Jesus’ Principles for Prayer
Connect – Part 2
March 5-6, 2022
- Connect with God daily: pray.
“Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:9–13 (p.737)
- Begin with praise and thanksgiving
“Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9 (p.737)
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4 (p.459)
- Get aligned with His purpose
“May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10 (p.737)
“I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.”
Psalm 57:2 (p.438)
- Ask God to meet my needs
“Give us today the food we need…” Matthew 6:11 (p.737)
“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (p.901)
- Talk To God about forgiveness
“…forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” Matthew 6:12 (p.737)
“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32 (p.897)
- Pray for protection
“And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.”
Matthew 6:13 (p.737)
“And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, ‘God is tempting me.’ God is never tempted td do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.” James 1:13 (p.930)
My Next Step This Week:
____ I will connect with God daily this week by praying through the Lord’s prayer each day. (Life Transformation Bible reading: Jesus Principles For Prayer, Page A-28-A29)
Series Memory Verse: “’You are my friends if you do what I command.’” John 15:14 (p.824)
Discussion/Groups Guide
Connect – Part 2
“Jesus’ Principles for Prayer”
Life Groups use this guide in their discussion from the Weekend Talk. This is also a discussion guide you can use with your family and friends.
Conversation Starters
- Who likes having structure in their lives?
- Do you have structure in your finances (i.e. Budget plan)?
- Do you have structure in your career (i.e. Training for advancement or planning for retirement)?
- Do you have structure in your family (i.e. Marriage? Children? Aging parents?)
- What do you think about the idea of having structure in our prayers?
- Are you more organized in your private or public life (such as work)? What makes them different (if they are)?
Quick Review
Looking back at your Weekend Talk Notes, was there anything you heard in the service that stood out to you, challenged you, or maybe even confused you?
Discussion Starters from the Weekend Talk
Refer to the Talk Notes and Bible verses from the Talk Notes.
This week’s One Thing: Connect with God daily: pray.
Series Memory Verse: John 15:14 (p.824)
Background: Matthew 6:9-13 (p.737)
- How would you rate your prayer life?
- When you pray do you have a plan or structure to help you stay on track? Does this sound like a good idea?
- Do you pray spontaneously? Talk about the differences.
- Do you ever pray “arrow prayers”? (Arrow prayers are quick one-line prayers said in a hurry!)
- Are there specific situations where you would fire one-off?
This week our discussion focuses on the following points of teaching and application:
- Begin with praise and thanksgiving. Mathew 6:9 (p.737), Psalm 100:4 (p.459)
- Most of us have prayed our requests list (kind of like a shopping list).
- How do you think this makes God feel?
- How would it make you feel if your boss, spouse, or friends just gave you a task list without acknowledgment of your presence?
- Talk about various ways to praise God. What helps you praise God?
- How important is it to listen when you pray?
- How do you listen to God?
- Get aligned with His purpose. Matthew 6:11 (p.737) Isaiah 6:8 (p.521), Psalm 57:2 (p.438)
- Do we really want God’s Kingdom to come soon? We must be all in at all times with Jesus.
- How do you see Isaiah 6:8 relating to Jesus’ principles for prayer?
- Ask God to meet my needs. Matthew 6:11 (p.737); Proverbs 3:5-6 (p.482), Philippians 4:19 (p.901)
- When have you had to completely trust God for His provision? Does this include other needs besides physical?
- How can this be a ministry opportunity?
- Talk To God about forgiveness. Matthew 6:12; Ephesians 4:31 (p.897), Ephesians 4:32 (p.897)
- How has forgiveness impacted you? Either from the standpoint of being forgiven, or of having forgiven someone else.
- One way to see the effect of unforgiveness is to think of the unforgiveness we hold onto being like a rock in our life’s backpack. When you forgive you can take out the rock. Have you had any rocks in your backpack? How hard is it to release that rock?
- Pray for protection. Matthew 6:13 (p.737), James 1:13 (p.930)
- Is temptation a sin?
- What are some practical things we can do to help us deal with or avoid temptation?
- What have you learned?
Digging Deeper
Prayers Found in The Bible
A good way to practice the habit of prayer is to pray prayers found in the Bible. There are at least 650 prayers found in the Bible: God’s Word to us. Some of them are just one verse while some are much longer. Below are references to a few of them. As you read them, simply follow these guidelines for having a conversation with God by praying God’s Word:
- Read the passage verse by verse.
- Respond to what you read with your prayer back to God.
- Repeat the process as you read through the passage.
Ephesians 1:16–23, Matthew 26:39, Numbers 6:22-26, Ephesians 3:14-20, Psalm 51:10-12,
Philippians 1:9-11, Colossians 1:9-14, 1 Thessalonians 3:9–13, Psalm 139:1-2, 23-24
My Next Step This Week:
____ I will connect with God daily this week by praying through the Lord’s prayer each day. (Life Transformation Bible reading: Jesus Principles For Prayer, Page A28-A29)