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F-A-C-T-S: The 5 Elements of Prayer

The Acronym F-A-C-T-S: Faith, Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication

1. FAITH

It takes a lot faith to begin to pray. We can't see, hear, touch, or see God, yet we need to have faith to believe that He exists. The Bible says that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is (that is He exists), and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6). Faith is a very important component in prayer.

"And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matt. 21:22)

"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11:24)

"Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”" (Matt. 17:19-21)

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." (James 1:5-6)

2. ADORATION

God is certainly worthy of our praise, love, adoration, and worship. When we come to God in prayer we need to praise Him and adore Him.

"Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: “Blessed are

You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. “Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name." (1 Chron. 29:10-13)

"In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name." (Matt.

6:9)

"You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created." (Rev. 4:11)

"I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever." (Psalm 145:1-2)

3. CONFESSION

Unconfessed sin breaks our fellowship with God and is a hindrance to answered prayer. When we confess and repent of our sins that barrier is broken and our fellowship with God is restored.

"When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin." (Psalm 32:3-5)

"Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me." (Psalm 51:1-3)

"He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy." (Prov. 28:13)

"When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood." (Isaiah 1:15)

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8-9)

4. THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving and gratitude to God should not be lacking in the Christian's heart and mouth. We should not forget all His benefits. We should thank Him for giving His Son. We should thank Him for what He has done for us and what He will do for us.

"Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms." (Psalm 95:2)

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." (Psalm 118:1)

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;" (Phil. 4:6)

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thess. 5:16-18)

"Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." (Heb. 13:15)

Five Things to Thank God for Based on Psalm 103:1-5

"Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s." (Psalm 103:1-5)

1. Forgiveness of sins (vs. 3a)

2. Health (vs. 3b)

3. Deliverance (vs. 4a)

4. His lovingkindness and tender mercies (vs. 4b)

5. Provision (vs. 5)

5. SUPPLICATION

Supplication is when we bring our needs, requests and petitions before God not only for ourselves but also for others. The Bible says to "come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16). Through Christ we have access to God (Eph. 2:18; John 14:6).

"ThereforeIexhortfirstofallthatsupplications,prayers,intercessions,andgivingof thanksbemadeforallmen,forkingsandallwhoareinauthority,thatwemayleada quietandpeaceablelifeinallgodlinessandreverence." (1 Tim. 2:1-2)

"PrayingalwayswithallprayerandsupplicationintheSpirit,beingwatchfultothisend withallperseveranceandsupplicationforallthesaints—" (Eph. 6:18)

"Giveusthisdayourdailybread." (Matt. 6:11)

PeterSarkis www.preeminenceofchrist.org

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HOW THE APOSTLES DIED:

1. Matthew
Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, Killed by a sword wound.

2. Mark
Died in Alexandria, Egypt , after being dragged by Horses through the streets until he was dead.

3. Luke
Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous Preaching to the lost.

4. John
Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge Basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution In Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered From death.
John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison Island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos . The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve As Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey . He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully

5. Peter
He was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross.
According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die In the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

6. James
The leader of the church in Jerusalem , was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his
enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club.
* This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

7. James the Son of Zebedee,
was a fisherman by trade when Jesus Called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer Walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and Knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

8. Bartholomew
Also known as Nathaniel Was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.

9. Andrew
Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: 'I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.' He continued to preach to his tormentors For two days until he expired.

10. Thomas
Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the Sub-continent.

11. Jude
Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

Phillip
(crucified)—
Through his miraculous healing and preaching, Philip converted the wife of the Preconsul of the city” of Hierapolis. Of course, this event angered the Preconsul and ordered that both Philip and Bartholomew be tortured and crucified upside down. While on the cross, Philip continued to preach and he was able to convince the crowd and the Preconsul to release Bartholomew, while insisting that he (Philip) remained crucified. Bartholomew was released but Philip died on the cross and was later buried somewhere within the city.

12. Matthias
The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.

13. Paul
Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many
epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational Doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.

Perhaps this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles and disciples during their times For the sake of the Faith. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: But he that endureth to the end shall be saved.