A = Adoration – praising God for His attributes and character

C = Confession – of sin

T = Thanksgiving – for what God’s done

S = Supplication – praying for myself and others

Supplication simply means to make a serious request, humbly and earnestly. We may not use the word “supplication”, but it’s the most common element of prayer for most people. We should pray for ourselves and others consistently; while maintaining an attitude of gratitude (thanksgiving).

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7 NASB

 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7 NLT

And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. EPHESIANS 6:19 NLT

I need your prayers as a Pastor. In Ephesians 6:19, the Apostle Paul asked the Christians in Ephesus to pray for him.   I’m asking you to apply Eph. 6:19 on my behalf; you can pray that scripture and put my name in the place of the personal pronouns “me” and “I”.

A couple of quick notes that might help as you pray for yourself & others.

Use a prayer journal where you log your requests and answers. In light of the fact I have many people and ministries I pray for, I used prayer journals for years and broke them into sections where I prayed for specific things each day of the week.

I’m not suggesting you do this, but because of my personality, my prayer journal was broken down into these sections: Sunday – pray for every aspect of my church & people who will attend.  Monday – pray for missions & specific missionaries. Tuesday – pray for people I know who are without Christ.  Wednesday – pray for workers in the Kingdom of God (pastors & friends in ministry).  Thursday – pray for our Nation and our leaders from the President on down.  Friday – pray for my extended family.  Saturday – pray for myself.  Then I had a Daily Section where I prayed for my family and some big needs related to my church.  I also had a short-term section where I prayed for people in need; could be related to a surgery, a job need, etc.  In addition, I kept the Pastors and their families along with other leaders mixed in throughout the week so I could pray for them over the course of a week.

As I’ve mentioned before, “Change Your Routine & Change Your Life.” I changed my routine in prayer this year. I’m now using Prayer Cards (explained in A Praying Life by Paul Miller). I use 3×5 cards to write my prayer requests and in addition to my time alone in God’s Word and quiet contemplation of Scripture – I spend a specific amount of time praying through the cards. I’m not concerned with how many cards I pray through each day, but I just keep going through them; adding new cards as needed and journaling answers on them too.

Example: On the Prayer Cards for my grandkids.

I have a card for each grandchild with their name.

I have Jeremiah 9:23-24 at the top b/c I pray this for them.

I’m praying for their salvation (1 Tim. 2:4, John 1:12).

I’m praying for them to become great men of God.

I pray 3 John 4 for them – that they’ll walk in truth.

I pray portions of Eph. 3:14-19 for them.

I pray for them to grow & develop in every way.

I’m praying for them to find Godly mates.

And I have a few specifics for each of them.