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Praying with Kids: ACTS

by admin 36 Comments

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When you have kids, there is lots to pray about!  Since our children were born, they became a natural part of this process.  We pray at meals, at night, and anytime anyone gets a boo boo or has a pressing need during the day.  We try to model the importance of being thankful and talking to God when we pray, not just calling off our wish list.  For some reason (probably our sinful human nature), it’s hard for kids and adults alike to grasp the fact that God isn’t Santa Claus.  We need to spend time Adoring God, Confessing to God, Thanking God, and presenting our requests to God (Supplication)–ACTS for short.  

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Model being thankful and talking to God when you pray, not just calling off your wish list. Click To Tweet

ACTS

ACTS is not an original idea that I came up with.  In fact, it has been around for a long time, so there is really no way of knowing who came up with it.  Even though it’s been around for a long time, many of us forget or neglect to do it.  Is it really that important if it’s a man-made idea anyway?  The truth of the matter is that it was actually God’s idea.  (Just not in so many words.)

Jesus first presented the idea of ACTS when he taught us the Lord’s prayer. The purpose of the Lord’s was to teach us to pray.  Jesus didn’t call it ACTS, but He did model the concept for us in Matthew 6.

ADORATION

9 “Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

SUPPLICATION

10 ‘Your kingdom come.

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.

CONFESSION

12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

SUPPLICATION

13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

THANKSGIVING

For Yours is

the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.’

Matthew 6:9-13 NASB

 

Easier Said Than Done

We need to teach kids to adore God, confess sin, and be thankful, but how? Click To Tweet

It’s easy to say that we need to teach our kids to adore God in prayer, to confess, or even to be thankful, but how do we actually teach them to do this?  Over the next several days, we will dive into the specifics of how to teach your children to pray.  Of course, there is no one right way to pray, but lots of great ways to help our kids (and ourselves!) converse with God.  We will take a look at some practical activities you can do with your kids to help them understand the different aspects of prayer and remember to implement them.  

Until Next Time

Begin talking with your kids about the ACTS acronym.  Explain what each letter represents…

Adoration–Showing that you adore God, telling Him what you love about who He is

Confession–Admitting to God the things that we have done wrong

Thanksgiving–Thanking God for all of our good gifts

Supplication–asking God for things we want and need

Have your child memorize the ACTS acronym.  Try it out in your prayer time together.  Then check back in to find more specific ideas for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication, and more over the next several days.

Do you struggle to remember the different aspects of prayer, or is supplication your default?  How do you teach your children to pray?

Filed Under: Devotionals, Prayer Tagged With: Family Bible Study, Prayer

Comments

  1. heidi says

    September 17, 2016 at 12:01 pm

    I pray all the time and this is so great. It all begins and ends in the home and this is so positive, I love it.

    Reply
    • admin says

      September 17, 2016 at 12:47 pm

      Awesome. The Bible does say to pray without ceasing! I’m planning to address that verse too!

      Reply
  2. Leslie says

    September 17, 2016 at 12:33 pm

    Prayer is so important

    Reply
    • admin says

      September 17, 2016 at 12:45 pm

      Definitely. I can’t imagine my life without it.

      Reply
  3. Ivonne says

    September 17, 2016 at 12:41 pm

    What a lovely way to display devoting and teach kids spirituality!

    Reply
    • admin says

      September 17, 2016 at 12:45 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  4. Katriza Luna says

    September 17, 2016 at 3:45 pm

    We are practicing praying with our kids and they are liking it! The best advice i have to give about it to do by example. My kids are young and so they love doing what mommy and daddy are doing and if they see how important it is for us, they want to do it too!

    Reply
    • admin says

      September 17, 2016 at 5:24 pm

      Example is best! My youngest is 3 and she LOVES to pray. In fact, she actually gets upset when it’s not her turn. We usually end up letting her open or close in prayer, even when it’s not her turn. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Andrea says

    September 17, 2016 at 3:50 pm

    A great way to get the kids started off with praying!
    Andrea recently posted…What Has God Done For You This Week? Share Your Testimonies!My Profile

    Reply
  6. Cricket Plunkett says

    September 17, 2016 at 4:56 pm

    Good idea

    Reply
  7. Ashley J. says

    September 17, 2016 at 10:08 pm

    A nice concept for the intentional religious.

    Reply
  8. katrina honer says

    September 18, 2016 at 2:34 am

    This is such a great way to get children introduced to the wonders of God!

