Some people practice a model of prayer using the word ACTS as a guide.
- A – ADORATION: First, let God know that you love Him, and want to draw closer to Him.
- C – CONFESSION: Second, confess to God how you have failed in your life to be as obedient as possible. Admit to God what you have willingly done which you know was wrong or hurtful to yourself or to others.
- T – THANKSGIVING: Third, tell God what you are thankful for, that you appreciate the things God has already done on your behalf.
- S – SUPPLICATION: Fourth, present to God your “list” of concerns and needs for others, and then your own concerns and needs.
Some Scriptures on Prayer
1 Timothy 2:1 – First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone.
James 5:16 – Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
Romans 8:26 – Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.
Ephesians 3:16-19 – I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breath and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV / 153 helpful votes
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
in·di·vid·u·al
[in-duh-vij-oo-uhl] Show IPA
individual scores for each playerbeing kept for each hand.
Bible Verses aboutPersonal Responsibility
Galatians 6:5 ESV / 116 helpful votes
For each will have to bear his own load.
1 Timothy 5:8 ESV / 74 helpful votes
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Proverbs 28:13 ESV / 65 helpful votes
Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
Luke 10:27 ESV / 49 helpful votes
And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
2 Peter 1:10 ESV / 48 helpful votes
Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
Ezekiel 18:20 ESV / 47 helpful votes
The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
Luke 10:30-37 ESV / 46 helpful votes
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. …
Luke 12:48 ESV / 42 helpful votes
But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
1 Corinthians 13:11 ESV / 31 helpful votes
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
Proverbs 25:26 ESV / 24 helpful votes
Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
Romans 12:19 ESV / 22 helpful votes
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
2 Timothy 1:7 ESV / 21 helpful votes
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Deuteronomy 28:1-68 ESV / 21 helpful votes
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lordyour God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. …
Genesis 4:6-7 ESV / 21 helpful votes
The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
Isaiah 42:16 ESV / 18 helpful votes
And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.
Romans 13:4 ESV / 17 helpful votes
For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
Proverbs 6:20 ESV / 17 helpful votes
My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching.
2 Thessalonians 3:11-18 ESV / 16 helpful votes
For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. …
Proverbs 18:7 ESV / 16 helpful votes
A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
Colossians 3:23 ESV / 14 helpful votes
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
James 1:1-27 ESV / 12 helpful votes
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. …
Galatians 6:8 ESV / 12 helpful votes
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
2 Peter 1:1-21 ESV / 9 helpful votes
Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, …
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ESV / 9 helpful votes
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Luke 6:46 ESV / 9 helpful votes
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
Ezekiel 3:18-19 ESV / 9 helpful votes
If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.
Romans 6:1-23 ESV / 8 helpful votes
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. …
2 Kings 4:27 ESV / 8 helpful votes
And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.”
Nehemiah 4:17-18 ESV / 7 helpful votes
Who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
1 Samuel 13:19-20 ESV / 7 helpful votes
Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle,
Leviticus 26:1-46 ESV / 6 helpful votes
“You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. …
Revelation 22:12 ESV / 5 helpful votes
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done.
Matthew 4:1-25 ESV / 5 helpful votes
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple …
Song of Solomon 1:1-17 ESV / 5 helpful votes
The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine; your anointing oils are fragrant; your name is oil poured out; therefore virgins love you. Draw me after you; let us run. The king has brought me into his chambers. We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine; rightly do they love you. I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. …
2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV / 3 helpful votes
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Column: MLK knew that change began with individuals
By Rich Benjamin
As we commemorate one of this country’s greatest icons on Monday, we need to toss aside the “great man” concept of leadership, our knee-jerk longing to worship epic individuals and not citizen action. Contrary to most mythology of Martin Luther King Jr.
celebrations, his true contribution wasn’t as a single messiah of civil rights but as a formidable organizer of people and causes.
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“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus,” King said.
Once a grueling cause was identified, King knew that every person counted. There was strength in numbers and in a broad, collective front. As the election season kicks into high gear, we cannot wait and hope that we’ll elect a president or members of Congress who can fix all of our problems. Americans must become the leaders we desperately lack. Individuals must strategize, demand, protest and band together to work toward the national improvements that are so clearly needed.
Look around. Our country is suffering from a crisis of leadership. The economy is sputtering, millions remain jobless, and yet the president and Congress seem incapable of action. At the start of 2012, less than half of Americans (46%) approved of the job President Obamais doing. Not surprisingly, Congress’ approval rating is worse: 11%, a record low. Kowtowing to partisanship and career survival in an election year, politicians in both parties have abandoned governing in favor of chronic gamesmanship.
King did not play games.
In the coming days, though we will be reminded about the inspiring flourishes of King’s sermons, his ultimate genius rested in the millions of citizens he inspired to work the trenches, above and beyond partisan politics, to achieve widespread, lasting change.
Americans can still accomplish great things independent of Washington. Every day, new entrepreneurs start small businesses that create jobs or launch private-public partnerships that bolster community-based services or establish non-profits to help those in need. Volunteerism, public service, entrepreneurship, voting and protest: These are the engines of collective leadership.
Whatever the bold action, the vital point remains: We can’t afford to wait, any less than blacks could in the 1950s, expecting leaders actually to lead. The rising stakes preclude the passive approach of seeking out heroes, rather than taking matters into our own hands. To honor King, this is the message that should occupy our hearts.
Rich Benjamin is a member of USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors and a senior fellow at Demos.
For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ’s. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.Posted 1/12/2012 7:08 PM | Updated 1/12/2012 7:09 PM
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“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus,” King said.
Once a grueling cause was identified, King knew that every person counted. There was strength in numbers and in a broad, collective front. As the election season kicks into high gear, we cannot wait and hope that we’ll elect a president or members of Congress who can fix all of our problems. Americans must become the leaders we desperately lack. Individuals must strategize, demand, protest and band together to work toward the national improvements that are so clearly needed.
Look around. Our country is suffering from a crisis of leadership. The economy is sputtering, millions remain jobless, and yet the president and Congress seem incapable of action. At the start of 2012, less than half of Americans (46%) approved of the job President Obamais doing. Not surprisingly, Congress’ approval rating is worse: 11%, a record low. Kowtowing to partisanship and career survival in an election year, politicians in both parties have abandoned governing in favor of chronic gamesmanship.
King did not play games.
In the coming days, though we will be reminded about the inspiring flourishes of King’s sermons, his ultimate genius rested in the millions of citizens he inspired to work the trenches, above and beyond partisan politics, to achieve widespread, lasting change.
Americans can still accomplish great things independent of Washington. Every day, new entrepreneurs start small businesses that create jobs or launch private-public partnerships that bolster community-based services or establish non-profits to help those in need. Volunteerism, public service, entrepreneurship, voting and protest: These are the engines of collective leadership.
Whatever the bold action, the vital point remains: We can’t afford to wait, any less than blacks could in the 1950s, expecting leaders actually to lead. The rising stakes preclude the passive approach of seeking out heroes, rather than taking matters into our own hands. To honor King, this is the message that should occupy our hearts.
Rich Benjamin is a member of USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors and a senior fellow at Demos.
Posted 1/12/2012 7:08 PM | Updated 1/12/2012 7:09 PM
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-01-12/king-mlk-leader-change/52521152/1
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