Wednesday: Praise, Confession, Requests, Thanksgiving
Daily Lesson for Wednesday 13th of May 2026
In the same way that Jesus taught us how to pray in Matthew 6:5-15, we can follow this simple model when we come to God privately, with our families, or as a church, remembering that prayer is speaking to God as a friend. Too often our prayers are full of requests when Jesus has taught us to pray for so much more!
Read Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9:4-19 and look for different parts of his prayer.
Consider how you might include the following components in your prayers:
Praise: Praise is expressed adoration for who God is and what He is like. Read Psalms 100:1-5, the beautiful praise song to God. Consider God’s many names and His magnificent character. Praise Him for being your Redeemer, Savior, Comforter, Healer, Good Shepherd, Alpha and Omega, and Rock, to mention just a few.
Confession and Forgiveness: When we find ourselves talking with and abiding in God, we can’t help letting go of whatever might be holding us back or separating us from Him. The closer we are to Him, the more we see our unworthiness and wretchedness. This makes us beg Him to remove our sins and shape our character in His likeness. If we expect God to forgive us, we need to be ready to forgive others as well. “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16, NKJV).
Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com
Requests: What challenges are you facing, perhaps with your family, friends, health, finances, work, or study? Where, specifically, do you need God’s leading hand to guide? Who needs your support, and how can you best give it? Pray specifically about these areas and people, asking for God’s will to be done.
Thanksgiving: Read Philippians 4:6 and think about the blessings in your life. Significant things might come to mind, but what about the small things that we so often take for granted? We are the constant recipients of God’s mercies; yet, how little gratitude we express, how little we praise Him for what He has done for us.
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What things do you need to praise God for, confess to Him, request from Him, and to thank Him for? Why not do it right now? |
Amen gracious is God almighty. Very informative lesson. Thank you
Praising God has never been easy since the fall of humanity, just as thanksgiving is not always easy for sinners like us. Interestingly, God created humanity and hardwired us for praise, but the one-million-dollar question is: where do we direct our praise—to God or to ourselves? God desires our praise and thanksgiving because they give us the true power we need. Praise and thanksgiving bring satisfaction in life, give us a sense of completeness, and above all keep us in an ongoing relationship with God. As Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Neglecting prayer and thanksgiving risks leaving us spiritually incomplete and causes our relationship with God to grow distant.
When I am faithful in prayers of thanksgiving, God blesses me, but when I become careless, I am less effective in everything I do. Prayer and praise increase my awareness of God’s help, strengthen my accountability to Him, promote unity of purpose within me, and keep me open to His blessings throughout the day. The purpose of prayer is to experience God’s grace and mercies that are new every morning. As Lamentations 3:22–23 reminds us, “His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.” Waking up early to commune with God helps build a deeper relationship with Him as the day progresses and prepares the heart to walk faithfully before Him.
The best response we can develop toward God is thanksgiving and giving offerings that acknowledge Him as the source of our abundance. When we are thankful, we are encouraged to move forward and face life’s challenges with confidence in God’s help. Philippians 4:6 teaches us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Thanksgiving affirms that our decisions, resources, victories, and successes come from God alone. A grateful heart reminds us that without God we can do nothing, but with Him we are strengthened to endure and overcome.
A lifestyle of praise also becomes a testimony to those around us. Many people believe that Christians are weak or dependent on a wishful idea of God, but when we continually give God credit for what is right and good in our lives, we become living witnesses of His power. The purpose of glorifying God is not only to honor Him but also to enjoy a close relationship with Him and appreciate the blessings He has placed at our disposal. Just as the drumbeats and cheers of a crowd give confidence to players during a thrilling soccer match, our participation in praise and thanksgiving equips us with confidence in God’s victory. As Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise.” Through praise and thanksgiving, we grow stronger in faith, closer to God, and more confident in His purpose for our lives.
