In this last episode in our prayer series, we’re going to look at the significance of closing our prayer times with the simple word, Amen. This is a simple word with a bold declaration. It declares that what has been prayed is now in God’s hands and will come to pass according to His will and power.
QUESTIONS + EXERCISE:
The last line in the Lord’s prayer, which is not actually in the earliest of Greek manuscripts, but was added later says this, “For yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” That does not mean that it is not scriptural or has its foundation in scripture. David actually prays a very similar prayer in 1 Chronicles 29:10-11 when it says, "So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all."
· What needs to happen in our lives for God’s will and His Kingdom to come in our lives?
· Where are you seeing God’s power in your life?
· If you are not experiencing God’s power why do you think that is?
· How is your life bringing glory to God and revealing His power and presence to those around you?
· Ask God to continually help you yield to His will and to daily be conformed to His image.
In this episode, we’re going to step away from Pete Greig’s book for a moment and focus in on praying in community with other believers. Greig does not cover this topic specifically, but it's a very important practice to learn how to pray with other believers. There is so much we can learn from others as they pray, and our prayer lives will be deeply enhanced because of it.
QUESTIONS + EXERCISE:
· Find a prayer group to join. Even if you don’t want to pray out loud, join in, listen and learn. There is nothing magical about praying out loud. You can pray just as powerfully in silence.
· Give your fears about praying in a group over to the Lord and maybe even voice them to your group so they can encourage you and intercede for you. Satan has no power when we voice our fears.
· Remember to keep it simple, keep it real, and keep it up. Pray what you got.
Read Acts 12:1-17 and note the effects of the church praying and interceding on Peter’s behalf.
· How does it describe their praying?
· How did God answer their prayers?
· Has God ever answered your prayers in such a way that you couldn’t believe it?
· What does a passage like this reveal to us about our faith in prayer? Do we believe God will hear and answer?
In this episode we’re going to walk through some of the dynamics of spiritual warfare in prayer. There is no mistake that all of us face temptations and hardships often and being able to respond well to those things is important. How do we walk in the power of the Spirit and allow our Heavenly Father to fight for us. We have some tools at our disposal to fight off and stand firm against the attacks of our enemy.
QUESTIONS + EXERCISE
· How does Scripture serve as a weapon to confront the attacks of the enemy?
· How does Scripture enable us to stand firm when the attacks come?
· How do we discern between a spiritual attack and a hardship that God wants to use to refine us?
Read through Matthew 4:1-11 and note as many things as you can about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness.
· How was He tempted and what is the significance of each temptation?
· How did Jesus handle the temptation of the Devil?
· What does that teach us about how we need to handle temptations that come our way?
· How did the forty day fast in the wilderness help or hurt Jesus? Was He vulnerable or strong?
· What are some anchor Scriptures that you can memorize and keep at the ready to fight off temptation?
In this episode we explore the necessity of confession and forgiveness to move us toward reconciliation with God. Greig walks through practicing the Prayer of Examen, which is simply a tool to help us reflect on our day and see where God was at work moving us to become more like Him as we get honest before Him and with others.
QUESTIONS + EXERCISE
Take about 10-15 minutes with pen and paper in hand and do this exercise. It comes from John Ortberg and tweaked in a great way by our very own David Stephens. I have found it very helpful in my prayer times. Pause for a moment and ask God to speak to you, take a breath and then just start writing. Don’t edit what you write. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar. Just write whatever comes into your mind whether good or bad, true or false, positive or negative, just write.
After about 10-15 minutes stop and pray and ask God to show you truth in what you have written. Read Philippians 4:8 and anything that does not fit the categories that Paul says to dwell on, cross it out. Look at the things that are left and see how much of it really resonates with you and sounds like God speaking to you.
· How many negative things showed up in your writing?
· How many lies that you may feel, but just aren’t true of who you are?
· Were there any things repeated or were there any patterns revealed.
· After you crossed out the negative statements, the untrue statements, and the shameful lies, how much was left?
· What truth did God reveal to you about who he is and who you are in light of your relationship with him?
One of the most challenging aspects of prayer is learning to listen and hear God well. We naturally have a tendency to question whether we are actually hearing God speak or generating thoughts ourselves. The more we pray and get comfortable with God’s Word and His presence, then the more readily we’ll be able to hear and distinguish His voice among all the voices clamoring for our attention.
QUESTIONS + EXERCISE
- What is the hardest part of learning to listen to God for you?
- In what way do you most often seem to encounter His voice?
- How is Scripture shaping and informing your prayer times?
- Who is that wise counsel for you that you know will give you prayerful advice?
Take some time and read slowly through John 3:16-17 and allow God to speak to you as you think about some of these questions along the way.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
- How does the word “so” nuance and define God’s love for the world?
- What would you be willing to give for the world so they might know you love them?
- When you think about God loving the world, do you think in broad terms or narrow terms? Who is included in the world?
- How would you define belief in God’s son here? Mental assent that Jesus is Lord or directional obedience and following?
- What does Jesus mean when He says He wasn’t sent to judge the world, but to save it?
In this episode we want to demystify the term contemplation and see how scripture encourages us to mediate as a part of prayer. All throughout scripture we are encouraged to meditate on God’s Word day and night and to reflect on what He has said. We all need to create space in our lives where we can stop, be with God and dwell on the things of God.
QUESTIONS + EXERCISE
- Where do we tend to spend most of our time and focus?
- If someone was to describe the thing in our lives that shaped us the most, what would it be?
