Prayer Study Guide V.2 by Mark Kroeker

Group Agreement

We agree together to the following values:

• Purpose – Our group will honor God by promoting Christian friendship and deepening our understanding of God’s Word.

• Environment – Our group will be a safe place for people to connect, share, listen, grow, and be themselves.

• Participation – Everyone is encouraged to be involved in all aspects of the group: discussion, sharing, and prayer.

• Communication – Everyone will have the opportunity to speak. No one will dominate the conversation. We will listen and share appropriately.

• Confidentiality – Discussions within the group will not be shared outside the group.

• Attendance – Our group time is a priority, and everyone should attend, arriving on time or notifying the group leader if they will be absent.

• Preparedness – Staying current with the sermons and following the study guide will help everyone participate at a better level.

We agree together to the following arrangements:

• Meeting place – _________________________________________

• Meeting day – __________________________________________

• Meeting start and end times – ______________________________

• Childcare arrangements – ________________________________

• Refreshment arrangements – ______________________________

I agree, to the best of my ability, to connect with this group and personally support each person in it. My desire is to grow spiritually with them during this study series.

Introduction

Prayer is a significant part of the Christian life. Christians pray before meals. We pray at church, normally multiple times. Many will pray right when they wake up and right before they fall asleep at night. We pray for big decisions that need to be made and we pray for those who are struggling. The Bible commands us and teaches us to pray as well.

As significant as prayer is in the life of a believer, it is still something that many struggle with. We think we don’t have the right words or maybe even feel like God is not listening. Some may feel an obligation to pray but have no joy in doing it.

Since prayer is such an important part of our lives and can easily be misunderstood or create feelings of angst, we need to stop and go back to God’s Word to see what He has to say about prayer. In scripture, we can witness the power of prayer (Mark 11:24), will find commands to pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17), receive instructions on how to pray (Matthew 6:5-15), and see examples of Jesus Himself praying (Matthew 14:23). Hopefully working through this study will not create a greater sense of guilt over our prayer lives but instead serve as an invitation to simply be with the Father.

We might be tempted to complicate prayer. Prayer is simply a conversation with God, the King of the universe, and our heavenly Father. He is inviting us to the throne of grace to spend time pouring our hearts out to Him. The hope of this series is that you will be able to connect with others but even more so with the King of the universe.

Here’s what to do ...

1. Connect: Talk about life. Join a group and be yourself. The first part of being in a group is simply sharing about your week and connecting personally.

2. Discuss: Talk about the Word. Each week there will be verses to look up in your Bible with questions to help you discuss the topic.

3. Pray: Talk with God. Every week there will be specific prayer prompts and instructions on prayer.

Welcome to Prayer—A Conversation with the King

Gathering One

INVITED TO PRAY

Prayer should not feel like an obligation. We are invited to come before the throne of grace to speak to our heavenly Father. We can present requests before an almighty God. He hears us and wants us present with Him.

Weekly Questions

• Share a high and a low from the week with the group.

• What stood out to you from the message on Sunday?

• How was your prayer life this last week? What changed from the previous week or just from your normal rhythms?

Getting Started

• What is the difference between being forced to go somewhere and being invited? Which do you prefer?

• If you could talk to any person in the world, who would you want to talk to? What would you talk about?

• What do you think of when you hear the word “prayer”? How does it make you feel?

• Is prayer something that is easy or hard for you? What obstacles prevent you from praying?

• How do you feel God’s posture is towards you when you pray?

Read the Text

• Matthew 6:9 Romans 8:12-16 Hebrews 4:14-16

• 1 John 5:13-15 2 Chronicles 7:14

Questions for Reflection

• What do these verses tell us about God?

• Based on the texts we read, describe God’s view of you.

• What is the significance of Jesus telling us to call God “Father”? How might that change the way we pray?

• Why is God’s throne called a “throne of grace”? How does that help us approach God?

• Why are we allowed to approach God with such familiarity? How do the Son and the Spirit help us in our prayers to the Father?

• What can you do this week to accept God’s invitation to pray? Pick a start time, place, and amount of time to spend in prayer this week.

Pause to Pray

Today you can use the ACTS prayer to help in a time of prayer.

» Adoration—Tell God how great He is.

» Confession—Confess your sins to God (you can do this as a group if you have that relationship or silently). Also, confess God’s role as Lord in your life.

» Thanksgiving—Give God thanks for as many blessings as you can think of. Give Him thanks for the gift of Jesus.

» Supplication—Pray for the needs of yourself and your fellow group members.

Gathering Two

LISTENING TO GOD

Prayer is a conversation with God. When you have a conversation, you don’t simply speak, you also listen.

