FRAMEWORKS FOR SPONTANEOUS PRAYER
The PAPA Approach
PAPA is an acronym that provides a framework for spontaneous prayer. It can help keep you focused no matter where you are or what is going on in your life at the moment.
Present yourself to God. I recognize who I am standing before. When we pray, who is it that we stand before?
Attend to how I’m thinking of God. Be real. Am I aware of His presence? When was I most aware of His presence? What seems real to me now about God? Is He present? Absent? Do I sense His caring?
Purge myself of anything blocking my relationship with God. What is it that God wants me to confess? He already knows, but He wants me to acknowledge it so that He can forgive it and remove it as a barrier to intimacy with Him.
Approach God. The first three movements help me to now tell God that I want Him first in my life — first in purpose, first in affections, first in all my thoughts and in all the decisions I make.
The ACTS Approach
ACTS is another acronym that provides a framework for spontaneous prayer. It can help keep you focused no matter where you are or what is going on in your life at the moment.
Adoration. This is another word for “worship” — and as we have seen, only God is worthy of our worship. Elements of worship include reverence, admiration and love. In all these ways, God should come first in our lives. No matter what your purpose in praying at the moment, begin with adoration — in your heart and in your words. Need some inspiration? Try a line from the Psalms, such as, “How awesome are your deeds” (Psalm 66:3), or “O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:9) A good prayer exercise is to browse the Psalms looking for phrases to use in your own prayers.
Confession. Acknowledge where you have fallen short, where you have made wrong choices, where you have indulged the false god of self-sufficiency, where you have let yourself fall prey to pride and fear, and ask God to forgive you. Thank Him for the gift of salvation in Jesus, and resolve to do your best to follow Jesus’ example in all you do and say. Ask for His help.
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 John 1:9-10
Thanksgiving. We should take nothing for granted — not even life itself. Thank God for your own existence, for the existence of all whom you love, for His love, His selfless sacrifice, for his constancy and patience, for every good thing in your life, and for His Spirit to guide you in all you do and say.
Supplication. Now it’s appropriate to do what most of us do most of the time with our prayers — petition God for something, perhaps even many things. It’s more than okay to ask God for things. And nothing we want will surprise Him. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Fortunately, He also loves us even more than we can ever love ourselves. So remember, no request is too small or large. Most of all, ask God to do what is truly best for you — even if you will have difficulty accepting it — and ask Him to help you accept His will for your life. Even Jesus struggled with accepting the Father’s will for Him. But in the end He did it. Pray for the same level of acceptance on your part.
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