- In what ways are meditating or contemplating God’s Word and ways easy or challenging for you?
Think about a time when you truly experienced a moment of meditation where the world seemed to fade and it was just all about the presence of God.
Read Colossians 4:2-6 and spend some time meditating on these verses and see ways that God may want to change your focus and practice of living out our faith.
One of the most difficult aspects of building a dynamic prayer life is how to handle unanswered prayers or prayers that may be answered in ways we didn’t want or expect. In the grand scheme of things there is no way we can see all things, know all things, or understand all things. What may seem perfectly good to us as we ask could very well bring us harm down the road. In this episode we’ll talk through some reasons behind unanswered prayers and how to cope with them.
QUESTIONS + EXERCISE
- What is the greatest challenge to your faith in the area of unanswered prayer?
- What are some ways you’ve learned to process your pain when difficulties are not removed?
- How has God grown your faith and trust in hard times?
Read Psalm 3 and meditate on or talk about how God ministers to us in times of difficulty.
As we continue looking at the ask part of the P.R.A.Y. acronym, today we’re going to examine the intercessory side of asking. Intercession is simply asking God for things on behalf of others. The Lord absolutely wants us to ask things of Him on behalf of others, so this is a vital part of a dynamic prayer life. We’ll talk through several aspects of intercession and how to do it well.
QUESTIONS + EXERCISE:
- If God were to answer all your prayers, how would the world be different? Would the lives of those you love be dramatically changed or simply our own?
- What is it like to intercede on behalf of others? Are you confident or discouraged?
- Has intercession led to anything surprising or new as you prayed?
- Where do you feel like you’re going to war in prayer on someone’s behalf?
- How can you gather with other believers to intercede more effectively on behalf of those you love?
Pray through Psalm 40 and reflect on why God is worthy of our trust.
For most of us, asking things of God both for ourselves and for others is the most natural form of prayer in which we engage. That is perfectly within God’s plan for us in prayer as we see in the Lord’s Model Prayer. In this episode we’ll walk through the petition part of asking which is simply asking things of God on behalf of ourselves. Petition is a big part of prayer.
QUESTIONS + EXERCISE
Read Matthew 7:7-11
7 “ Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
- How does this passage inform our view of God and help us to ask Him for things?
- Where are our views of God different from the picture revealed in this passage?
- What are our biggest fears in asking things of God?
Pray this passage back to God asking him for help to:
- Ask and keep on asking
- Trust that God hears our prayers and knows what we need.
- Help us see God as a loving Heavenly Father who loves to give good gifts to His children.
For many of us when we do carve out time to pray it generally centers around a need that we have and want to bring before God. In this episode we want to focus in on rejoicing and adoration in prayer. So many times we get caught up in our list of needs we bring before the Father that we never stop to spend time in praise for having a Heavenly Father to whom we can bring these things. Praise and adoration in prayer will be the focus of this episode.
QUESTIONS + EXERCISE
· What are the greatest challenges to praising the Lord well in prayer?
· Why do you think we have a tendency to jump directly into asking and petition?
· How often do thanksgiving (gratefulness for what God has done) and praise (gratefulness for who God is) show up in our prayers.
Set aside a prayer time periodically where all you do is praise God and thank Him for who He is and what He’s done.
- Was it easy or difficult? Why?
- What did you learn in this exercise?
- What did you enjoy the most?
Spend some time walking through Psalm 118 and look at all the ways that the Psalmist praises God.
- For what does He praise the Lord and how does this shape the way we praise?
- What stands out to you most?
- How can we incorporate some of this language in our prayers?
In this episode of Equipped for Life we’re going to focus in on how to pause and center ourselves before we jump into prayer. Most of us live very busy and chaotic lives and even if we slow our bodies down long enough to pray, often it is difficult to slow down our minds. This episode will walk through some ways to slow our minds and still our hearts before we pray.
QUESTIONS + EXERCISE
What is the best way for you to slow your mind and still your soul? Try different things to see what works best for you, like...
o Being still in a quiet room.
o Sitting in a comfortable chair focused on your breathing.
o Taking a walk in the neighborhood.
o Going on a hike through the woods in nature.
o Working in a shop.
What are your greatest challenges to finding a place of peace and rest in which to pray?
What are the most prominent sources of noise that keep you from slowing your mind and stilling your soul?
Take some time to get away as Jesus did to a quiet place, whether it is a quiet room in the house or hiking in the woods. Don’t do anything but enjoy the peace and quiet.
Read Mark 10:13-16 and practice seeing Jesus as someone who wraps you up in his arms and blesses you as his children.
In this episode of Equipped for Life we’re going to look at a prayer method from Pete Greig to help us as we develop a regular prayer rhythm. We’ll follow his P.R.A.Y. acronym as we learn to Pause, Rejoice, Ask and Yield. The primary key to developing a regular and meaningful prayer rhythm is to keep it simple, keep it real, and keep it up.
PRAYER EXERCISE
Philippians 4:4-9
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! -- Spend some time praising God for who He is and all that He has done and is doing in your life.
5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. -- Who might God bring to mind that you could encourage or help today. Pray for them now and encourage them later.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. -- Where are you anxious? Express that to the Lord now and ask Him for help.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -- Ask the Lord to grant you peace from all your anxiety and show it in tangible ways.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. -- Make a list of all good and true things that God has done and post them somewhere as a reminder of His goodness and grace. Fix your thoughts on these things daily.
9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. -- What are some spiritual practices, including prayer, but beyond prayer in which the Lord wants you to grow. Start putting those things into practice.
