Prayer Training - Week 2

Pray before we start as a group,
Introduction

Statement: “How often have we prayed something like, "O Lord, be with cousin Billy now in a special way"? Have we stopped to consider what it is we're requesting? Imagine that you are a parent who is preparing to leave your children with a babysitter. Would you dream of saying, "O Betsy, I ask you now that you would be with my children in a special way?" No way. You would say, "Betsy, the kids need to be in bed by 9 pm. They can have one snack before their baths, and please make sure they finish their homework. You can reach us at this number if there's any problem. Any questions before we go?" We are very specific with our requests and instructions for our babysitters. We want them to know specifics. It should be no different with prayer.”
David Jeremiah



Group time:
Do you agree with the statement? How straightforward should we be in prayer?
Anybody have anything they want to share from previous week?
Anything that has changed, any prayers been answered
Is there such a thing as a prayer routine, is it a good or a bad thing?
Do you know of any “heroes” of prayer, biblical or otherwise, what stood out because of their prayer lives?


How to pray
Using ACTS theme = Adoration – think of some of the things you know about him or read a Psalm, Confession, Thanksgiving – e.g. answered prayers, spiritual blessings, relational blessings and material blessings, and Supplication – the things we want to ask for
This doesn’t really allow for time in silence
Praying in a set way every time can just become a routine, feeling that it is just a job to get done
Need to create space for God to work
The Lord’s Prayer – not necessarily something we have to pray every time, can be the basis on which to form our prayers
Our father - dad
who art in Heaven - focusing yourself on God, God who is up in Heaven and also down here on earth
hallowed be thy name – praising God’s holy name, recognising who you are praying to, holy is your name
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven – recognising that the world needs to change, seeing the world as God views it, we need to do the work, understanding how important God’s will is, justice issues
Give us this day our daily bread – please give us all we need to survive, e.g. bread, it’s not about our wants but about our needs
And forgive us our trespasses (sins/debts) as we forgive those that trespass against us (this means our sins, the things we do wrong) – this might be where you confess all your wrongs to God, but we need to forgive others as well, in this place we might be asking God for help with this, forgiveness and responsibility. Brings to mind the idea of “all trespassers will be prosecuted”
Lead us not in to temptation but deliver us from evil – help us against all that tries to attack us, the daily struggles we may face, evil that is against us. We don’t want to make lots of mistakes. We are living in the midst of temptation. Recognising that we need help.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever – again praising God, acknowledging his power and also that he is in control of all, asking for help in this world, in the things we face. We can’t do anything without God, can only do things with God, He is the beginning middle and end, his power is the beginning, middle and end.
Amen – let it be so

Task:
Put something under each ACTS on their piece of paper, can do it through drawing, words, poem, song, cartoon strip, anything, even colour it in! Your personal document, don’t have to show it to anyone. Move around, pray it, etc.

These things all focus on one thing, talking to God, no matter what is said is the priority.

Pray like you mean it, have an expectation of all that God can do (believe that God answers prayers), Acts 12:7-16, it can be so easy to offer prayers as like a wish, hoping something happens, this can be seen in the words we use – God can and does change people, we need to realise this
Hassle God until he answers (Luke 18:2-5) – we hear this parable about a widow who hassles a judge and it reminds us that we can keep asking God for something, he might not respond in any way we expect but we are encouraged to hassle him. In fact, we know how much a child wants something by how much they ask, sometimes we need to let God how serious we are about answering a prayer.
Bargaining? – I think this relates to hassling God, I don’t think we should bargain or test God on a regular basis but people in the bible did do it. In Genesis 18 we hear Abraham plead for the people of Sodom, asking if God would spare the city if 50 good men were there, then 40, 30, 20, 10 and each time God yielded.
Honesty (Psalm 10? Psalm 22? Job 31, Jonah 4) – we can be angry with God, we shouldn’t just pray thinking we need to say the “right words” – this is something that when I first read it really surprised me, honest, even angry but God is the commander of the universe and yet part of the relationship is the honesty, being angry and saying it when it happens, not seething or sulking. Honesty in any relationship is important, as in the relationship with God.
Some prayers get answered and some don’t but I believe that if it is something that is worrying us or in our hearts we can just ask, it is up to God what he does but asking in itself is part of the relationship, once asking we might realise we don’t want it anymore. It doesn’t necessarily matter how we come to God in prayer, we just come and let him take it from there
Ask God to reveal his will to us – in prayer it is not just about us but it is about God, we have to give him space, give him time to respond, not just speak and then close our ears. It is a relationship with our creator, not a plant.
Prayer isn’t a show – this can be really easy to understand fully, because others are listening and we can feel we should put in fancy words, respond in the right way and use it as a public service announcement but God is the same God and the thoughts of others aren’t that important, easier said than done.
It doesn’t necessarily matter how we come to God in prayer, we just come and let him take it from there
Video clip – Bruce Almighty

