All prayers begin with him

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON

“The goal of prayer is the ear of God, a goal that can only be

reached by patient and continued and continuous waiting upon him,

pouring out our heart to him and permitting him to speak to us. Only

by so doing can we expect to know him, and as we come to know him

better we shall spend more time in his presence and find that

presence a constant and ever-increasing delight.”

-- E.M. BOUNDS

There are different reasons why I pray. I pray when I’m filled

with joy, when I’m confused, when I feel overwhelmed and at the

stages in between. I pray by myself, with others, for myself and for

others, too. I love it when prayers are answered positively, and I’m

sad when they aren’t, but through it all, I trust God.

When I begin prayers focused on God, some of my problems seem to

diminish a little, or later I view them in a different perspective.

To be honest, however, I don’t always start praying this way;

sometimes I begin with pleas for help or guidance, but I think God is

interested in hearing those, too.

Sometimes, I want to get to know God better, to tell him how much

I love him, I am thankful that he is in my life and to hear from him.

Many people follow a prayer pattern called “ACTS.” Each letter

refers to something. I don’t know who originated the idea, so I can’t

give proper credit, but I’ll explain briefly.

The A stands for Adoration. That is when I tell God how much I

truly adore him, for who he is, for all he does, even for all that I

don’t know or understand about him. You can join me in doing so in a

minute.

The C stands for Confession. It’s a time for me to come clean with

my failings. I know God already knows what I’ve done and thought, but

it is important to let him know that I know, and that I want to

apologize or change and get back on the right course.

The T stands for Thanksgiving. This is the time I thank God for

all he has done in my life as well as the lives of others. I believe

miracles happen, and I’ve prayed for many in my life. I’ve written

about some of them in past columns.

The “S” stands for Supplication, which means to humbly and

earnestly pray to God on behalf of others. We all have family,

friends, situations and even strangers to pray about.

We can do the Adoration part together. I’ve been in groups where

we go through the alphabet and verbalize descriptions of God. Here is

a simple list; feel free to write your own.

God is:

All Knowing;

Beautiful;

Creative;

Determined;

Everywhere;

Forgiving;

Gracious;

Healing;

Inspiring;

Just;

Knowledgeable;

Loving;

Merciful;

Noble;

Omnipotent;

Pure;

Qualified;

Righteous;

Strong;

Trustworthy;

Unique;

Victorious;

Worshipful;

Xtraordinary; and

Zealous.

Obviously, there are many more words, and I hope you add to the

list and that some of you let me know what they are.

Whatever pattern of prayer we follow, or whatever we pray about,

there is always plenty to pray about and God is eager to hear from

us.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at

[email protected] or through the mail at 537 Newport Center Drive,

Suite 505, Newport Beach, CA 92660.