Weekly Questions

• Share a high and a low from the week with the group.

• What stood out to you from the message on Sunday?

• How was your prayer life this last week? What changed from the previous week or just from your normal rhythms?

Getting Started

• Have you ever tried to listen for God’s voice before? If not, why not?

• What fears or hopes does this type of prayer bring up in your heart?

• What is the primary way that you hear God’s voice in your life?

Read the Text

• 1 Kings 19:11-17 Luke 10:38-42 John 10:27-28

• Proverbs 2:1-5 Psalm 119:9-11 2 Corinthians 10:5

• John 16:13-14 Hebrews 1:1-2

Questions for Reflection

• What is God revealing to us about Himself and how He communicates through the scriptures we just read?

• How has God spoken to people in scripture? (See Genesis 32:22-32, Gensis 37:5-10, Daniel 5:5-9, Numbers 22:21-35, Exodus 3, and Genesis 12:1-4, for example.) What other ways can you think of?

• How does God speak to us today?

• How do we know God’s voice? Why is studying God’s Word so important to following Him?

• How can we turn our study of God’s Word into prayer?

Pause to Pray

• Today you can use the ACTS prayer from last week OR find a Psalm to read together and allow God to speak through that.

• Here are some examples of Psalms to look at. This list is from John Mark Comer and his study, “The Prayer Practice.”

» To begin your day with God: Psalm 5, 19, 20, 23, 25

» When you are sad: Psalm 13, 22, 42, 77

» When you are in distress: Psalm 57, 60, 86

» When you are scared: Psalm 27

» When you are hurt: Psalm 10

» When you ache for more of God: Psalm 63, 84

» When you want to repent: Psalm 51

» When you are grateful: Psalm 9, 103

» When you want to worship: Psalm 8, 148-150

Gathering Three

TEACH ME TO PRAY

We only see the disciples ask Jesus how to do one thing … pray. Prayer is significant but it can also feel overwhelming. Jesus gives us a simple model to follow.

Weekly Questions

• Share a high and a low from the week with the group.

• What stood out to you from the message on Sunday?

• How was your prayer life this last week? What changed from the previous week or just from your normal rhythms?

Getting Started

• If you could learn any skill, what would it be?

• Of all the things that Jesus did, which one would you most like to learn how to do? (Walk on water? Feed thousands with one lunch? Turn water into wine?)

• On a scale of 1-10, how good do you think you are at praying? What do you feel comfortable and uncomfortable with in prayer?

Read the Text

• Luke 11:1-4

• Matthew 6:5-15

• Hebrews 12:28-29

Questions for Reflection

• What are these verses telling us about God?

• Why is this the one thing the disciples asked to learn how to do?

• Take time to look at each line of the Lord’s prayer and restate it in your own words.

• What are some of the other things that The Lord’s Prayer teaches us about how to pray?

Pause to Pray

• Start by praying each element of the Lord’s prayer.

» Give God adoration (Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name).

» Ask for God’s will to be done in your home, city, church, family, and every area in your life (your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven).

» Ask God for what you need and let Him know that you trust Him to provide each day (Give us today our daily bread).

» Ask for forgiveness of sins (And forgive us our debts).

» Pray for those who have wronged you—don’t use specific names publicly, this is not a time to gossip (as we also have forgiven our debtors).

» Pray for the strength to always obey God (And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one).

• Wrap up by praying the exact words of the Lord’s prayer together.

Gathering Four

PRAY WITH EXPECTATION

When we pray, we are talking to the King of the universe. We are talking to a powerful God. Our prayers should reflect that we believe God is big, powerful, and always listening.

Weekly Questions

• Share a high and a low from the week with the group.

• What stood out to you from the message on Sunday?

• How was your prayer life this last week? What changed from the previous week or just from your normal rhythms?

Getting Started

• Who is someone that you have big expectations for and who is someone that you don’t expect much from? (Maybe stay away from politicians for this one.)

• What causes you to expect less from some people than others?

• Why should we raise our expectations of God?

Read the Text

• James 1:5-7

• Luke 11:5-10

• Matthew 17:20

Questions for Reflection

• What are some of the miracles that God has performed in scripture? Do you believe that He is still capable of doing miracles today?

• How does reading about what God has done in the past inform how you pray today?

• Why would James say that we “must believe and not doubt”? How is “asking in belief” different from “asking in doubt”?

• In the Luke 11 parable, the person receives what they were asking for because of their “shameless audacity.” Have you ever felt like you prayed with shameless audacity? Why or why not?

• What happens when we pray with expectations and don’t get the results we desired? How should we respond?

