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Lesson OneWhy Pray?4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TwoWhy Not Ask?4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson ThreeWhen You Don’t Know What to Say4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FourObstacles to Prayer4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FivePraying for Others4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson SixPraying with Others4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson SevenPrayer and Fasting4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson EightWhat about “Unanswered” Prayer?4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson NinePersevering in Prayer4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TenLiving a Prayer-Filled Life4 Activities1 Assessment
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Course Wrap-UpCourse Completion1 Activity1 Assessment
Participants 3
Discussion Questions
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How do you respond to the frequently heard critique that prayer is “not enough”? How can prayer instead be action of the most practical kind?
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Prayer is enough as we seek God’s Face in prayer He gives us direction. We are able to learn and grow as we go through our situations with God! It then becomes more of an action, instead of sitting and doing nothing you are actively seeking God’s Face through prayer, in the face of your situations!
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It may not be enough for the current situation, but helping with the recovery of the remaining feelings
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I haven’t actually heard anyone say this, so I was surprised to hear that it is a frequent critique. Prayer can be action because it can stir God’s heart over a period of time and cause a result that is better than we could ever hope for. Prayer can be action because, even if God doesn’t take action, it changes us and our approach or our feelings about the situation.
However, there may be times when prayer may not “be enough” if we are using it as an excuse to actively get involved or to truly deal with an unpleasant subject. I know of many situations where the leadership of a group falls back on “Well, let’s just pray about it” and the idea or problem never gets revisited again. There are times when prayer and action must go hand-in-hand. The difficulty is for us to know the correct balance.
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Prayer is more than enough and the most powerful tool we have when we pray in faith to our Maker. God knows more than we do about whatever the circumstances are we are praying over- be it for ourselves or in intercession for another or others. He gave us the freedom to choose Him and when we ask of the Lord, we are asking for action over the subject of our prayers as God is Sovereign over everything including the future according to His Holy Will.
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I am very new to Christianity and have a strong desire to learn. I pray every day and have done for some years but I am still not confident I know the correct structure. I pray in the morning for God to protect my family and I will add in various things depending upon what has been happening in my life. Mostly I will pray when i walk my dog in the early morning and there are so many beautiful things in nature at that time of day – I always pray that God helps me to live my life in a more Jesus like way. I aim to help others and bring sunshine in to peoples lives. We never know what people are going through when we meet them so i try to put a smile on my face which spreads to them. I help my church whenever I can and when I am doing that I often pray (in my head – not out loud). Prayer to me now is something I do to speak to God and it helps to guide me to be a better Christian – its not all about what he can do for me – its more what can i do for others.
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What is the difference between seeking God’s face and seeking His hand?
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I think that seeking His face is to get to know Him, while seeking His hand is asking for help.
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When we seek the face of God, we are seeking His presence. Seek to know God first before seeking His help. God’s hand is also important because it is the hand of protection and pleasure (Psalm 16:8,11). However, the Bible does not instruct us to seek God’s hand; the Bible teaches us to seek God’s face first. The Bible says, “Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.” (1 Chronicles 16:11).
Therefore, the first thing we need to do when facing trials is to seek God’s face. Looking into the face of God will relieve all our worry and fear. We trust that His hand will protect us and take care of our problems. -
Seeking God’s face is seeking to know Him more intimately. It goes beyond asking for His help (seeking His hand). It is having conversation with Him, meditating on His Word, and listening for His direction and love.
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His hand- blessings
His face- being honest
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Seeking God’s hand is asking for action to be done in a situation- for God to manipulate the events in some way. Seeking God’s face is wanting to see Him- His personality, His very being.
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What new insights about the importance of prayer did you gather from some of the scriptural verses presented in this lesson?
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“Because you prayed” What promise!
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And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6). First, “anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists.” Second, the Lord’s followers must believe “that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” If we did not pray, we are deprived of the blessings that He is pouring upon us.
Isiah 37:21, “Because you prayed” Though it does not mean that every time we prayed, it will go our direction. But if we did not pray, nothing will be changed and hence, the importance of our prayer.
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Praying to our Heavenly Father is an essential part of our relationship with GOD.
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I think one of the most important things I will take away from Psalm 116 is the appreciation that God wants to conversate with me! Despite my flaws He wants to incline His ears to me and He will! Although I knew that it hit a little different in the context of this lesson. I am so thankful to have a father who wants a relationship with me through the mighty power of prayer!
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We have the ability to potentially change events by interacting with God’s will. I tend to approach life with a sense of resignation (Well, God knows the future and he is in control, so that’s that.) Because of this, my prayer life often consists of “God, let me be content with your decision,” Although this is good in that it keeps me from worrying about things and from trying to take charge, it also de-emphasizes any role that I have. However, the “Because you prayed” verse in Isaiah indicates that our prayers CAN have an effect on the outcome and that I don’t have to just sit back and pray to be content with whatever happens.