Group time
Where and when do you normally pray?
Have you ever used any stimuli in prayer? What difference did it make?
What other ways have you prayed? E.g. a prayer walk, sitting in a certain place, in a darkened room, etc
What would you recommend to others for prayer?

When and where should we pray?
Morning, evening? All day? Always? – Jesus prayed at different times of the day, it depends on when is most comfortable for us but praying throughout the day can also be effective for us, e.g. whenever you go to the loo (busy parents) or having regular slots. Maybe 5min slots as reminders on your phone, it doesn’t have to be the same way, words, etc all the time. Maybe you would benefit from a routine, maybe you wouldn’t, everyone is different.
With others, on our own? – in Acts we can see that people prayed in groups and although a lot of the gospel stories talk about Jesus praying by himself it isn’t the only way. There are benefits to both, e.g. praying with others can strengthen them, hearing the words of others talking to God, but it can also be really uncomfortable, people feeling unsure of themselves and not actually conversing with God but an audience. On our own can also be a struggle because we can forget, other things can come up and we let them take priority. However, it is us alone with God, focusing on him and nothing else. (It’s like exercising? It can become a chore rather than a pleasure, routine rather than relationship)
Shut out the white noise – frequently other things can take our attention when praying, it can be good to get away from tv, internet, mobile. There are so many things demanding our attention in this world and sometimes we need to shut it out. If we think about other things while praying, things not to forget we can write down, they can be part of our prayer life.
Anywhere, God is all around us, we need to just bask in his presence, E.g. be careful when driving

Talked about stimuli, different ways to pray – group feedback

Different stimuli and methods (different wedding dresses)
Prayer diary – journaling. Writing a page per day of thoughts about the world, use them as part of your prayers. Or write down your prayers, it might help you focus, knowing your prayers and able to check back and see what you have written.
Through worship – singing praises to God can be your prayers, I like to close my eyes in worship (if I’m not doing anything else), helps me focus on God and the words
If artistic then be artistic, etc – use your gifts in prayer, God gave us our gifts, we can use them in praise to him
Sitting by ourselves? If you don’t normally pray by yourself it is something you might want to try
Together in a group – alternatively if you don’t go to a prayer group and can’t make the church one you might find you want to meet with a couple of others here and have a prayer triplet, meeting for 20mins (ish) every week or fortnight to share prayers, and so you can help each other develop the prayers, alternatively you might want to go through what we discussed last week and ask those you are living with (if you live with others) if they would like to pray with you
Out loud – scary thing, use to make me feel sick and yet , nothing you can say is wrong because it is to God, others may be amused, confused or surprised but they might feel blessed by the words, it might also help them develop in prayer as well. Romans 8:26
Liturgy vs freestyle – some people prefer using set words and words from the bible, some prefer to just say things, both can be good to try. It tells us in the bible not to babble in prayers, liturgy or writing our prayers down might reduce that.
Prayer walk – again it’s understanding different stimuli, praying for the things you see every day, asking God to open your eyes to the need in your area, asking God to show you the area you live in or your church is in.
Use candles, music, water, images, lots of options


Group
Task – read through the papers in your group, use it to create a prayer wall, add comments, cuttings, etc


Pray for each person in small group

Homework:
Carry on your long term task
If you always pray in one particular way then try something new, e.g. praying little bits all day or just a long time in the morning, or try being artistic, etc
When praying don’t just take a list of requests, trying leaving them til last, focusing on praising God first
Start a prayer diary


Pray to close