We are now in the Holy Season of Lent. Lent is the season of fasting and prayer.

It is also the season of giving generously to others from the gifts God has already given to us. 

We are now in the Holy Season of Lent.

• Lent is the season of fasting and prayer. It is also the season of giving generously to others from the gifts God has already given to us.

• The Lord is not far from our hearts, but we are sometimes often far from the Lord.

• In this season, let us enter more deeply into a spiritual focus in our life, with more spiritual reading, with more self-restraint, with saying kind words, performing positive actions, and bestowing charity to others as we move through each day.

• Let us increase our focus in our prayers so that with awareness, we are really asking for God to change us from gross misconduct to refinement, and from distraction to love.

• Let us ask God to open our heart so that we can receive God as our minds and senses are purified and cleansed. Let us, most of all, give back to God in whatever way we can in this Lenten Season, the love God has planted in us.

• May we be with God through the time of Passion and Death and to the glorious day of God’s Holy Resurrection.

Lent is a good time to:

• BEGIN in prayer. Ask God for help through the Holy Spirit, to recognize and be aware of the ole God has entrusted especially to you.

• OPEN your heart and mind and make a heartfelt commitment to make use of what God has entrusted to you according to His Will.

• ACT on the invitation or calling you have received. Engage in service, participation or involvement which benefits or works in unity with what has been entrusted to you to do.

Lent is a season of soul-searching, repentance, abstinence, prayer, fasting, and group Bible study. It is a season for reflection and taking stock. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty-days.

The term Lent is an Old Saxon word that means "spring". We celebrate the Christian Season of Lent during a forty-day period before Easter. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. We skip Sundays when we count the forty days because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection and are feast days. The purpose of Lent is to deepen the spiritual life, to purify the heart from sin, and to become more closely united to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

THE ACTS PRAYER MODEL

The ACTS Prayer Model is a tool to help guide you into the Presence of God during your personal devotional time. To use this tool, pray through each section and use the “Launching Pad” Scriptures to lead you to other passages.

Summary of ACTS Prayer Model

A – Adoration: proclaiming who God is and the attributes of His character.

C – Confession/Proclamation: personal cleansing, repentance, putting on of Christ's nature.

T – Thanksgiving: praise offering, remembering the works of the Lord, meditation.

S – Supplication: asking, intercession, and petitioning according to His will.

Adoration

• Take time to adore the Lord and give Him the affection of your heart. Do not ask anything.

• Focus on the attributes of God and declare who He is.

• Pray through the scriptures (specifically Psalms) to give yourself language for your adoration.

Launching Pad Scriptures:

Psalm 46:1 – “God is our refuge and strength....ever-present help in times of trouble....”

Praying the Verse: You are the abundantly available God. You are always there when I need you.

Romans 8:38 – “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers can separate me from your love.”

Praying the Verse: You are the loving “for me” God. You are constantly by my side in every walk of life. Wherever I go, You are there waiting to show Yourself to me.

Confession

• The ultimate act of warfare is that which we do against our own sinful nature. By lingering in the place of repentance, we militantly advance against the kingdom of darkness.

• In this step, rid yourself of sinful nature and take on the nature of Christ.

TIP: When you repent of a specific area, ask the Lord to clothe you in the opposite (i.e. ask for joy instead of depression, humility instead of pride, pure love in the place of lust).

Launching Pad Scriptures:

Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the fleshI live by in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me”.

Praying the Verse: Jesus, I deny my sinful nature and ask that you would live in me. Let my life be a living example of You, teach me to be an ambassador of Your Kingdom.

Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Praying the Verse: O God, would you renew my mind. Transform my desires to match that which you desire.

Philippians 3:8 – “I consider everything as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him....”

Praying the Verse: Father, I leave behind anything that stands in my way of loving You. Loving You is the joy of my life, and desire You more than anything. You are the one thing I desire, O God.

Thanksgiving

• Speak to the Lord of the times He showed His faithfulness, or journal in a notebook aboutthe times you saw Him move.

• This is a time of reflection and meditation.

TIP: Do not ask the Lord for anything yet, just thank Him for what he has already done and remember the work of the Lord in every area of life (i.e. your home, work, business, family, church, etc.)

Journal/Thank God for the Following:

1. God’s Promises for your life.

2. People, family, co-workers, and friends.

3. Circumstances, miracles, experiences, and adventures with God.

Supplication

• As you enter the purpose of intercession, ask the Lord to give you the desires of His heart.

• Base each prayer request from Scripture.

• By praying the Word, we align our will with His, and remind the Lord of His promises.

TIP: Use apostolic prayers, or the prayers of Jesus, to give you language for your prayers. (A downloadable guide of these prayers is available at www.ihopu.org)

Launching Pad Scriptures:

Psalm 110:1 – “Do not keep silent, O God of my praise!”

Ephesians 4:13 - “....till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ....”

List Your Personal Prayer Requests: