Discussion Guide

Teaching Point
Prayer is a gift to enable an on-going and healthy relationship with God.

Opening Questions

• When watching movies or TV shows, in what situations do you most often see people pray?
• What seems to be their primary motivation in those times?

Discussion
We often see events play out in real life or the movies where people are “marching to their own drum” but making destructive choices and generally ignoring the help of anybody. Then, a moment comes when the consequence of that behavior takes its natural course. Suddenly those who needed nobody, certainly not God, were praying He would rescue them.

Songwriter Sam Smith writes some heartfelt words picking up on what it means to “hit bottom” and wonders if prayer might be the answer. He says, “I’m young, and I’m foolish, I’ve made bad decisions. I block out the news, turn my back on religion... Maybe I’ll pray, pray, Maybe I’ll pray, I have never believed in You, no, but I’m gonna pray.” Then he states, “Everyone prays in the end, won’t you call me?”

God wants a relationship with us. He speaks to us when we listen. He answers when we call.

Jesus gives us the best model for prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. It says, “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”

God has given us the gift of prayer for an on-going and healthy relationship with Him. As no one would want a friend who only came to him or her in times of desperation, so God longs for us to experience His care for us in the good and bad times of life. With the gift of prayer He has given us a way to acknowledge Him, to affirm His excellent work, to ask for what we need, to experience forgiving and being forgiven, and to ask for power to do good. This is how we pray in the beginning and the end.

Conclusion

• On a scale of one to five, with five being perfect, how would you rate your prayer relationship with God?
• What is one step you could take to be more consistent in speaking to and lis- tening to Him?