean, and we start afresh.

Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool. ~Isaiah 1:18 AMPC

I believe it is important for us to give our sins to the Lord, then receive His forgiveness, cleansing, and healing. This exchange (sin for forgiveness) enables us to walk in holiness and experience restoration.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ~1 John 1:9 WEB

There is a difference between condemnation and conviction. God convicts us of sin that we might confess it, be cleansed, transformed, and made whole. The enemy condemns us that we might become bound by guilt and shame, then live in regret and defeat.

• Condemnation – guilt, shame, heavy burden, regret, defeat
• Conviction – confession, forgiveness, cleansing, healing, restoration, wholeness, freedom

Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross that we might experience life-giving heart transformation. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live whole and free.

Thanksgiving (Gratitude)

Thanksgiving is expressing our gratitude for who He is and for all that He has done for us.

Giving thanks can be as simple as our appreciation for His beautiful creation, as in a beautiful sunrise, the trill of a bird, or the sight of a rainbow after a rainstorm. Or it can be our gratitude for Him carrying us through a difficult trial, such as a job loss or the pain from an accident or illness.

Giving thanks to the Lord is not about the words we say, but the sincere expression from our hearts for His goodness to us spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Whatever bubbles up in our hearts in gratitude or comes to our minds, let us freely express our appreciation to the Lord.

Supplication (Request)

Supplication is appealing to God for our needs. Being gracious, He hears our every heart cry, silent petition, and spoken requests. And He answers us. Sometimes His answer is yes; sometimes His answer is no; and sometimes His answer is wait, but He always answers us.

Supplication is when we make requests to God on behalf of our family members, friends, neighbors, colleagues, or even strangers. We can ask on behalf of our community, city, nation, or the nations of the world.

The Lord does not want us to worry or to be anxious about anyone or anything. He wants us to bring ourselves, other people, and situations to Him.

It is like an exchange program because we give God…ourselves, other people, situations, and He takes them. In exchange, He gives us a peace that surpasses understanding to guard our hearts and minds, because we have ‘given’ everything to Him and are trusting Him to take care of matters or to give us wisdom about what to do. He is faithful and trustworthy!

Sample Prayer

Adoration (Honor)

Lord, we bless, praise, and honor Your name. “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever! Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns!”

Lord, we join with all of heaven and cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come! Worthy are You, our Lord and God, the Holy One, to receive the glory, the honor, and the power, for you created all things, and because of Your desire they existed and were created!”

Lord, there is none like You in heaven or on earth, so we bless and praise You for who You are.¹

Confession (Acknowledgment)

Lord, “as the deer pants for the water brooks so our souls pant after You, God. Our souls thirst for You, the Living God.” Lord, we confess that we are “continually wandering like sheep, but now we have come back to You, the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls.”

Lord, we confess our sins to You and lay them at Your feet. [Confess any sins He is convicting you of doing. Galatians 5:19-21 lists: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities/hatred, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions/quarrel, factions/discord, envy, drunkenness, carousing.]

Lord, we confess that we lived in the lusts of our flesh and indulged in the desires of our flesh and mind. Lord, we confess that we have sinned and fallen short of Your glory and that we do not want to reap the wages of sin, which is death. Lord, we call upon You to save us from sin and death.

Lord, we acknowledge Your gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ and that through Him You forgive our sins and cleanse our hearts today. Lord, we recognize the new heart and the new spirit You place within us.²

Thanksgiving (Gratitude)

Lord, we give thanks to You, for You are good, and Your compassion and lovingkindness endures forever. Lord, we thank you for blessing us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ and making us holy and blameless before You.

Lord, thank you for delivering us from the power of darkness and transferring us into the Kingdom of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in whom we have the forgiveness of our sins. Lord, thank you that every morning, You extend Your mercy and lovingkindness toward us.

Lord, thank you for leading us in stillness, restoring our souls, guiding us, and guarding our hearts and minds with Your peace. Lord, thank you for causing all things to work together for our good because we love You.

Lord, thank you for having plans for our peace and well-being, giving us a future and a hope. Thank you that when we call upon You and come and pray to You, You hear us, and when we seek You with all of our hearts, we find You. Lord, thank you that when we draw near to You, You respond by drawing near to us.³

Supplication (Request)

Lord, You say to be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, to make my requests known to You. Lord, we lift up our need for [ask the Lord for what you specifically need, whether it is spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, or relational].

