SESSION 3 WHAT IDEAS OR IMAGES COME TO MIND WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD SURRENDER? A PRAYER OF SURRENDER THE POINT APPROACH PRAYER WITH HUMBLE SUBMISSION TO THE WILL OF GOD. MATTHEW 6:10-11a 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done 11 on earth as it is in heaven. JAMES 4:6-10,13-17 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 13 Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit. 14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. 15 Instead, you should say, If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it. 7 Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 68 SESSION 3
ENGAGE (15 MINUTES) LEAD OPTION 1 Select two students to come up front and share about their week. Secretly ask one student to brag and the other to display humility. Ask the group to vote on the most humble student. Say, As believers, we re called to display humility, even in our prayer life. LEAD OPTION 2 As students enter the room, ask them to remain silent and spend time in prayer before the session. Say, God calls us to surrender our lives to Him in prayer filled with humility. LEAD OPTION 3 Search the Internet for What is Christian Humility? Being Humble Today. Play the video as you begin the session. Say, If we want God to work through our prayers, we must submit to His will with humility. NOTE: Always make sure you preview any video clip you show students and ensure that it is appropriate for your church and ministry. For free online training on how to lead a group visit MinistryGrid.com/ web/biblestudiesforlife For free Midweek Options for your group, visit lifeway.com/bsflwelcome18 LEADER PACK ELEMENTS If you have the optional Leader Pack, consider one of the following: ITEM 9: Use the Pray Like Jesus poster to introduce the main point of the session and begin discussion on having humility when we pray. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 69
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE Every year, Merriam-Webster adds new words that are culturally relevant to their dictionary. Just a few years ago, selfie was the word of the year. Of course, the word refers to taking a picture of yourself with a cell phone, and the word fits our culture perfectly. How many selfies have you taken in the last month? We have become a selfie culture, which is a pretty good picture of the self-centered lifestyle we live. There are certain benefits associated with being self-reliant and independent, but that s quite different from being self-centered. We ve all seen toddlers who demand their own way, even when what they want is the absolute worst thing for them. Unfortunately, too many of us never grew out of that phase. Like toddlers, our selfie culture demands life on our own terms and we forget (or ignore) God s standards. THE SETTING Jesus gave His disciples a model to guide them as they prayed. Using the model, He taught them to honor God s name as holy. Then He instructed them to surrender their lives to God. James also instructed Christians on the meaning of surrender. In his epistle, he addressed the need for believers to give their lives to God with humility. He also insisted God s people should give themselves to doing His will as their first priority. The selfie life is the enemy of spiritual growth. As believers who want to develop a prayer life, we need to give up the desires of the flesh and surrender our will to find His. The selfie life can seem pretty appealing on the surface, but it always leads to disappointment. When we give it up to pursue the God-centered life, we ll find He provides joy and satisfaction to which the world s ways can never compare. FACT: IN 2017, MERRIAM-WEBSTER ADDED OVER 250 WORDS TO THEIR DICTIONARY, INCLUDING TROLL AND FROYO. 1 70 SESSION 3
IMPART MATTHEW 6:10-11a Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. MATTHEW 6:10-11a At the end of the year, many schools vote for class superlatives class clown, most artistic, most likely to succeed, most athletic, and so on. The list of yearbook superlatives is long and varies from class to class. However, one that is common across the board is most popular. It always seems that the popular people at school tend to have the biggest influence. Students want to know them. People want to be like them. They set the trends (even goofy ones), and this doesn t stop after high school. In today s world, our government is controlled by people who are the most popular and who hold the most popular positions. Even though this makes sense from a cultural perspective, this is not the way it is in God s kingdom. He doesn t operate by popularity polls. God isn t running for office. He is the King. Leader: Ask students if they have been given a superlative. If they haven t done this in school, ask what they think their classmates would vote them. In His Model Prayer, Jesus calls us to focus on His kingdom and His will. In one sense, the kingdom of God and the will of God sum up everything that relates to prayer. Consider these two aspects of prayer: Because we have plenty of weaknesses, we pray to the One who has all power. We bring our requests to God who rules His kingdom. Prayer is often a plea for God to make some kind of change. We want Him to heal the sick, save the lost, and hold the guilty accountable. We certainly want Him to forgive our own sins. As we pray, we are acknowledging that there are many things that happen that aren t aligned to God s purposes. In turn, we are asking that God would fix all the things sin has broken, and which go against His will. For many of these things, there s not much we can do about it. However, there are tons of things that, if we apply ourselves to God s purposes, can make a big difference. If we re honest with ourselves, there are many things about our own lives that need to be changed in order to conform to God s will. When we pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done, we are intentionally surrendering our desires to God and His plans. It is impossible to pray in meaningful ways until we surrender to the lordship of Christ in our lives. DAILY DISCIPLESHIP GUIDE (P. 72) 1 2 What obstacles keep us from surrendering our will to God s will? What are some things in your community, or even beyond, that go against God s will and that you could bring about change? BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 71