Pause to Pray

• Try praying big prayers with great expectations for what God might do. Pray over these things with expectations.

» Christ Community Church

» Your family

» Your finances

» The people in your area of influence who don’t know Jesus. Pray for their salvation and pray that God would give you opportunities to be a part of it.

» Our city, state, country, and world. Pray that God’s kingdom would come, here as it is in heaven.

» Anything else that is on your heart today. Give it to God and trust Him with it.

Gathering Five

FASTING

Fasting is a way of increasing our prayer life. It is about taking something away in order to depend more on God.

Weekly Questions

• Share a high and a low from the week with the group.

• What stood out to you from the message on Sunday?

• How was your prayer life this last week? What changed from the previous week or just from your normal rhythms?

Getting Started

• What are your favorite things to do?

• What is your favorite thing to eat?

• What would be the hardest thing for you to give up?

Read the Text

• Matthew 6:16-18

• Acts 14:23

• Ezra 8:21-23

• Mark 9:29 (KJV) - And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

Questions for Reflection

• What is fasting? How should it be done?

• How does removing something from your daily routine help your prayer life?

• What are the reasons for fasting that we saw in the texts we read? Why else might someone fast?

• In Mark 9, the disciples are unable to cast a demon out of a boy and Jesus had to do it for them. In some of the ancient manuscripts, Jesus said it was only possible with prayer and fasting. How can fasting help our prayer lives?

• What are some of the things that we are reminded of when we are fasting?

Pause to Pray

• For today’s prayer, ask the group if there are any prayer requests and lift them up in prayer. Pray for the church that we would be equipped to do the work God has called us to do.

• Also take time to think about what you might give up this week or what day you might fast this week. What will you dedicate that prayer and fasting time towards?

I’m going to fast from __________________________________

On this/these day/s ___________________________________

To pray for

Gathering Six

KEEP PRAYING

The Bible calls us to “pray without ceasing.” This means we need to pray constantly about all sorts of things. It also means that we need to keep praying about the things that we don’t have an answer for yet.

Weekly Questions

• Share a high and a low from the week with the group.

• What stood out to you from the message on Sunday?

• How was your prayer life this last week? What changed from the previous week or just from your normal rhythms?

Getting Started

• Have you ever wanted to give up on something but found success in persevering?

• What makes you want to quit something?

• What helps keep you motivated to continue?

Read the Text

• 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

• Luke 18:1-8

Questions for Reflection

• How many times in a day do you pray? What are some of the things that motivate you to pray?

• How hard would it be to pray without ceasing just for one day?

• How might “rejoicing always and giving thanks in all circumstances” help you to keep praying?

• Why did Jesus tell the parable in Luke 18:1-8? How might it impact someone’s prayer life?

• Does this passage tell us that we can pray for whatever we want and as long as we pray enough we will receive it? If not, what is it saying?

• How has this series impacted your prayer life? What changes have you made or will you make to be more present with Jesus?

Pause to Pray

» Today let’s look back on some of our prayers from the last 6 weeks and keep praying over them. We can pray over specific requests that have not been answered yet or we can keep using the ACTS prayer method.

» End your time with the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6.

Leaders’ Notes

Thank you for leading your group. You are key to this group’s spiritual growth and personal enjoyment during this series.

Here are some important reminders as you prepare to lead.

1. You are the discussion leader, not the teacher. The dynamic of a small group is interaction. The sermon on Sunday is the primary lesson. Your role is not to re-teach the lesson but to get everyone to interact over the topic.

2. Use the study guide. The best way to get people to talk is to ask questions. The study guide is a resource for you to get good questions into the group for discussion. You do not have to answer every question. Use the ones that are most helpful and create your own.

3. There are three basic activities for leading an effective small group. Spend around 20-30 minutes in each of these activities.

• Connect: Talk to each other about life. Encourage the members to share what is happening in their personal lives.

• Discuss: Talk about the Word. Go as deep as you want as you open the Bible.

• Pray: Talk to God. Take time to pray for each other and for our church to stay on mission.

4. Manage the conversation. The one thing that can destroy a successful small group experience is someone who monopolizes the time with talking … even if it is the leader. Your primary responsibility is to make sure that no one “over-talks” and everyone has an opportunity to join in the discussion.

Thank you for your shepherding leadership over your group.

• Circle Maker, Mark Batterson

• Prayer, Tim Keller

• The Book of Common Prayer, Compiled by Thomas Cranmer

• Does Prayer Change Things, R.C. Sproul

• Praying: Finding Our Way Through Duty to Delight, J.I. Packer

• On Prayer: Conversation with God, John Calvin