1 Pet. 5:7; 2 Kings 20:1-6; Psalms 51:15:17
OPEN IT:
If you only had one more prayer request to make before your life was ended what would you ask for?
DIG INTO IT:
1. Read 1 Peter 5:7 and answer the following questions:
a) Is Peter’s advice hard for you to follow? Why or why not?
b) What exactly is God offering to do with our anxiety?
c) What does God’s willingness to do this reveal to you about God?
2. Read 2 Kings 20:1-6 and answer the following questions:
a) According to this passage, are all future events settled and cannot be changed?
b) Can our prayers change God’s mind? If so, how? If not, what does this passage mean?
c) Fifteen years later, Hezekiah died. In other words, the end result was the same. Knowing this, why did God answer his prayer?
3. Read Psalms 51:15-17 and answer the following questions:
a) Why did the Psalmist need God to open his lips? Why couldn’t he do it on his own?
b) What kind of sacrifice does God desire? Can that desire be fulfilled in prayer?
c) Is there a connection between brokenness and prayer? Explain:
REFLECT ON IT:
1. What type of prayer is easiest for you to pray – request, praise, meditation, or something else? Which is hardest?
2. Do you believe that your prayer can really change your circumstances and/or the circumstances of others?
3. Why do you think God wants you to pray to Him?
4. What if we had a God that didn’t want us to communicate to Him? What would we be missing?
5. What in your prayer life could be better than it is right now? Do you feel that you pray the way God wants you to?
6. How can we pray for you today?
PRAY ABOUT IT:
“The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity…if we want to see might wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God’s standing challenge, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and might things which thou knowest not.” ~ J. Hudson Taylor
Davis, Barry L.. Instant Bible Studies for Small Groups (p. 28). GodSpeed Publishing. Kindle Edition.