Lord, we lift up the elderly to You (parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors) and ask that they know Your sweet Presence, Your peace, Your comfort amid any pain, Your joy, and the ability to delight in the little things in their lives today. Lord, we ask that You would grant them strength, good health, purpose, and the knowledge of Your will for them in this season.

Lord, we lift up our children (grandchildren, nieces, nephews, children you influence in the neighborhood) to You and ask that they would know how high, how wide, how long, and how deep Your love is for them today. Thank you that with every temptation, You provide a way of escape. We pray that they would take the path of escape from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Lord, we ask You to deliver them from evil and from the evil one. Let them hunger and thirst for You, the Living God, and be satisfied and content with You, Your nature, and Your ways.

Lord, we lift up our friends to You and ask that they would know how great Your love is for them today. Let Your favor be a shield about them and let Your mercies follow them and be their rear guard. Lord, give them a spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and strength, knowledge and the fear of the Lord for every heart issue, every relationship, and every decision.

Lord, we pray for orphans, widows, and the homeless that today they might find food and shelter and experience Your lovingkindness through us, Your people. And according to Your Word, we ask that the lonely would find a loving home.

Lord, we pray for missionaries in different lands and pray that today they would sense Your loving Presence and be empowered by Your Holy Spirit to see, hear, and discern Your voice, the hearts of the people, and the work of the enemy around them. Give them a spirit of wisdom and understanding; grant them the knowledge of Your will; open doors of opportunity for them to share the mystery of Christ and Your great love; and provide for their every need. Let Your favor be a shield about them, allowing them to experience fruitfulness in the hearts and lands they are sowing into, and let their good fruit remain. Pour out Your Spirit in fresh measure upon them, their families, their ministries, their cities, their countries, and the people groups they are ministering to in the Name of Jesus.

Lord, we pray for righteous leaders (business, government, ministry, non-profit) to be enveloped by Your righteousness; to seek You and find You; to walk in humility, do acts of justice, to love kindness, serve unselfishly, bear good fruit, and do everything out of love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Let the righteous find solutions to problems, resources to cover needs, and develop skills that are transferable so that all might grow into maturity and well-being. Fill them afresh with Your Holy Spirit that they might be strengthened and encouraged to walk with an upright heart before You and before men.

Lord, we pray for unrighteous leaders who walk in wickedness, deceit, perversion, lies, and arrogance to be removed from positions of influence because Your Word says that we would look for the wicked man and he would be no more; that we would look carefully for his place and he would not be there. We pray for a spirit of repentance, a spirit of reconciliation, and a spirit of the fear of the Lord that they might turn to You and be saved. Lord, we humble ourselves before You, to seek You and to turn from our wicked ways and from wicked people, and according to Your Word, we thank you for hearing our prayers, forgiving our sins, and healing our land.

Lord, we lift up North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Antarctica, and the Islands to You and ask for Your kingdom to come and Your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, we ask for Your Kingdom – righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit to be manifest. Lord, we ask for truth, righteousness, and light to prevail over lies, unrighteousness, and darkness in Jesus Name.

Lord, we agree in prayer that every family in heaven and on the earth would be strengthened with power through Your Holy Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ might dwell in our hearts through faith and that we would be rooted and grounded in Your love, and be filled up to all the fullness of God in Christ Jesus who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.⁴

Recommendations

18 Powerful Prayers of Repentance – Strength with Dignity

The Fruit of the Spirit: How to Prayerfully Cultivate – Strength with Dignity

Praying for the Nations – Strength with Dignity

References

¹ Revelation 5:13, 19:6b, 4:8b, 4:11 WEB

² Psalms 42:1-2 WEB; 1 Peter 2:25 AMP; Ephesians 2:3 NASB; Romans 3:23, 6:23, 10:13; 1 John 1: 9; Ezekiel 36:26

³ Psalm 107:1 AMP; Ephesians 1:3-4 NASB; Colossians 1:13-14; Lamentations 3:22-23; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:7; Romans 8:28; Jeremiah 29:11-13 AMP; James 4:8

⁴ Philippians 4:6 WEB; Ephesians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 1 John 2:16; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; Matthew 5:6; 1 Timothy 6:6; Psalm 5:12; Psalm 23:6; Isaiah 11:2; James 1:27; Psalm 68:6; Colossians 4:3; Psalms 5:12; John 15:16; Micah 6:8; 1 Timothy 1:5; Psalm 37:10; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Matthew 6:10; Romans 14:17; Ephesians 3:14-21 NASB

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Equip for Prayer. Published by Strength with Dignity on October 18, 2021, accessed May 27, 2026, from Equip for Prayer – Strength with Dignity

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