My dear friend,

I’ve been wanting to write this letter for a while—partly because I know many of us struggle with prayer, and partly because I wish someone had told me earlier that prayer doesn’t have to feel confusing, mechanical, or forced. If you’ve ever sat down to pray and thought, Am I doing this right? Are these even real prayers? Are these words coming from my soul or am I just saying things? —then this letter is for you.

Because that was me.

I used to pray in the most random ways—scattered thoughts, synonyms, hurried sentences. As someone who loves structure, I often wondered if I was “babbling nonsense” rather than actually connecting with God. I knew the Lord’s Prayer was Jesus’ example, but I didn’t know how to build a prayer life that felt real, rooted, and reflective of my own soul.

Then one day, I felt the need to find inspiration on how to pray. So, I went on to Pinterest, and I stumbled upon the ACTS prayer method. A simple little acronym that somehow became the doorway to a deeper, more intimate relationship with God.

ACTS stands for:

A — Adoration
C — Confession
T — Thanksgiving
S — Supplication

It’s simple, yes, but life-changing. And today, I want to share how God used this structure to shape me, convict me, and transform the way my spirit speaks to Him.

Let’s begin.

A — ADORATION

Starting Where Heaven Starts

Ephesians 2

⁴ But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, ⁵ that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 

Friend, I cannot emphasize this enough: beginning prayer with adoration changed everything for me.

Before ACTS, I used to jump immediately into my problems, anxieties, and requests. I came to God like a drive-through: “One of this, one of that—thank You, amen.” I was not grounded. I wasn’t even breathing.

But when I started with adoration—naming who God is before naming what I needed—my whole posture shifted.

God is LOVING.
God is ALL-KNOWING.
God is REFUGE.

Saying these truths out loud in prayer doesn’t just honor God—it reorients my heart. It reminds me that whatever anxiety I woke up with, whatever hurt I’m holding, whatever burden I’m afraid to look at… He is still God. And He is all those things for me.

Starting with adoration helps me open up. It makes me worship, not worry. It reminds me that I’m entering prayer not to perform, but to rest in Someone who is already everything I need.

It sets the tone:
“I come to You not because I’m strong, but because You are.”

C — CONFESSION

The Part I Avoided, But Needed Most

1 John 1

⁸ If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. ⁹ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Confession was the hardest part for me. Honestly—brutally honestly—I avoided it because I didn’t want to face my own heart.

I learned something very quickly:
When I start confessing daily, I realize how deeply pride, envy, hurt, and worry run in my soul. Confession shone the light on things I’ve been trying to hide, even from myself.

Before practicing confession, I used to believe it was me against the world. I carried a self-victimizing mindset: they hurt me, they misunderstood me, they wronged me.

But when I started confessing—really confessing—God humbled me. I saw how dirty my heart was. How stubborn. How guarded. How sensitive. How easily offended. How defensive. How quick I was to blame others.

Even admitting these things felt impossible at first. Some sins I still struggle to say out loud in God’s presence (He already knows, of course, and I know He is waiting for my honesty so He can begin healing…).

By confessing daily, it didn’t make me feel more ashamed. In fact, it has humble me. It helped me stop taking everything personally. It helped me see that everyone is going through something. It helped me release the burden of playing the “victim” in my own narrative.

Confession became the mirror that showed me the truth—but also the washbasin where God gently cleansed me. Not to condemn me, but to renew me.

And friend… renewal is painful, but it is also beautiful.

T — THANKSGIVING:

Seeing God in the Ordinary and in the Unanswered

James 1

¹⁷ Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

Thanksgiving used to be the easy part of prayer. I often thanked God for food, safety, small blessings, and big ones too. But ACTS taught me to thank Him for more than what I could see—it taught me to thank Him for what He was doing that I couldn’t see yet.

There was one moment I want to share with you.

I was (and still, am) in a season of hurt—emotional, spiritual, and deeply personal. I knew God was with me, but I selfishly kept on requesting for confirmation. I kept praying, Lord, give me confirmation. Send me an angel. Send me a person to pray for me. I just need reassurance that You’re here.

I felt like I was begging God to speak louder.

There wasn’t any immediate confirmation, but despite that, my heart felt called to thank Him for the confirmations He hasn’t given yet. I thanked Him because I know He is faithful. I thanked Him because I knew He was near, even if I didn’t feel it.

Almost a week later, a friend—one I did not tell anything to about my current situation—simply walked up and said, “Can I pray for you?” She prayed for renewal, refreshment, filling, and reliance.

These were words that perfectly matched Psalm 51:10, the verse I had been clinging on to for the past two weeks. It was exactly what I had been praying for—spoken through someone who had no idea what I was going through.

Thanksgiving really trained my heart to trust, to see beyond the now, to interpret my life through faith rather than fear.

S — SUPPLICATION

Learning to Ask for the Right Things

Philippians 4

⁶ 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.

Supplication—bringing your requests before God—finally comes last. And I think it’s perfect that way.

Because by the time I reach this section, I’ve already adored Him, confessed my sin, and thanked Him for what He has done. My heart is more aligned with His will. My desires are filtered through humility and truth.

As I mentioned, before ACTS, I prayed like a McDonalds drive-through. “One order of comfort. One order of reassurance. One order of answered prayers. Thanks.”

My prayers were centered on my desires, my fears, my plans.

But now?

After adoration softens me, confession humbles me, and thanksgiving strengthens me—
my supplication becomes Kingdom-focused.

I begin to ask for spiritual growth. I begin to ask to love people well. I begin to ask to be a vessel. I begin to ask for strength to obey. I begin to ask for wisdom to discern His will.

And yes—sometimes I still ask for personal things. And yes, sometimes it is so difficult to ask with surrender in mind. I hate to admit that that is my flesh still at work. I am still in the journey to figure this one out with Jesus.

But I am learning to trust that if God says no, it’s protection; and if God says yes, it’s provision.

Praying with ACTS— opening with adoration, confession, and thanksgiving— is shaping supplication into more of a God-centered dialogue, and less of a selfish demand.

WHY ACTS MATTERS

A Life that is Shaped by Prayer

Friend, I have been realizing some important things:

Prayer isn’t about sounding holy. Prayer isn’t about perfect words. Prayer isn’t even about how long you pray. Prayer is about shaping my heart into the person God wants me to be.

And this ACTS acronym has helped me do that. It brought structure to my scattered heart. It brought sincerity to my words. It brought depth to my spiritual walk.

But most importantly, it brought closeness. Intimacy. Clarity. Conviction.

ACTS didn’t just teach me how to pray. It taught me how to be transformed through prayer. And the Scripture that keeps grounding me in this practice is:

1 Thessalonians

¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying. ¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Do not scoff at prophecies, ²¹ but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. ²² Stay away from every kind of evil.

Never stop praying.
Never stop adoring.
Never stop confessing.
Never stop thanking.
Never stop asking.

This is how prayer shapes us into who God wants us to be.

A PRAYER FOR YOU

Lord,
Teach us friend to pray
with honesty and hunger.
Make our adoration sincere,
our confession humble,
our thanksgiving deep,
and our supplication surrendered.

Shape our heart through prayer.
Cleanse what needs cleansing.
Renew what feels weary.
Fill what feels empty.
Make prayer our first language,
and intimacy with You our greatest joy.

Amen.

My dear friend, I hope this helps you step into prayer with confidence—not in yourself, but in the God who listens. May you learn to adore, confess, thank, and ask with a heart that is open, honest, and eager to grow.

You don’t need perfect words. You just need a willing heart.