“This, then, is how you should pray:……” (Matthew 6:9, NIV). It appears to me that Jesus gave His disciples an instruction on how they should pray. That is, He gave them a “standard format” which they should adopt when praying. I am intrigued by the content of the Lord’s prayer, more particularly its structure. The prayer starts with God-centred concerns:
“Hallowed be Your name”
“Your kingdom come”
“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”
After this, that is when human concerns start:
” Give us this day our daily bread”
“Forgive us our debts”
“Lead us not into temptation”
“Deliver us from evil”
This order is extremely important. Jesus puts God first. God’s holiness, sovereignty and will are paramount beyond our physical provisions. It is very critical to note that our physical needs should not override our need to align ourselves with the will of God when we pray. Our earthly needs must not supersede our need for the heavenly kingdom. When you scan through Matthew Chapter 6, you will find very profound statements by Jesus about the kingdom of God:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth” – (6:19–21),
“Not to serve wealth as a master” – (6:24)
“Not to be consumed by anxiety over food and clothing” (6:25–34)
In verse 33, Jesus said one of the most passionate appeals in the Bible. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”
No doubt Jesus cares about our earthly well-being, but His paramount desire is to see each one of us being saved into His Father’s kingdom. Dear believers, let’s revisit the Lord’s prayer prayerfully and ask God to help us to do His will here on earth as it is done in heaven.
The first time I was approached with the “proper” way to pray—the ACTS model (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication)—it was presented as the correct way to talk to God, rather than speaking things here and there. I got offended, as I felt invaded. I had always thought my troubled prayers came from a genuine place within me, but then…
Oh dear… this disturbed me deeply, so I restructured my prayer life to move toward the “ideal” and abandoned my old ways of praying. Sadly, I felt a sense of disconnection. I was following an orderly process with stages. This disconnect led to self-loathing, as I judged myself a lot.
…But then, while discussing this with a counselor friend, I mentioned this model and challenged him on it. He pointed me to the prayer at Gethsemane, and I realized that it was very specific, without any imposed “structure.” Jesus focused on God giving Him strength.
I’m not saying that modeled prayers are wrong. On the contrary, I believe they intentionally help organize focus in prayer and allow for good coverage of various areas. Prayer life should allow a conversation between God and man—an open conversation—with no barriers, free and sincere.
However, this is a new understanding that I can work with: ( It’s great, but as I approach these young new members in church, I should not make them feel that their prayers lack substance or are incomplete. I should be more encouraging and more understanding of “their spiritual walk” (Luke 18:9–14).
I appreciated your comments, Stanley. I appreciate your point that as we share perspectives about prayer, we should not make others feel that their prayers lack substance or are incomplete. Incidentally, the ACTS model (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication) and Praise, Confession, Request, and Thanksgiving are the same thing. The acronym ACTS just makes it easier to remember. I found the ACTS acronym to be a blessing as it helped me realise that I needed to spend more time in praise, and it taught me the difference between praise and thanksgiving. I didn’t feel guilty about how I had previously prayed, and I don’t follow it every time I pray. But the awareness of the different aspects of prayer continues to be a blessing in my prayer life.
I believe the most important message from Matthew 6:5 is that when we pray, we should not be hypocrites. What God is looking for is sincerity. The problem is we sometimes try to pray like Elder X or Sister Y. We are different, and sincere prayer will reflect this. God knows his children. Some of us are wordy and poetic even in our daily expression. Others are direct and succinct in our discourse. This difference will be reflected in our sincere prayer.
In our spiritual life, as in our physical, we grow. There is period of life when we feed on milk. There is also a period when we feed on meat. The babe who feeds on milk is not wrong to do so. If we are praying sincerely, what we feed on is reflected in how we pray. If a person spends an hour each day in Bible study, and then prays after the reading of the Word, they will not pray like they did when they read a 5-minute devotion. So, how we pray may change as we grow. And it is the Holy Spirit who should guide the process of growth.
Sincere prayer is relational. It reflects our intimate relationship with God. Think of an intimate, loving relationship between a husband and wife. They will have moments when they have much to say, and moments when they can sit quietly in one another’s presence and just be. There will be moments when their discourse is mature and deep and others when it is playful and silly. If we have an intimate relationship with God, and prayer is the opening up of our hearts to him, authentic prayer will have these variations.
Dear God, help me to be sincere in my walk with you. I know that when my heart is right with you, our conversations will be acceptable in your sight regardless of how I pray.
Yesterday I missed Maurice Ashton’s message and his prayer for the day and today his comments are also missing. I pray that you are well and safe Maurice.
Thank you to everyone who takes the time to share your thoughts and experiences as they are a blessing to me each day as I learn to lay everything at the cross.
Just a quick note to explain my nonparticipation for a few days. Carmel’s mother is coming to the end of her life. This is not unexpected – she is nearly 99. She is a much-loved family member, and we had a wonderful Mother’s Day afternoon tea with her on Sunday. Since then, she has declined rapidly, and we expect it won’t be long before she goes to her final sleep. We live in the hope of the blessed resurrection.
I will get back to writing as soon as I can.
Thoughts and prayers are with you and Carmel.