Sometimes we hear people say something like, “Our thoughts and prayers are with you.” What does that even mean? It’s a nice sentiment, but I’m not certain anything we think will make much difference for someone going through a tough time. Five “I’m thinking of you’s” and $6 might get us a small latte at our favorite coffee shop.
However, the ‘prayers’ part is something very different. That is, if we actually pray and not just say we will, hoping to make someone feel a little bit better. Many times, I’ve promised to pray for someone and promptly forgot, only to hear the person says a week or two later, “Thanks for your prayers.” If I were honest, I’d respond, “Somebody must have been praying for you, but it wasn’t me. It slipped my mind.” That’s one of the rare times when honesty might not be the best policy.
A better approach when asked – or offering – to pray for someone is doing it right then. Whether in person or over the phone, I try to pray with them at that moment. Hopefully I’ll remember to pray for them later as well, but at least I’ll have kept my commitment.
This isn’t at all to belittle the value and importance of prayer. I believe in the power of prayer with all my heart. In fact, I suspect that if anything, we underestimate what prayer can accomplish.
We have a good example in the prophet Elijah. He’s described in James 5:17-18, which hearkens back to events in 1 Kings17-19: “Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” The prophet’s prayers brought about an unquestionable, very specific demonstration of the mighty power of Jehovah, the one true God.
How’s your prayer life? Is it like the red box on the wall in the public building, “For Emergency Use Only”? Does it consist only of “saying grace” before a meal? Is it just reciting what some folks call the “Our Father” – the model prayer Jesus Christ taught to His disciples in Matthew 6:9-13?
Before committing my life to Jesus, I would send “flare prayers” to God in times of crisis. During one particularly difficult time I did pray the Lord’s Prayer that I’d learned as a boy in church, not knowing anything else to pray. But when I came to the phrase, “Thy will be done,” I couldn’t proceed.
At that moment I didn’t want God’s will to be done. I wanted my will to be done. But the Lord wouldn’t let me go. Finally, with tears streaming down my face, I prayed, “Okay, God, Your will be done!” Amazingly, in that instant of resigning myself to the Lord doing things His way instead of mine, it felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders. And I soon realized His will was much wiser than mine.
Years ago, I learned that one of the simplest but most effective patterns for prayer is the acronym, ACTS. It stands for:
Adoration.
Confession.
Thanksgiving.
Supplication.
Too often when I’ve prayed, I’ve skipped the first three steps, going straight to Supplication – presenting my needs and concerns to the Lord. But it makes a world of difference to go through these four steps in order. God already knows what we’re going to ask for, so it’s not like we need to rush to our “wish list” so we can bring Him up to speed.
Adoration doesn’t require formal language or some special, sanctified wording. It’s a matter of recognizing who God is, what He has done, and giving Him the praise He deserves. In essence, acknowledging that He’s God – and we’re not.
The second step, Confession, is important because we don’t want sin disrupting our conversation with the Lord. As I view it, unconfessed sin is like building a wall that blocks our fellowship with Him. Confession, repenting of any known sin even though we know it’s already forgiven because of what Jesus did for us, has the effect of immediately tearing down that wall.
Thanksgiving isn’t something to practice only on the fourth Thursday every November. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 we’re told, “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” We can give thanks for what He’s already done. We can thank Him for the circumstances we’re currently facing, recognizing the Lord can use them for our ultimate good, as Romans 8:28 reminds us. And we can thank Him for what He’s going to do in the future.
Then we can move to Supplication, or if you prefer, Petition – submitting whatever’s on our heart to the Lord, knowing by faith that He’s already busily at work in those situations, ready to amaze us again by how He responds.
This is where we can kick the ‘prayers’ part of ‘thoughts and prayers’ into gear. Our first inclination is to pray for our own needs and those of our loved ones. There’s nothing wrong with that. But if we truly believe prayer changes things, we can do as Hebrews 4:16 suggests, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace…,” submitting concerns not only for ourselves but also for many needs we hear about during the course of daily living.
Do you know of a family in crisis? Pray. Is someone you know facing a dire health situation? Pray. Are you concerned about unrest in the Middle East? Pray. The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine? Pray. Friends facing financial hardships? Pray. Christians being persecuted and killed in some parts of the world? Pray.
The list is endless, and in many cases we’re helpless to do anything about such pressing needs. But we can practice the admonition of 1 Thessalonians 5:17, to “pray without ceasing" or "pray continually.” And with the assurance that we can boldly approach God’s throne of grace solely on the basis of our “great high priest…Jesus the Son of God” (Hebrews 4:14).
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