Pray the following outward-focused intercessory prayers. I recommend following the ACTS prayer method as outlined below. Take a few minutes to center yourself in silence before you proceed.

The ACTS prayer method allows us to organize our thoughts and requests as we pray. The Acronym acts stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. This model of prayer prioritizes our time with God so we first approach Him with reverence (Adoration), then repent of the sin in our life (confession), then express our gratitude for him (thanksgiving), and then finally submit to Him our requests (supplication).

Adoration: Praise God for Who He Is. Start your prayers by recounting God’s many characteristics in the form of praise.

If you are not yet familiar with God’s characteristics, Start with this simple example:

“Lord God in Heaven, You are worthy to be praised. Thank you for the cross, Lord, that your son Jesus Christ gave his life for my salvation. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.”

Confession:

Express sincere remorse for past decisions and present-moment habits and behaviors that are out of alignment with God’s Will for your life. Keep it simple: Pick ONE thing you know you shouldn’t do and commit to doing less of it.

IE: Complaining.

Pick ONE thing you know you should do and commit to doing more of it.

IE:
Reading God’s Word.

Pick ONE thing you are already doing well and commit to doing more of that.

IE: Being a good spouse / friend / son / daughter / brother / sister by genuinely putting the interests of those closest to you ahead of yourself.

Ask the Lord how you can Grow in the Pursuit of Love with these three questions:

“Lord, What am I doing that you want me to stop doing?
Lord, What am I not doing that you would like me to do?

Lord, What am I doing well that you want me to keep on doing?”

Ask these questions of God in faith - You will discover the answers in God’s timing.

He will convict your heart of habits and behaviors He wants you to let go, habits and behaviors He wants you to start and embrace, and habits and behaviors he wants you to increase in your life.

This is not an overnight process - it’s like the layers of an onion. You are not going to wake up a saint tomorrow.

Realize: God speaks to us through progressive revelation. He doesn’t drop “everything” on us at once. “Give us this day our daily bread” is a statement for a reason. He gives us what we need for today. I like to think of God’s way of speaking through progressive revelation as God giving us one breadcrumb at a time as we seek His word, His Will, and His Ways for our life. Breadcrumbs can be received through ANY source of information around us: Movies we watch, Podcasts we listen to, Music we hear,

Conversations we overhear, Scripture we read in the bible, Scripture or commentary we read in a daily devotional, etc.

There are no boxes on God. Realize that when God has something for you - you CANNOT miss it. When a breadcrumb is FOR YOU and RELEVANT to a recent prayer - you will KNOW it.

I strongly recommend that you keep a prayer journal so you can write down your prayers and the date on which you prayed them and then track when they are answered. Keep in mind that some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers that are made in our own will and not made according to His Will and timing.

One easy way to do this - is to pray out loud and document your prayers with voice notes on your phone. You can then transcribe them on a weekly basis and track them over time.

Another option is to keep a prayer board and place note cards on the board on the left side when you pray them and then move them into an archive when they are answered.

God answers our prayers with YES, NO,NOT YET, and His Will: aka: I did a thing for you….which was better than what you asked for.

Remember sometimes closed doors are also blessings. We tend to think that only open doors are blessings…which is not the case.

Thanksgiving: Thank God for What He Has Done. Express gratitude to God in your own words. If you aren’t sure what to say - Say Less. Keep it simple. [Ecclesiastes 5:2]

A simple example:

“God, Thank you for the blessings in my life. I have so much to be grateful for.

**Name as many blessings in your life as you can think of.**

In the Name of Jesus I pray, Amen.”

Supplication / Requests:

Pray The Lord’s Prayer

[Matthew 6:9-13 (AMP)]

“In the name of Jesus I pray:

‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
‘Give us this day our daily bread.

‘And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment].

‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’

Pray for all those who are not yet in Christ Jesus to See with Open Eyes, Hearts, and MindsHint: If you’ve yet to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior - this includes you. Read [2 Corinthians 4:3-4 AMP] and [Acts 16:31 AMP] three times before you pray this prayer.

[2 Corinthians 4:3-4 NLT]

3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.

4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

[Acts 16:31 AMP]

And they answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus [as your personal Savior and entrust yourself to Him] and you will be saved, you and your household [if they also believe].”

“God in Heaven, according to 2 Cor 4:3-4, I understand the enemy has blinded the minds of those who have not yet received your son Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to prevent them from seeing the illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Lord, I pray that the veil the enemy has placed over the mind of the unbeliever, including myself (if that describes you), be rent from top to bottom.