    Reply
  9. fatima says

    September 18, 2016 at 5:17 am

    Yes; prayer is important in all religions, i try to simplify it for my children by telling them it’s a great way to show gratitude.Thanks

    Reply
  10. Amy Shellman says

    September 18, 2016 at 11:10 am

    Great post! thanks for the tips.

    Reply
  11. Janine Good says

    September 18, 2016 at 11:13 am

    I love this. We are strong in our faith and I plan on having our future children pray with us 🙂

    Reply
  12. Ruxandra says

    September 18, 2016 at 12:55 pm

    Great way to teach them praying

    Reply
  13. ohmummymia says

    September 18, 2016 at 1:56 pm

    Prayer is so important in every age thanks for that post

    Reply
    • admin says

      September 20, 2016 at 1:25 pm

      Yes. I think there is a special power in the prayer of children. They have so much faith!

      Reply
  14. Jennifer says

    September 18, 2016 at 2:39 pm

    I love your idea of “ACTS”. At first, I thought this was a post about the Book of Acts. lol I was going to say my kids and I are currently studying the Book of Acts for our weekly Bible study. But after reading your post, I understand now this is about prayer. And I think I can use this to add-on to teaching my children about prayer. Really love that you’re doing this with your children!!

    Reply
    • admin says

      September 20, 2016 at 1:23 pm

      Thank you. The people in the book of Acts were powerful pray-ers, so it should fit in nicely with what you are doing!

      Reply
  15. andrea says

    September 18, 2016 at 3:06 pm

    Our kids need God now more than ever. Super important post

    Reply
    • admin says

      September 20, 2016 at 1:22 pm

      You are right. They do need God now more than ever! One of my goals is to help people realize this and draw closer to Him.

      Reply
  16. Rebecca says

    September 18, 2016 at 6:33 pm

    What an important post. Prayer is so important and doing it together as a family is a wonderful way to spend time together.

    Reply
    • admin says

      September 20, 2016 at 1:26 pm

      Yes, not only is it important for our relationship with God, but as the saying goes, “The family that prays together, stays together.” 😉

      Reply
  17. michenn says

    September 19, 2016 at 9:30 am

    These are really good ideas!

    michenn

    michenn Accessorizing with ThePeachBox

    Reply
  18. Jessica says

    September 19, 2016 at 1:38 pm

    I know I struggle with prayer personally. This is a really a good guide to follow when struggling with prayer. I pray with my kids every day and I think this will my kids understand prayer a little more. We do the “God is great, God is good and we pray for *insert needs here*” prayer. This acronym will help even me who struggles with what to say to God sometimes.

    Reply
  19. lex says

    September 19, 2016 at 3:01 pm

    kids being involved in prayers is always a good thing, great post and quite deep for the right minds…

    Reply
    • admin says

      September 20, 2016 at 1:21 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  20. Samantha says

    September 19, 2016 at 5:41 pm

    Very important to teach this to our children. Thank you for your thoughts!

    Reply
  21. Ashley Voicu says

    September 20, 2016 at 12:37 am

    Growing up, my parents in still the same teaching to me. As you grow older, you would appreciate it so much.

    Reply
    • admin says

      September 20, 2016 at 1:21 pm

      That’s great. Good parents are priceless.

      Reply
  22. Lay says

    September 21, 2016 at 1:01 am

    Very useful reminder. Our relationship with God has to be fostered just as any other, even if His love in unconditional.

    Reply
    • admin says

      September 23, 2016 at 11:04 am

      True! Thanks for commenting!

      Reply
  23. Kristi says

    September 26, 2016 at 3:30 am

    Sometimes I do accidentally leave confession out, so I’m thrilled to find your confession cards in the other post. My kids are good about keeping me on task, if I give them something to do.
    Kristi recently posted…Young at Heart – Age is just a NumberMy Profile

    Reply
  24. Tami says

    October 12, 2016 at 8:00 am

    My son is almost four. The most we pray with him is at meal times and in church. I think I am going to start the ACTS method with him.
    Tami recently posted…VeggieTales Every Day With God: 365 Daily Devos for Boys & GirlsMy Profile

    Reply
  25. Brittany Yates says

    November 9, 2016 at 8:24 pm

    I teach bible study and I one of the young adults over the youth ministry at my church. We recently taught our teens to pray using ACTS and I thought it was a great way to set the foundation to grow your prayer life. Not only did I teach them but it also helped me. Great post!

    Reply

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Hello! I'm Tara. My kids and I spend a lot of time in our van (and elsewhere) singing, playing , and praying. Join us as we navigate through the winding roads of life, enjoy the journey, and arrive at a place where we love Jesus with all our hearts. Read More
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