So you want to pray more powerfully for your children, but you’re not even sure where to start. This is one of my favorite methods of prayer that my mom taught me when I was a kid. And now I use it all of the time, even without thinking about it! In this post, I’m going to show you how I pray A.C.T.S. for my kids.
A.C.T.S. stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. I’m going to go through what that means in a minute, but first let’s talk about what it’s like to pray as a mom.
Motherhood changes the way we pray.
I remember when I was a college student and could go for long prayer walks. I could pray about every single little thing I could possibly think of…That seems so far away right now! Some days I’m lucky if I can string together two minutes of prayer.
Rejoice always! Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
But these days what I’m emphasizing in my own life is the call to pray constantly – while I’m mothering, cooking, cleaning, resting, falling asleep, and all the little in-between moments. I pray for my husband, my children, my family members, the members of my small group, my church leadership, this blog. I praise God and thank Him. I tell him what I’m worried about, what I’m excited about, what I’m feeling in the moment. I pray for His will to be done in my life.
For more ideas of when to pray, check out this post: 10 Unexpected Times to Pray.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
Romans 8:26
Sometimes I just pray: “God…” and that’s all I’ve got. Just like reaching out a hand to know He’s there. So He knows I’m there, relying on Him through this crazy life.
Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.
Romans 12:12
Why should you pray ACTS?
When I was a kid, I remember my mom teaching me to pray through A.C.T.S., where A stood for “Adoration,” C for “Confession,” T for “Thanksgiving,” and S for “Supplication.” This style of praying just gives some structure to my prayers and loosely follows the Lord’s prayer outline Jesus gave to His disciples in Luke 11:1-4.
When we are able to pray specific prayers for our children, it’s powerful. It helps us to connect with God in a deeper way, and it also helps us to connect with our children more powerfully, too. Have you ever noticed that when you pray for someone more consistently, you think about them more, care more for them, and are more attentive to them?
The same is true with praying for our kids. Which is why having prayer prompts such as the ACTS prayer is so helpful for me because I’m able to pray specific, powerful prayers for my children that I otherwise wouldn’t have thought of.
If you’re looking for more ways to pray for your kids, check out my 30 Days of Prayer Calendar. It has a whole month’s worth of prayer prompts and specific Bible verses to prayer over for our kids. You can subscribe to download it below.
How to pray ACTS for your children:
A- Adoration
Praise God for creating your children. Take time to admire features and qualities about your kids that God formed in them.
C- Confession
Take a moment to consider the day or the week and think about what areas you might have sinned against God, your husband or your children. Tell them to God. Apologize to Him. Then praise Him and thank Him for covering you with His amazing grace. You could also take this opportunity to ask for forgiveness for your child’s current/future sins.
T- Thanksgiving
Thank God for giving you this child. This is an opportunity to thank God for obstacles you/your child have overcome, trials you’ve gotten through, ways you/your child have grown. You could thank God for the opportunity to teach your child about Him. You could thank Him for allowing us to have the Bible, the Church, the Holy Spirit to guide us through the mayhem of motherhood.
S- Supplication
This is where you spend time asking God for things for your family. Supplication is eager, humble requests. You could ask for His protection, His help, and His wisdom. I usually end my prayers with asking God for guidance as Tyler and I raise our boys, that we can teach them about God and that one day they’ll be able to choose to follow Him.
If you’re looking for more inspiration to pray continually, here’s some of my favorite Bible verses and quotes on prayer: My Favorite Prayer Quotes.
Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.
Colossians 4:2
Mamas, I hope you’ll join me this week in covering our kiddos and our families in prayer. In all truth, this is the best way to fight against the chaos of this world. Click the PDF below for a free printable that you can use as a prayer prompt for your kids – post it on your mirror and pray for them as you put on your makeup or put it on your fridge and pray while you make meals or in your car to pray as you drive! Enjoy!
Also, if you’d like some prayer prompts to pray the Scriptures over your husband, check out this post: Praying the Scriptures for Your Husband
What’s one of your go-to prayers for your kids, yourself as a mom, or your husband?
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