SESSION 4 WHAT S SOMETHING YOU COULD EAT EVERY DAY? PRAYING FOR OURSELVES THE POINT TAKE YOUR NEEDS TO GOD DAILY AND TRUST HIM TO ANSWER. MATTHEW 6:11b 11 Give us today our daily bread. ISAIAH 38:1-6,15-17 1 In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, This is what the LORD says: Set your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover. 15 What can I say? He has spoken to me, and he himself has done it. I walk along slowly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul. 16 Lord, by such things people live, and in every one of them my spirit finds life; you have restored me to health and let me live. 17 Indeed, it was for my own well-being that I had such intense bitterness; but your love has delivered me from the Pit of destruction, for you have thrown all my sins behind your back. 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD. 3 He said, Please, LORD, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly, and have done what pleases you. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: 5 Go and tell Hezekiah, This is what the LORD God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I am going to add fifteen years to your life. 6 And I will rescue you and this city from the grasp of the king of Assyria; I will defend this city. 76 SESSION 4
ENGAGE (15 MINUTES) LEAD OPTION 1 Show random objects on a screen and ask students to vote on whether it s a need (food, clothing, etc.) or a want (video games, car, phone, etc). Say, If we are in need of something, God desires for us to come to Him in prayer. LEAD OPTION 2 On a board or poster at the front of the room, ask students to write down something they believe they need. Say, We all encounter needs in life, and we can come to God in prayer about our needs. LEAD OPTION 3 Search the Internet for God Will Supply All Your Needs - YouTube. Play the video as you begin the session. Say, God is the One who provides for us, and we should seek Him in our times of need. 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 10: Consider using the Wants or Needs poster to get students thinking about how they pray. Ask students to call out things they have prayed for and list those under either Wants or Needs. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 77
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE Students have complained about school lunches since the beginning of school lunches. In recent years, there s been a nationwide initiative for healthier food in schools, and it seems the reviews have gone down as if that was even possible! Sure, we know we need to eat healthy, but it just doesn t taste as good. The favorite foods of teens aren t carrot sticks and kale, but pizza, ice cream, fries, and anything Chipotle. And we have the numbers to prove it. THE SETTING Jesus taught His disciples how to live as citizens in the kingdom of God (Matt. 5 7). He instructed them to pray in a way that would enable them to serve Him faithfully. His model for prayer showed how to ask the Lord to provide what they would need (Matt. 6:11). Generations earlier, King Hezekiah took a critical need in his life to the Lord. In turn, the Lord responded to his prayer (Isa. 38:1-17). Most of us can have these foods anytime we want, and we rarely give thought to where our next meal will come from. What we want and we need is readily available. However, this is not true of many people in the world, and it certainly wasn t the case for people living in the first century. The average man worked for a daily wage, which essentially covered his family s expenses for that day only. If he missed a day of work, his family might have gone hungry. We all have things we need, but where do we look for those needs? God knows we have physical needs, and in His Model Prayer, Jesus encouraged us to look to God to see our needs met. FACT: IT S NOT ONLY TEENS WHO ENJOY PIZZA. EVERY DAY IN THE US, WE EAT 100 ACRES OF IT, WHICH ADDS UP TO 3 BILLION PIZZAS PER YEAR AND 250 MILLION POUNDS OF PEPPERONI. 1 78 SESSION 4
IMPART MATTHEW 6:11b; ISAIAH 38:1-3 Give us today our daily bread. MATTHEW 6:11b In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, This is what the Lord says: Set your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover. Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. He said, Please, Lord, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly, and have done what pleases you. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. ISAIAH 38:1-3 Our prayers are often characterized by asking for the things we need (or the things we think we need) and the things we want. However, that s certainly not first on Jesus list. His priorities are the Father s honor, God s kingdom being made real on earth, and the Father s will being accomplished. However, we do need to be clear there s nothing wrong with praying for ourselves. We experience real needs, and considering God is the One who provides for us, He should be the first One we turn to with our requests. We just need to make sure the things we ask for line up with the other ideas from Jesus prayer that even our requests honor God and help us live for His kingdom and His will. King Hezekiah, who reigned over Judah in the early part of the seventh century BC, provides a great example of praying for ourselves. When the prophet Isaiah broke the news to the dying king that he had only a short time to live, Hezekiah immediately turned to God in prayer. He wanted to live! He understood that he could have no greater need than life itself, so he begged God for healing. In my ministry in Baltimore, an 18-year-old young man recently visited our church who had never been to church before. He had terminal cancer and came looking for answers about life and eternity. He heard the gospel for the first time and surrendered his life to Jesus. He asked us to pray that God would work a miracle and heal him of cancer. That miracle never came, but this young man met death with a hope he d never understood before his final days. God doesn t always give us the things we ask for, and He never promised to prolong our lives indefinitely. But as we will see, God gave King Hezekiah fifteen more years. No matter how much time we re given, we all know we will leave this earthly life someday. But God does promise to give us what we need for today. DAILY DISCIPLESHIP GUIDE (P. 80) 1 2 What are some things you pray for on a daily basis? Why pray if God already knows what you need? BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 79
