prayer basics adult lesson - week four

7/31/2019 Prayer Basics Adult Lesson - Week Four

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Prayer

Basicsfor

AdultsLesson 4:

When Should We Pray?

(A study guide resource built to accompany the bookPrayer Basics:The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of Prayerand brought

to you by the Ofce of Prayer and Spiritual Care, a ministry of theGeneral Council of the Assemblies of God.)

Equipping the Church......Answering the Call

TheOfce of Prayer and Spiritual Care

2011 by Gospel Publishing House, 1445 N. Boonville Ave., Springeld, Missouri 65802. All rights reserved. Permission to replicate for personal,church and/or educational use only, may not be used for commercial intent. Electronic Edition published 2011 at www.prayer.ag.org.


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Prayer Basics For Adults (A Study Guide)

LESSON 4: When Should We Pray? All the Time!

STUDY TEXT:Psalm 102:1-8,12,13,18-22; Nehemiah 12; Matthew 7:7-11; John 14:1-4;

Romans 1:18,23; Colossians 2:6,7; 1 Thessalonians 5:17,18

LESSON FOCUS:Our commitment to prayer must be constant priority; both the best of times andthe worst of times can distract us from Gods plan for our lives.

KEY VERSE: 1 Thessalonians 5:17,18Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is Gods will for you inChrist Jesus (NIV).

Open the StudyDISCUSSION STARTER:

Brainstorm with students to answer this question: Name ten things it wouldbe unsafe or unwise to put off once you realize they need to be done? (Lessserious examples include filling an empty tank of gas or shopping for ananniversary or birthday gift for a spouse. More serious situations mightinvolve changing the smoke alarm batteries, going to the doctor to checkout a symptom that seems serious, or confronting a friend about a bad habitor risky behavior.) Discuss what the consequences might be if you decided toprocrastinate on each of these items. Talk about which ones would be most

serious to ignore, and why.

EXPLAIN:Priorities say a lot about who we are and where were at in life. Everydaydecisions on how we spend time, money, and energy speak volumes as towhats most important to us. Yet we also find ourselves in unexpected situa-tions that demand quick, and often dramatic, decisions. Those decisions, andhow we proceed once theyve been made, also serve to describe us and defineour values.

Nowhere is this more true than in our relationship with Godand specifically

with regard to our prayer lives. Prayer is the foundation of that relationship,so it must be at the top of the list on our daily agenda. But we also faceurgent momentstimes when we need to talk to God right away. In bothcases, we have an incredible promise: God is waiting to hear from us. Sowhether youre sitting alone in your room or facing a crisis that needsimmediate attention, its always the right time to pray.

2011 by Gospel Publishing House, 1445 N. Boonville Ave., Springeld, Missouri 65802. All rights reserved. Permission to replicate for personal,church and/or educational use only, may not be used for commercial intent. Electronic Edition published 2011 at www.prayer.ag.org


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Examine the Word

1. Seek God During the Hard Times

ILLUSTRATION:Display a small fan. (A large piece of cardboard or similar will work for thisillustration if you wave it up and down to produce the effect of a fan.) Have avolunteer stand at the far end of the room as far from the fan as possible. Ask

him or her to describe how well the breeze from the fan can be felt at thatdistance. Then have the volunteer walk slowly toward the fan before finallyplacing his or her face right up to the front of it. As this is going on, thevolunteer should describe how the breeze feels. Explain that the fan didntspeed up or somehow develop the ability to move more air. Instead, thelocation of the volunteer is what changed; he or she moved closer. In thesame way, there are times when we feel like God is very far away. But whenwe move closer to God by focusing on Him and talking to Him regularly, itbecomes increasingly clear that, as always, He is there. And He is just aspowerful and concerned about us as ever.

EXPLAIN:There are a number of situations and challenges in life that can potentiallythreaten or even undermine our desire to seek God during the difcultmoments. Three of them are outlined below. For each, read the Scripturesand/or discuss the questions provided.

Avoid the trap of bitterness.

ASK: How do people respond when theyve been let down, betrayed,or feel like they have been treated unjustly? (Note that bitternessis one of the most common responses. People get angry at others, atlife, or even at God. Obviously, a reaction like this will only harm our

walk with Him. The better choice is to reject anger and bitterness, andtrust God for solutions, knowing that He always has our best interestsin view.)

EXPLAIN: We have two choices when hard times strike: We can allow

bitterness to draw us away from God. Or we can call out toGod for help, and trust Him to work out the challenges weface in His way and according to His timetable.

READ: Psalm 102:1-8,12,13,18-22

ASK: Can you relate to the feelings of the Psalmist here? Explain.(Note that while we may not face the same situations, we all en-counter times when life is unfair. Some choose to be angry withGod as a result; yet the wise choice is to trust Him and cry out toHim in prayer. When we reject bitterness and look to God, we willnot be disappointed.)

Dont let fear overwhelm you.



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READ: Mark 4:35-41

EXPLAIN: Jesus disciples faced the terrifying prospect of drowning duringa sudden storm at sea, and their rst response was to focus ontheir fears. They even questioned Christs compassion: DontYou care if we drown? This wasnt a prayer. Its likely they weresimply calling on Him to help bail water. Thats why Jesus

responded with such a strong rebukeas well as why theywere so amazed at the miracle that followed.

DISCUSS: Talk about what situations tend to make people most afraid, andwhy. Note that some of the most fearful moments occur whenwe feel as though weve lost control. At such times, we will ndpeace when we surrender our concerns, and our inadequatepersonal efforts, to the strong and loving hand of the Lord.

Focus on Gods promises.

PONDER: Think about the moment in your life when youve beenmost disappointedwhen your life most profoundly wentagainst all your hopes and expectations. How did thatevent impact your life? Did it affect your relationship withGod in any way? Explain. (Encourage students to ponder thesequestions personally; invite any to share their own reections ifthey wish.)

READ: John 14:1-4

EXPLAIN: Jesus prepared His disciples for their biggest challenge of

faith. He was about to be arrested, tried, and executed.Everything they believed about Him would be put to the test.The future never looked more grim. Like never before, theywould need to trust Gods sovereignty, clinging to oneprofound hope: Gods promises, fulfilled through Christ,will stand forever.

Today, hard times still hold the potential of derailing ourfaith. The enemy of our souls tempts us to question Gods love,if not His very existence. But prayer is the antidote. Jesus callsus to seek Him, condent in His unfailing promises.

2. Praise God in the Good Times

DISCUSS:Pose the following questions: How would most people today say success isachieved in life? How would you say that success is achieved? Note that it isincreasingly common in our society to hear people speak of success lying withinthemselves; what we achieve depends primarily on our own time, efforts, andtalents. As a result, many people are prone to congratulate themselves for thegood things in life. But God gives us different instructions.



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Give thanks to God when you succeed.

READ: 1 Thessalonians 5:18

EXPLAIN: This is a common Scripture cited during rough times. And,indeed, God does want us to be thankful to Him through thosehard circumstances. But this verse is just as relevant when lifeis good. Success can actually distract us from God by luring us

into a trap of self-reliance. When things go our way, its easy topoint toward personal efforts, individual sacrices, and even theunique talents weve honed over time. Such a perspective, how-ever, is rooted in one of the most destructive enemies of ourfaith: ingratitude.

DISCUSS: Read the following Scriptures, then discuss as a class what eachteaches us about the sin of ingratitude.

Romans 1:18-23. (Ingratitude insults the Creator of the

universe by assuming that we somehow are responsible forthe blessings of His creation.)

Colossians 2:6,7. (God wants our lives to be characterizedby thankfulness. In Pauls writings, thankfulness and prayerare closely related. [See Philippians 4:6.] It is not hard tounderstand why. Prayer draws the focus away from ourselvesand places it on God.)

Dont take the little things for granted.

DISCUSS: Ask students if theyve ever felt like theyve been taken for

granted. Maybe they helped a friend or relative with a projectand didnt get so much as a thank-you in return. Or they vol-unteered for something, then discovered that it was just as-sumed theyd be doing that task permanently. Talk about howit feels when this happens. Why, in their opinion, might evenclose friends and relatives take them for granted? Explain thatsometimes we just assume someone is there. We forget abouttheir sacricesand even their feelings.

READ: Matthew 7:7-11

EXPLAIN: The request in this passage doesnt involve the miraculous or theprofound. Instead, it refers to asking for basic necessities likefood, clothing, and shelterthings that often dont get a secondthought. And God supplies them faithfully. Its these little areaswhere we must be careful not to forget about God. Theyre basicto life, a strong reminder that its God who sustains us. WithoutHim we wouldnt even have what it takes to live. Such provisioncalls us to pause and say a humble prayer of thanks.



