‘5 a Day’
Studies
4. Prayer
How
to use this material
The
material in this study is designed to be flexible, but basically intended for
two sessions. The 4 pages after this should be printed and handed out. The
first, introductory session is more structured. The essentials of Session
One are :
1. the Bible reading
2. exploring the reading – open discussion
4. reflection
5. prayer
6. closing verse
Depending
on time, some or all of the discussion topics in Our Own Experience (3) can
also be included before the reflection.
Session
Two can begin with any of the discussion questions not covered the first week
and then some or all of the Prayers from the Bible can be used in the way best
suited to the group. It could be helpful to have someone make simple (large!)
notes.
- People could be given 5 or
10 minutes to read and think about one passage each and then in turn share
their biblical example with the rest of the group for discussion.
- The leader could select
the biblical examples in order of preference and take the group through
them, inviting ideas from everyone each time.
It
would be good to summarise the discussion at the close and perhaps ask people
for one particular idea they will take away.
Concluding
Session Two could follow the same pattern as the previous week, with prayer and
a verse of Scripture.
1. READ
Matthew 5:43 – 6:15
2. EXPLORING
THE
5:44 - “pray for those who persecute you”
- Do we do this?! Can we give examples from our own experience?
What were the results of these prayers?
6:6-7 - Jesus tells his
followers:
1) not to
make a show of praying
2) not
to babble on with lots of words and no thought
- Are we ever in a situation
where showing off at prayer is a temptation? If so, how should we avoid the problem?
- What do you think about
saying grace before meals?
If people say grace in public, is this an example of showing off or an example of showing our loyalty to God? - Are these two ‘rules’
useful for our own praying? –
eg, how long our prayers are (especially if praying with others);the words we use; whether we are silent or speaking or singing?
6:9-13 - ‘the Lord’s
Prayer’
·
Do
we use it? If so, how?
Do we think about the words as we say it?
vv 6 +9 – We’re told to pray
privately and yet the Lord’s Prayer begins ‘our’ Father.
·
Do
we find praying easier or harder when alone or with others? Why?
vv 9-10a – the prayer begins by
looking at God.
·
Is it helpful to begin prayers like this? Do
we do it?
v10b –
praying for the world
·
How
easy do we find it to pray for the ‘needs of the world’? Do we have a system for this? What helps?
What hinders? What can we do to avoid a
‘shopping list’ approach to interceding for others?
v11 -
praying for our own needs
·
Where
does this come in our prayer priorities?
·
What’s
the most important thing we’ve ever learned about praying for ourselves?
vv12+
14-15 - praying
for forgiveness
- How important do we rate
confessing wrong and asking for forgiveness?
- Why does Jesus stress the
importance of forgiving others in teaching about prayer?
3.
OUR OWN EXPERIENCE
- What helps most when we
don’t feel like praying or when we feel we’re not ‘getting through’?
- Are there prayer routines
that we find / have found useful? (eg the same time each day, the same
place, meeting with the same people, using the same framework)
- How varied is our prayer
life?
How do we feel about using (eg)…?
silence
music or song
printed
prayers / spontaneous prayers
walking
and praying
visual or tactile
stimuli
praying
in tongues
·
When
in prayer have we felt most blessed by God?
·
When
have we been blessed by the prayers of others?
·
What
experience do we have of parents and/or schools ‘saying prayers’ with their
children? Is this helpful or off-putting?
4.
REFLECTION
After
a few moments’ thought:
- Can we individually decide
on one thing we shall do that will deepen or enhance our own prayer lives?
(We may want to keep this private.)
5.
PRAYER!
Give
each member of the group a chance to pray round the circle. Pass round a simple
object, such as a wooden cross or small cushion (nothing breakable!). While a
person is holding the object, s/he prays, which can be
silently or aloud and can be for a few seconds or a couple of minutes. Agree in
advance who is to finish and how, so that everyone can say ‘Amen’ or perhaps
join in the words of the Grace at the end.
6.
READ Hebrews
4:16:-
“Let
us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy and
find grace to help us in our time of need.”
*******************************************************
PRAYERS
in the BIBLE
What strikes us about these
prayers?
What can we learn to help us in
our own praying?
Exodus
15:22-25a Moses under
pressure
1
Samuel 1:9-20 Hannah longing for a child
1
Kings 19:1-9 Elijah in despair
1
Chronicles 29:10-14 David leading the
(or 10-20) people in thanks
Daniel
6:5-10 Daniel’s prayer routine
Mark
1:35-39 Jesus at prayer
Mark
14:32-40 Jesus
prays / others sleep
Acts
1:23-26 Making a decision
2
Corinthians 12:7-9 Paul prays
in vain
Colossians
1:3-6 Paul prays for believers