Lord, please open the heart, eyes, and mind of every unbeliever who is not yet in Christ Jesus, including myself, (if that describes you) that they may become curious about God’s word and message of salvation.

I claim the promise of Acts 16:31 which states: "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." over myself, my household, and all those who are not yet in Christ Jesus.

Pray for all those who are not yet in Christ Jesus to See the Majesty of Creation and KNOW that God is behind it all.*

Hint: If you’ve yet to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior - this includes you.

“Lord, I pray that all those who are not yet in Christ Jesus hear these words that I pray out loud in the privacy of their heart when they are next in nature.

When they behold the wonders of creation, the flowers that bloom, the rain drops as they fall, the spacious skies and lifes perpetuation, Let them not doubt that God controlled it all.

When they behold the wonders of creation, the flowers that bloom, the rain drops as they fall, the spacious skies and lifes perpetuation, Let them not doubt that God controlled it all.

Lord, I believe, Yes I believe.

Lord, I believe, Yes I believe.

I can not doubt or be deceived.

I can not doubt or be deceived.

Lord, your eye that sees each sparrow fall - Your unseen hand is in it all.

Lord, your eye that sees each sparrow fall - Your unseen hand is in it all.

Lord, no finite mind by mortal calculation could frame the truths revealed within your word. In every trace of natures operation, Thy Voice, oh God, in mystery can be heard.

Lord, I believe, Yes I believe.

Lord, I believe, Yes I believe.

I can not doubt or be deceived.

I can not doubt or be deceived.

Lord, your eye that sees each sparrow fall - Your unseen hand is in it all.

Lord, your eye that sees each sparrow fall - Your unseen hand is in it all.

When we perceive the state of alienation in which the soul from Thee O God was lost; We must believe by heaven’s ordination, Our Lord redeemed and paid the bitter cost.

Lord, I believe, Yes I believe.

Lord, I believe, Yes I believe.

I can not doubt or be deceived.

I can not doubt or be deceived.

Lord, your eye that sees each sparrow fall - Your unseen hand is in it all.

Lord, your eye that sees each sparrow fall - Your unseen hand is in it all.

Some days are filled with joy and expectation

Some days are dark with cares we are beset

In hours of joy or hours of tribulation

Be with us Lord, lest we, lest we forget.

Lord, I believe, Yes I believe.

Lord, I believe, Yes I believe.

I can not doubt or be deceived.

I can not doubt or be deceived.

Lord, your eye that sees each sparrow fall - Your unseen hand is in it all.

Lord, your eye that sees each sparrow fall - Your unseen hand is in it all.

*Adapted from “Lord, I believe” by Aaron W Dicus, 1970.

Pray for deliverance for those who have experienced or who are experiencing trauma - both in the past and now in the present.

Hint: This likely includes you - No human escapes their childhood without some trauma.

Victims of Sexual Abuse

“I pray that all victims of sexual abuse be delivered from their experience of lack of worthiness, shame, guilt, self-sabotage, inferiority, depression, doubt and unbelief. May these individuals turn their eyes, hearts, and minds toward you Lord and seek you in their distress. In the name of Jesus I pray.”

Victims of Assault / Violent Crime

“I pray that all victims of assault or violent crime be delivered from their experience of fear, anger, sadness, anxiety, shock, guilt, shame, helplessness, numbness, self-sabotage, inferiority, depression, doubt, and unbelief. May these individuals turn their eyes, hearts, and minds toward you Lord and seek you in their distress. In the name of Jesus I pray.”

Victims of Neglect

“I pray that all victims of Neglect be delivered from their experience of shame, guilt, anxiety, isolation, lack of worthiness, low self-esteem, depression, insecurity, isolation, and lack of trust both in themselves and in others. May these individuals turn their eyes, hearts, and minds toward you Lord and seek you in their distress. In the name of Jesus I pray.”

Addiction to Drugs

“I pray that all individuals struggling with drug addiction be delivered from their experience of depression, anxiety, fear, anger, shame, guilt, loneliness, paranoia, and the need to seek emotional numbing and coping through their drug of choice. May these individuals turn their eyes, hearts, and minds toward you Lord and seek you in their distress. In the name of Jesus I pray.”

Pornography

“I pray that all individuals struggling with addiction to pornography be delivered from the underlying symptoms in their life which prompt them to engage with their experience of depression, anxiety, fear, anger, shame, guilt, loneliness, paranoia and the need to seek distraction, pleasure over purpose, emotional numbing, and coping through pornography. May these individuals turn their eyes, hearts, and minds toward you Lord and seek you in their distress. In the name of Jesus I pray.”