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Celebrate Gods goodness.

RECAP: Note the description of Nehemiah 12, as highlighted in thebook: Nehemiah 12 records one of the biggest celebrations in theBible. Decades before, God had judged the people for their sinful-ness by allowing the Babylonians and Persians to remove themfrom their land. But now He had forgiven them, restored them,and made the way for them to return to Jerusalem. Notice how

they celebrated what God had done. People travelled far for theevent. There were choirs singing, elaborately arranged to marchon the wall. The people puried themselves spiritually. This cel-ebration became so loud that it could be heard in the surroundingareas.

REFLECT: Encourage students to reflect for a moment on the good

things God has brought into their lives. What are somespecific blessings they could name?

EXPLAIN: Its no coincidence that Nehemiah was one of the greatestexamples of a praying leader in the Old Testament, with over adozen references to his prayers. Genuine thanksgiving alwaysincludes prayer, whether it be worship, praise, meditation, orsimple words of gratitude voiced from a sincere heart.

3. Focus on God at All Times

Recognize your need for prayer.

READ: 1 Thessalonians 5:17

EXPLAIN: This verse can seem a bit intimidating. Often we struggle tostay focused in prayer for more than a few minutes. How canwe possibly pray nonstop?

We must keep an important principle in mind when lookingat this verse. Notice that it comes between two other commands,to be joyful always, and give thanks in all circumstances. Thereality is, none of these three will always come easily. Some-times joy seems far away. Other times its hard to give thanks.And, similarly, there are times when prayer can be difcult. Sowhen we see verse 17 in context, we realize that it denes aconceptan attitudethat ought to characterize Gods people.This prayer mind-set can exist even when we arent bowing ourheads and voicing a literal prayer.

DISCUSS: Challenge students to ponder the situations in life that are mostapt to cause them to lose their prayer mind-set. It may not bea crisis, but simply the mundane routine of life. Talk about waysto combat this loss of focus in each situation.



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Dont become complacent.

EXPLAIN: Certain situations naturally call us to prayer: a family crisis, aserious illness, a life transition. In those times prayer comes quiteeasily. But what about the day-to-day grind between the highsand lows? Perhaps its because the need for prayer isnt alwaysimmediately obvious, but whatever the reason, maintaining apriority of prayer can be a daily challenge.

DISCUSS: Ask students to share personal thoughts and ideas on how toavoid complacency in prayer. A few ideas are presented below.

Enter your prayer time with a plan. What requests call for yourprayer? What Scriptures might guide your praise and worship?

Regard prayer as a vital part of your relationship with God.This principle is worth repeating. Prayer isnt mere duty orrepetition. It is conversation between us and our Lord.

Avoid limiting prayer to crisis situations. Make prayer a part ofyour lifestyle; remember that God is more than the source ofsolutions in hard times. He is our loving Lord and Father.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:Self-analysis can be challenging, even painful. But our pursuit of spiritual maturitycalls us to reect on where we are at today. Where are we strong? Where do weneed to grow? Pose the following questions to students, encouraging them to usethese questions as a tool for evaluating their maturity in the area of prayer.

Do hard times ever cause me to struggle in my relationship with God? How so?In what ways will prayer help me deal with those situations more effectively?

Do I give God the credit and praise He deserves for the good things in my life?Why or why not?

How is my perspective on life usually affected when Ive spent a lot of timepraising and worshiping God?

What is the biggest benet of having a consistent prayer life, other than receivinghelp with needs and problems?

Whats the biggest barrier I face in my efforts to pray regularly? How can Ibest overcome this barrier?

CLOSING ACTIVITY:Close by encouraging students to develop a plan for maintaining a personalprayer life. The following questions can help them formulate such a strategy:

What time of the day am I most likely to stay focused as I pray? (Some peopleare more alert in the morning while others nd evening to be a better time.)

Where can I goa specic room or other settingthat will offer the most privacyand least distractions to my prayer time? (Consider choosing a place that youcan access every day.)



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What are some distractions I often face as Im trying to focus on prayer? Howcan I minimize these distractions?

What are the most common excuses I struggle with when it comes to having aconsistent prayer life? How can I answer these excuses and stay focused on myprayer commitment?


All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copy-right 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

prayer basics adult lesson - week four

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