IMPART ISAIAH 38:4-6 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: Go and tell Hezekiah, This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I am going to add fifteen years to your life. And I will rescue you and this city from the grasp of the king of Assyria; I will defend this city. ISAIAH 38:4-6 Surely Hezekiah was thrilled when Isaiah came back and reported God s words: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I am going to add fifteen years to your life. Isaiah further shared that God would rescue His people from Assyria. Hezekiah didn t ask for fifteen more years to live, and he certainly didn t ask for God to defend Israel against the Assyrians they weren t even being threatened at the time. Wow! What a response from God. We hear this and we celebrate what God does for His people. However, we may wonder why God didn t do something similar for the young man with cancer who also prayed for healing. God s answer to Hezekiah took into account not only the needs of Hezekiah, but also the bigger picture. We can be confident that Hezekiah s illness and healing were used to help him as well as the people learn to trust God. God may not reveal to us the reasons for His answers, but that s where faith and trust come in. God always answers out of His love and His gracious plan for our lives He answers in light of the big picture, which we cannot see. The purpose of praying for ourselves is not only that we would see our needs met, but that we would learn to trust in God s provision. When we pray, we can trust that God hears us every time! And He answers. When we receive the very thing we ask for, we are often strengthened in our faith. Of course, we don t always see immediate answers to prayer. Sometimes we pray for years before seeing God answer, and other times, we never see the answer to our prayers. However, we can know that God is at work, because prayers, even for ourselves, are ultimately a way of placing our trust in Him to provide for us according to His will. Jesus instructed us to pray for our daily needs. If we don t allow God to work in our prayers, we are missing one of the greatest opportunities He has given to us. Keep praying! God hears and He does answer. DAILY DISCIPLESHIP GUIDE (P. 81) 3 4 5 When have you seen God answer a prayer in a powerful way? How can we respond when we don t see God granting our requests? How does our faith influence prayer? How does prayer impact our faith? 80 SESSION 4
IMPART ISAIAH 38:15-17 What can I say? He has spoken to me, and he himself has done it. I walk along slowly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul. Lord, by such things people live, and in every one of them my spirit finds life; you have restored me to health and let me live. Indeed, it was for my own well-being that I had such intense bitterness; but your love has delivered me from the Pit of destruction, for you have thrown all my sins behind your back. ISAIAH 38:15-17 In our culture, we often buy into the idea that life should be comfortable. We expect we ll always have plenty of friends and money, any kind of food we want, vacations at least once a year, a car when we turn sixteen, a great job, and on and on. However, Jesus said that in this world, those who follow Him will face trouble. It s often easy to praise God when everything is going well, but when life is difficult, it can be a different story. Hezekiah stands out as a hero of faith because he walked with God, prayed, and praised God even through his suffering. Our willingness to praise God during difficult times doesn t mean we are attempting to minimize the problem. Hezekiah, even after being healed, was Leader: Ask students to briefly describe a difficult situation they faced. How did they respond? left with the bitterness of my soul. The king said, in effect, the illness he suffered left him with unpleasant consequences, like a bad taste in his mouth. When life is tough and we feel overwhelmed, bitterness can creep in and leave us angry or hopeless. Hezekiah didn t let his unpleasant circumstances push him away from God instead, he turned to God. Hezekiah not only sought God through his illness, he praised God! It can be difficult to understand, but when we live in devotion to God, even the difficult things we face are for our own good. Facing difficult times, then experiencing God s healing has a way of both maturing us and helping us to appreciate God s goodness all the more. Jesus taught us to pray for our daily needs, not from a place of having everything we need, but as an expression of our desperate and constant dependence upon our Father. Our weaknesses can tempt us to despair, but ultimately they should lead us to prayer. No matter what we need, we can always turn to God. He wants to hear from us and He answers! When we pray, we can trust that God hears us every time! And He answers. #BSFLpray DAILY DISCIPLESHIP GUIDE (P. 81) 6 7 8 How do you react when God answers your prayers? How does God use our prayer life to get us where He wants us to be? How can we acknowledge God s answers to our prayers? BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 81
LIVE IT OUT (10 MINUTES) CHRIST Because of our sin, we are separated from God and spiritually dead. But through Jesus sacrifice, we are brought to life and allowed to enter God s presence with our prayers. 9 What evidences of sickness do you see in your life? PHYSICAL: RELATIONAL: EMOTIONAL: SPIRITUAL: Confess these to God and pray every day that He would bring healing to your life. 82 SESSION 4
LIVE IT OUT COMMUNITY When we face difficult times, it s perfectly appropriate that we pray for ourselves. We also have the great privilege of being part of a church family called to pray and minister to our needs. 10 Share two needs with those in your group, and ask them to pray for you. 11 Invite two others to share their needs, and make it a point to pray for them every day this week. CULTURE In our culture, few people are comfortable being vulnerable and admitting their weaknesses and challenges we d much rather act like everything is okay. However, from time to time, people will share the tough things they re going through. 12 What are a couple needs or challenges a lost friend has recently shared with you? 13 How will you use these as an opportunity to point him or her to God s goodness and provision? 14 Make it a point to pray every day that God would meet his or her needs and open his or her heart to the gospel. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 83