Many Christians get excited about prayer as a path that channels their needs to God, but they do not realise other crucial elements of prayer, that a Christian needs to know as they grow in their relationships with God. Treating God like an “answer-to-prayer-dispenser” rather than a person with whom you have an enjoyable relationship is a poor mind-set, according to some believers. There are some key aspects of prayer believed by Christians to make a healthy conversation with God. They assert that a Christian prayer is complete by remembering ACTS — not the book of the Bible, but the acronym. The ACTS method of Christian prayer goes like this: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. Adoration Adoration means giving God praise and honour for who He is the Lord overall, according to Joshua Kwizera, a theology student. “In your prayer, it is necessary to include worshipping, praising, honouring and saying wonderful things about the Lord,” says Kwizera, citing Psalms 103 and 145 as good examples of adoration verses. Confession Kwizera says that it is always necessary to go in the presence of God with a clean heart, after confessing all your sins. “God is holy, we need to come in front of Him, with clean hearts, and admitting and confessing our sins is vital for a human prayer,” he notes. Thanksgiving Despite the way many believers feed their prayers with agony and sorrow, Valerie Irankunda, an evangelist with Zion Temple Celebration Church, says that prayer should verbalise gratitude in your life and the world around you. “Giving thanks expresses our faith, and it is faith that pleases God. Hebrews 11 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, and we don’t necessarily give thanks for the difficult circumstances, but give thanks for His total provision during good and painful ones,” he says. Supplication Iradukunda says that supplication is praying for the needs of others and yourself. However, he points out that we need to be careful on the specific needs we need to lay before God. “As you talk to God, pray that your inner person may be renewed, pray for wisdom and guidance, strength to resist temptation, and comfort in time of sorrow—pray for everything,” he says. Iradukunda adds, “Pray for others. It sounds really selfish to lift up the needs of oneself, whereas there are people in hospitals, insecure regions, and others facing a wide range of problems, pray for them also,” he adds. After prayer, Mico Mariette Bisenge, a protestant community leader, urges Christians to follow the will of God. “What you have prayed for may not necessarily be the will of God, so always be patient whenever your prayer is not answered the way you want,” she warns. Also remember to ask Him to lead you and show you the right decisions and the ways to better yourself as a person, as well as the world and people around you, Bisenga adds.
