PERSONAL PRAYER

Stanwich believes in the power and importance of prayer, and offers many opportunities for personal prayer. 

  - All of our pastors are available for personal prayer.  You can call the church office to

    pray over the telephone, or schedule a time to come in.   

  - Part of the morning worship service includes a time of personal prayer.  People are

    invited up to the altar to receive private prayer, or they may remain in their pews

    and pray.   

  - Several members of the congregation who are dedicated to prayer are part of the

    Stanwich Prayer Chain.  They pray for the congregation and members of their family

    in response to a daily telephone call to the church office that activates the chain. 

  - Suggestions for daily personal prayer and study are available at the back of the

    sanctuary, in our bookstore, and in many online resources such as Our Daily Bread. 

Personal Prayer Guide

The Bible teaches that Jesus spent much time alone in prayer.  He also taught the disciples

a model for prayer (Luke 11:1-4).  It includes elements that are personal (“Our Father”), acknowledge God’s power and holiness (“hallowed be your name”), reflect our dependency on God (“Give us this day our daily bread”), show the importance of repentance (“Forgive us our sins”), and remind us that God is our protector (“deliver us from evil”).        

We can follow Jesus’ example by spending time alone in personal prayer.  One way to pray

is by following the acronym “ACTS”, which stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication.     

Adoration is to love and worship God and praise him for who he is:  our creator, sustainer and redeemer.  By starting our prayer with adoration we focus on God and not on ourselves, which follows the first commandment to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

(Mark 12:30)

Confession allows us to ask for forgiveness and turn away from the things in our lives that are displeasing to God.  All of us have sinned.  The apostle John wrote "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8-9)

Thanksgiving.  Just as we learn to say "Thank You" when someone does something for us or gives us a gift, we need to thank God for his blessings.  As we thank God, we come to realize our dependence upon his goodness towards us. The apostle Paul makes it clear that we also need to be giving thanks for everyday, worldly things: "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—  for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."

(1 Timothy 2:1)

Supplication or Intercession. Finally, we ask God for our needs and the needs of others. 

 - Pray for others.   Pray for your family members, neighbors and friends.  Pray for

   other Christians, and encourage them to pray for you.   Also pray for those who

   are still searching for God to come to faith - many Christians have come to believe

   in Christ through the prayers of others.

 - Pray for world issues.  Pray for peace in difficult situations, for leaders and those in

   influential positions, for global issues such as caring for God's environment, justice

   for the poor, relief of suffering in less developed countries, and other issues that

   come to you.   

 - Pray for your own needs, whether large or small.  Jesus encourages us to do so: 

   “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much

    more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”  (Matthew 7:11)