Below is a recap from the (meeting house) video teaching we’re walking through these middle weeks in March.
APPETIZER: Teach Us To Pray Luke 11:1-13
A few tips to start us off…
1. PLACE – Find a comfortable, quiet, private place. (A “prayer closet”)
2. POSTURE – Sit or stand or kneel or walk.
3. TIME – Aim for 10 minutes to an hour per day.
4. VOICE – Pray out loud, even if only mumbling.
5. SHARE – Talk to your Home Church and Huddle members about your experiences.
DINE IN: Jesus intended this prayer to be our Model and not our Mantra (Matthew 6:9-13)
Here is a breakdown and a model to help us pray through Jesus’ prayer…
OUR
You have invited me into a family! Thank you for this love life, this community! Thank you for all my brothers and sisters, including Jesus!
I thank you specifically for… [think of people in our Church family and other Christians who God uses to encourage and challenge you. Let gratitude flood your thinking.]
FATHER
The creative energy of all things… is my Dad!
I am surrounded by your love life.
Help me see your instinctive, unconditional love for me this day.
WHICH ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME.
Hallelujah! Your name is holy. You are above and beyond all the insecurity, hatred, fear, and confusion that is so much a part of this world. You are pure and perfect.
I praise you for… [think of attributes of God that you’ve seen demonstrated over the last 24 hours and celebrate them].
THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
Come Jesus and lead me. May your will be done, starting in my life.
Please help me to experience and extend your kingdom this day.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.
Father I pray for today’s basics. For me, and those around me. [Take time to pray for whatever needs you are aware of.]
Please fill me with the Spirit of Christ to guide me and make my spirit strong.
AND FORGIVE US OUR SINS,
Thank you for your complete forgiveness and cleansing.
Please bring to mind any way I have sinned over the last 24 hours, since last we talked in prayer.
[Wait, review your day, listen for the conviction of the Spirit. As failures come to mind, acknowledge them, and thank God for his mercy and grace.]
And Father, I now pray this all for my family, my friends, and my church, and OUR sins.
AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US.
Thank you God for teaching me how to love like you love, to forgive like you forgive.
Please, Holy Spirit, bring to mind anyone that I might be holding on to unforgiveness toward, no matter how small.
[Wait, review your day, listen for the conviction of the Spirit. As small (or large) instances of being slighted come to mind, acknowledge them, let them go, and thank God that his Spirit is partnering with your spirit to move you toward “keeping no record of wrongs”.]
And Father, I also pray this all for my family, my friends, and my church.
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION,
Father, I acknowledge that I struggle to resist the temptation toward the sin of _______. Please lead me away from this temptation, and give me the strength to enthusiastically partner with your Spirit as you lead me.
[Take time to think about those instances when you tend to give in to temptation, and picture yourself listening instead to God’s Spirit and making different choices. Invite the Holy Spirit to be your guide, and let yourself sense his pleasure in this partnership.]
And now Father I pray for _______, and their struggle with temptation. Please convict and strengthen them. And please alert me to ways I too can partner with them in their struggle.
BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL:
Father, I acknowledge that by myself I can be very weak and often make unloving choices. Please knit me closer and closer with my brothers and sisters in Christ, so that TOGETHER you will deliver US from evil.
Please give me, and all of us, the courage to talk openly and honestly with one another about our struggles, and to ask the loving questions that lead to accountability and restoration.
FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOR EVER.
Father, before I finish, I want to praise you more. I sense how much you care for me. I want nothing and no one else to be king in my life, to be Lord of my loyalties.
[Return to reviewing God’s greatness. Get lost in the vastness of the glory of God’s power, God’s creativity, and God’s love for you.] AMEN.
TAKE OUT: When, Where, How Long?
I will endeavour to pray every day this week…
WHEN: ___________________
WHERE: __________________
FOR: _________________ min.
– – – – – – – – – – –
small(er) group discussion:
1. What stood out to you the most from Sunday’s prayer workshop?
2. In the area of having a consistent daily prayer time, what rating out of ten would you give yourself? (Take note of those who are more consistent in daily prayer and ask them follow up questions about what helps, what motivates, and what sustains them.)
3. Read Luke 11:1-13.
a. What verse or idea stands out to you the most? Why?
b. How much do you pray with “shameless audacity” (NIV)? What does/might that look like in your prayer life?
c. What is Jesus saying we really “need” every day? What does that look like in your daily experience?
d. What is the biggest hurdle for you to overcome in order to enjoy a thriving daily prayer life? HUDDLE [Making It Personal and Praying Together – in Huddles]
4. PRAY! After taking a few minutes to catch up, pray through the Lord’s Prayer together. Have one person read each line and allow a couple minutes for everyone to pray out loud, yet quietly.