IMPART JAMES 4:6-10 But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. JAMES 4:6-10 Jesus taught us to pray with God s kingdom in mind. Yet we cannot focus on God s kingdom when we re focused on our own kingdoms. Prayer means surrendering to Him as King. This calls for humility that is completely foreign to worldly people. But when the Holy Spirit convicts us, we are able to recognize our sin and humble ourselves under His lordship. Pride has no place in our prayers. In fact, pride goes against the very nature of prayer, because prayer is a humble dependence on God. James warned us that pride invites the opposition of God, and there s no way to have a meaningful prayer life when God resists our appeals. Living under Christ s lordship, with a desire for His kingdom and in dependence upon Him, begins with humbling ourselves before Him. James lists several ways we can humble ourselves: Submit to God: Humility begins with surrender. Surrender is not defeat, but recognizing who God truly is. We gladly submit our lives to Christ who knows us better than we know ourselves and loves us deeply despite our sin. Resist the devil: We are to stop resisting God, and instead, resist the devil. Satan works to convince us that the world s ways are better, but a child of God always recognizes that life in Christ is better in every way. Draw near to God: When we draw near to God, He draws near to us. Surrendering our lives to His will is actually a matter of relationship rather than religious duty. Prayer, along with every other spiritual discipline, is about fellowship with God. Confess: Confession means agreeing with God about the ways we are sinful, turning away from the things that offend Him, and choosing to live for Him. Culture treats sin lightly, but the believer is to live humbly before God with a repentant heart that weeps over sin. Jesus called us to pray Your kingdom come (Matt. 6:10). This means acknowledging He is King in our lives, and instead of pursuing our own self-interests, we submit to God. When we live in continual prayerful dependence upon God s strength, we can overcome the devil s temptations and experience the victory and blessings available in Christ. DAILY DISCIPLESHIP GUIDE (P. 73) 3 4 5 Why is it difficult to live a humble life, particularly in our relationship with God? What are the consequences of pride in our lives? Why is humility essential to a lifestyle of prayer? 72 SESSION 3
IMPART JAMES 4:13-17 Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it. JAMES 4:13-17 As we pray for God s kingdom to come, we are also to pray for His will to be done. We focus on His will His plans not our own. Obviously, that doesn t mean God wants to crush our hopes and dreams. However, many times we dream of things that are motivated by selfish interests and are clearly contrary to God s desires for us. Other times, our plans may look good on the surface, but aren t ultimately aligned to God s specific plans for us. Either way, we must acknowledge that His plans are always best. God knows the future, and unfortunately, we often forget this simple truth. Leader: Feel free to share an example of your own dreams. Ask students to share the plans and dreams they re most excited about right now. In his letter, James commented on the people he observed. On the surface, their lifestyles looked okay in fact, some would argue wise but the believers were living life and operating their businesses in the same way they had before coming to Christ. These first century Christians cared only about profit margins and failed to take God s will into consideration. James confronted their boastful arrogance and disregard for God s plans. We should ask ourselves if we ever make the same mistake. Scripture never condemns aiming for success in the things we pursue. However, naturally assuming our future is secure according to the world s values in not only unwise, but prideful. The only assurance we have is in the present moment, and God alone knows the future. This reality affects our prayer life. When we pray, we need to keep a light grip on our plans for the future, because not a second of it is promised to us. James was not calling us to live in faithless uncertainty, but to continually pray and make plans with humble faith in God. James reminded us that this life is a vapor it appears for a little while, then vanishes. Our life on earth is, in the big picture, very short. Jesus taught us that we should focus on God s will, which makes a difference for eternity. Set your heart on eternal things, pray this way, and live for the sake of God s will. This is the reason we were created. We cannot focus on God s kingdom when we re focused on our own kingdoms. #BSFLhowtopray DAILY DISCIPLESHIP GUIDE (P. 73) 6 7 8 Life is short, but sometimes we have trouble living like it. How can you live with a great awareness of this? How do we balance making our plans and seeking God s will? What steps can you take to more fully surrender to God? BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 73
LIVE IT OUT (10 MINUTES) CHRIST When we come to Christ as Savior, we also receive Him as Lord. This means we choose in the moment and in every moment moving forward to surrender to His will. 9 When you were saved, what made you want to surrender your life to Christ? 10 How are you making the choice to surrender to Him day by day? 11 What areas of your life aren t currently surrendered to Jesus? What steps will you take to live more fully surrendered to Him? AREAS OF YOUR LIFE STEPS TO TAKE 74 SESSION 3
LIVE IT OUT COMMUNITY We re called to live in humility not only in the ways we relate to God, but toward one another as well. When we re prideful and seek our own desires, this has a way of causing difficulties in our relationships. Genuine Christlike humility, however, means being willing to give up our own desires in order to love and serve others. 12 How are your relationships sometimes centered on you and your desires? 13 What will you do this week in order to give up your own will to love and serve a family member, friend, or neighbor? CULTURE Our culture is bent on making life all about me. It s sometimes easy to fall into this trap, but Scripture teaches that the Christian life isn t to be marked by living for what we want, but for what God wants. As we do, the desires that are opposed to God fade, and new desires take their place. God uses this to impact those around us. 14 In what ways do you see that worldly people desire selfish things that are against the will of God? 15 How do you sometimes struggle with the same things? 16 How can you use being unselfish as a testimony to God among your non-believing friends? BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 75