ACTS of Prayer: Elementary Prayer Chapel September 13th

By Amy Austin,  Elementary Principal

I have learned so much about prayer by being a Kindergarten teacher!  Kindergarteners have no fear about approaching the Lord in prayer.  They don’t question themselves about whether they are doing it “right” or whether or not they should pray something.  They just pray what is on their heart.  They are also quick to pray for others and to thank God for all He provides.  Kindergarteners keep prayer simple.  They “talk” to God like He is their best friend.

This inspired me to talk about prayer during our September 13, 2013 elementary chapel service.  When I asked the students if they thought there were rules to follow in order to pray correctly, some hands went up.   I shared how Jesus models prayer for us in Matthew 6:9-15, but that prayer was not intended to be a list of rules to follow.  

We used a simple acrostic to pray the way Jesus taught us: ACTS.  A is for Adoration.  We begin our time of prayer praising God for who He is, His greatness, and anything else we can think of!  C is for Confession.  We discussed how this can be a private time with the Lord or shared with others we love and feel safe with.  We take this time to cleanse our heart before God daily and to be ready to forgive others who have sinned against us.  T is for Thanksgiving.  We simply say, “Thank you,” to the Lord.  So often we ask for His blessings and provisions and then forget to express gratitude for His many good gifts.  S is for Supplication.  This is our time to share our concerns with God for others and for ourselves.  We seek His direction, strength, and healing.  

After the teaching time, the students broke off into small prayer groups and prayed together.  There were student prayer leaders from the 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grades who opened the time in prayer and then encouraged other students to participate.  It was a beautiful sight and sound!  It is our desire to train up our students to be comfortable with prayer at a young age so that they can be in constant communication with their heavenly Father for their entire lives.

Every Monday morning at 7:45 a.m., we hold a prayer chapel in the cafetorium.  This time of prayer is led by Cindy Lewis and Kathy Akers.  We would love to see students and parents participate, so please plan to join in whenever you are available.  We value the power of prayer for DPCA, its board members, staff, students, and families.  Psalm 5:3 “In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."