PrayerLife Why Pray? Text: Luke 22:39-44; 23:32-34 Business Administrator Michael Sullivan

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1 PrayerLife Why Pray? Text: Luke 22:39-44; 23:32-34 Business Administrator Michael Sullivan 1. When you think of your current prayer life. Do you feel it is more a duty to perform or a delight? Share with the group honestly. 2. Read Exodus 33:7-14 together. a. It was a regular part of Moses schedule to meet and talk with God. What does this Scripture show us was among the keys for Moses in doing that well? b. What does seeking out time to meet and talk with God look like for you in life right now? c. What is the subject of Moses conversation with God in this instance? d. How much of what you tend to bring before God consists of your needs, the needs of others or kingdom objectives? e. Has that breakdown varied for you in past seasons of life? How have you found a proper balance? f. In verse 14 we see yet another dynamic in Moses relationship with God. Do you find rest in the presence of God? g. Was that for just Moses back then? Why or why not? h. Is that something that is available to followers of Jesus today? 3. Do you have a "lonely place"? Do you find setting aside the time or the location more difficult...or maybe both? How can you be creative in protecting and valuing this time? 4. Read James 5: How likely or how often do you share personal prayer requests with those in your community or grow group? Challenge: Put into practice the model that Jesus demonstrated in prayer. Carve out the time and place for prayer. Pray in the way Jesus did as well as present the needs of others and connect with the Father. Report back to the group at your next meeting the ways God used that time.

2 Group Prayer Time Ideas: Divide into men and women to increase transparency in mixed groups. Praise can be a part of intercession. Is a member in the midst of struggle? Praise God in the struggle (see Psalm 13). Have each member write down requests for the week on a piece of paper, fold the paper, and put it in a hat. Pass the hat, each member agreeing to pray for the person he or she picks and to call to encourage that person during the week. If someone is in crisis, stop right then and pray for him or her. To cut down on the time your group spends talking about prayer requests, give everyone a three-by-five-inch card to write down prayer requests for the week and have them exchange cards with another member of the group. We need to voice our requests from God's perspective and will (John 5:14-15). The next time you are asked to pray for an event, for someone's salvation, or for someone's health, stop and ask your heavenly Father, "What are your desires, and what can I pray that will cause your desires to take place?" Pick a portion of Scripture to pray for one another during the week (for example, Colossians 1:9 or Ephesians 3:14-19). What to Pray for Others: Colossians 1:9-14 Intercessory prayer can be defined as asking God to act on behalf of someone else. Sometimes we don't know how to pray for our friends and family (or even those who have hurt us), yet we know we should pray for them. In Colossians 1:9-14 Paul gave us a pattern to follow when we pray for others. Read this passage and try using it as a pattern the next time you pray. Watch how God answers. Pray that they will understand God's will; they gain spiritual wisdom; they live a life pleasing and honoring to God; they do kind things for others; they know God better and better; they are filled with God's strength; they endure in patience; they stay full in Christ's joy; they are always thankful; they recall God's forgiveness of their sins.

3 STUDY DEEPER Private Prayer Walk Praying Outdoors When Praying Indoors Is Difficult Jesus told us, When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Matthew 6:6). Now, he said this as a corollary to avoid being showy and like the hypocrites when you pray (Matthew 6:5). Still, this verse has been taken as a manifesto to be undistracted in prayer behind a closed door. This isn t a bad idea. It worked for two thousand years. Not so much anymore though. For two thousand years, the most private and undistracted place was behind the closed door. Now, the noise has relocated indoors. If our computers and devices are near, it s the worst place to try to pray. Walking through Times Square is less distracting than sitting alone in a room full of technology. This loss of private prayer is affecting the church. The Christian Prayer Life It s been said that if you want to humble any pastor, ask him about his prayer life. The sad truth is that most Christians, even pastors, spend more time reading articles, watching ESPN, or playing games on their smartphones than they do in prayer. When I compare my prayer life with that of the spiritual greats, I wonder sometimes if I actually know the same God. The Gospels are full of accounts of Jesus s immense prayer life. Paul s prayer life bleeds through every part of his letters. James, the most prominent pillar of the early church was called the man with camel s knees because of the price his interminable prayer life exacted on the skin of his knees. The writings of Ignatius, Polycarp, and Irenaeus are bathed in prayer. One wonders if Augustine or Aquinas ever stopped praying. Luther prayed three hours per day. Calvin prayed during five setapart times of the day. George Mueller prayed two to three hours a day and recorded more than fifty thousand answered prayers in his journals. Hudson Taylor awoke in the middle of the night to pray from two to four in the morning so that he wouldn t be disturbed! Struggling to Pray

4 I struggle to pray for seven minutes in my workspace. I have to set a timer, and if I don t set my phone to do not disturb, good luck. I have to put my computer to sleep to avoid googling the first question that comes to mind. Oops, I forgot about the tablet. Looks like my friend is in Chicago for the day. I should text him about my favorite coffee shop there! Wait. Do not disturb on. I m doing what Jesus said, right? I m closing the door, and then trying in vain to close all the digital doors that hijack my brain. Why is it so hard? Times Are Changing You see, for eight hours a day I plug my mind into the machine and jump from task to task, interfacing endlessly with the devices in front of me. Day after day, year after year. How can I expect to sit in this same space and turn it all off after so much conditioning? I can t. I have to change my environment. The problem is, where in the first century the room behind the closed door was private, in the modern era it s often the most distracting place to pray. In the first century, people spent much of their time outdoors when they weren t sleeping. Outside, you faced distraction. You saw the people you d known your whole life. You saw the market the center of ancient civic life. But today, if you go outside in a major city, suburb, or small town, you ll likely find next to nobody walking around. If you see anybody, chances are you don t know them. So why not pray outside? Go for a prayer walk. Yes, even in a Northern winter. As the Norwegians say, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. Same Message, Different Means Outside, you re alone, but behind closed doors, your devices will chime ad nauseam with that constant nonsense, helping your brain from fix to fix until you ve neither prayed nor even enjoyed the time you ve spent distracted. Pray without distraction. The message is the same, but the means have reversed. One of the best ways to close the door in the 21st century is to open the door and leave your home to go on a prayer walk. This is the opposite of shutting yourself in a room, but it accomplishes the same purpose in our era.

5 Leave the phone at home, or on do not disturb in your pocket. Pray. Start small and soon you may find it rewarding to walk for twenty or thirty minutes while you pray. You may enter into a communion with God you haven t felt in years. You won t be nearly as distracted. The fresh air and exercise will do you good too. Plus your mind will unplug from the noise. Turns out the dopamine-obsessed monkey on your back doesn t like the weather.