10 Powerful Prayer Acronyms
Learning how to pray can be overwhelming. And if you’re not confident in your ability to pray, it can keep you from praying more often.
Praying is communicating with God. Just like we learn to communicate effectively with other people, we need to learn and practice how to pray. The disciples came to Jesus and asked Him to teach them how to pray. It’s easy to assume that any prayer is a good one, but it’s a skill we should develop. James also teaches us that there’s effective prayer, which means there’s also ineffective prayer.
I’ve found that having an acronym helps me pray more effectively—I hope they help you as well!
P.R.A.Y.
Praise and worship
Repent of sins
Ask for others
Yield to God’s will
This acronym is a great way to structure your prayers and ensure that you’re covering all the important areas, such as confession of sins, intercession for others, and surrendering your own will to God.
A.C.T.S.
Adoration and praise
Confession of sins
Thanksgiving
Supplication
This acronym is a great way to remember to start your prayers with adoration and praise for God, and to end with supplication–asking for your needs and the needs of others.
F.A.T.H.E.R.
Faithfulness
Adoration
Thanksgiving
Healing
Empowerment
Repentance
This acronym focuses on the different attributes of God and is a great way to pray for healing and empowerment.
S.O.A.P.
Scripture reflection
Observation of scripture
Application to your life
Pray for understanding
This acronym is a great way to structure your daily Bible study and prayer time. It helps you to read and reflect on God’s Word, apply it to your life, and pray about what you’ve read.
"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." Ephesians 1:17 NIV
C.H.A.T.
Confession
Hearing God’s voice
Adoration
Thanksgiving
This acronym focuses on listening to God’s voice and responding with confession, adoration, and thanksgiving. It’s a great way to cultivate a deeper relationship with God and to learn to listen to His voice more clearly.
G.R.O.W.
Gratitude
Requests
Others
Worship
This acronym is a simple way to structure your prayer time, starting with gratitude and requests, then praying for others, and ending with worship.
A.S.K.
Adore God
Seek His will
Knock on the door
This acronym focuses on adoring God, seeking His will for your life, and praying for the doors of opportunity in front of you. It’s a great way to structure your prayers and ensure that you’re covering all the important areas.
"There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me."
1 Corinthians 16:9 NLT
F.I.R.E.
Faith
Intentionality
Repentance
Expectance
This acronym encourages you to approach prayer with faith, intentionality, repentance, and expectancy. It’s a great way to focus your prayers and approach God with boldness and faith.
P.E.A.C.E.
Praise
Examination
Ask for peace
Communion
Express gratitude
This acronym provides a helpful structure for your prayer time, starting with praise, examining yourself and asking for God’s peace. Then you can pray for communion with God and wrap up by expressing gratitude.
"I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people." Psalm 85:8 NLT
B.L.E.S.S.
Body (physical health)
Labor (work)
Emotional health
Social relationships
Spiritual growth
This acronym is a helpful way to structure your prayers for different areas of your life, focusing on your physical health, work, emotional health, social relationships, and spiritual growth.
I hope these prayer acronyms are helpful to you as you seek to deepen your prayer life and connect with God in new ways.
Incorporating these acronyms into your prayer life can help you to pray more intentionally and effectively. By focusing on different aspects of prayer, you can ensure that you’re covering all the important areas and staying connected to God on a daily basis.
