New Prayer Focus

What do ex-Pastors do? I for the first time in 45 years have to answer this question.

I miss preaching regularly to the same Sunday crowd, to people I know and serve. I miss sermon preparation. My spiritual gift of teaching still gnaws at me.

I miss the huge intercessory prayer ministry I had as a Pastor. My prayer life has dwindled to a mere shadow of its former self. I knew I spent a lot of time praying for others, I just had no idea how huge a percentage of my prayer time was taken up with it.

This former Pastor is having to find a new way of organizing prayer. I plan to go back for a while to the overly simplistic acronym ACTS.

ADORATION. I will take time to praise God for who and what He is, His traits. This comes before acknowledging what He does for us. He is holy, love, just, faithful, etc.

CONFESSION. In the first of his 95 theses, Luther said repentance is the essence of the Christian life. We always have sins we need to repent of.

THANKSGIVING. We thank God for what He has done in our lives, for the specific blessings He gives us.

SUPPLICATION. After giving thanks, we can then ask for things. We can boldly request anything as long as our attitude is, "Not my will, but Yours, be done."

With my prayer folder in hand, this is where I will start my new prayer journey as an ex-Pastor. Amen.

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