Our passage this week leads us to tap into an often-neglected resource: Prayer.
Discussion Questions
What has God given you that you’ve under-utilized? If we were meant to fly, why do we waddle?
Disconnect
We tend to go to our familiar places when we’re under stress. Where do you go?
Prayer often is a last resort, when it should be our first move. Why is that? Where’s the disconnect?
This disconnect leads to double-mindedness. What does double-mindedness sound like in your head, or how does double-mindedness play out in your behavior? And what does prayer have to do with our behavior?
When we’re going through stress, we can plead with God to take notice of our concerns, as if He doesn’t see them. When has God used prayer to help you see something that you weren’t seeing?
Grasping
The disciples were overwhelmed and defined by Jesus because they had been with Jesus. Describe a time in your life when you were most compelled by Jesus, to the point that outsiders could see your identity and actions were defined by Him. Why do we lose connection with Jesus, even to the point of others not even knowing you’re a believer? Can prayer really make a difference?
What does it look like for you to be always running to the next pleasure? We have the power to plunder the resources of God, in the best way. What might it look like for you to stop chasing new experiences, and be satisfied with God?
How we get that in our lives.
Think it out. (v. 18) It takes mental effort to replace our thoughts. Admit your inability. (v.14) Prayer is an admission of our inability. Together with all the saints. (v.18) We cannot thrive in isolation.
Which of these three did you need to be reminded of most?
GOSPEL: You don’t have to climb up to God; He comes down. Christ came down to take on all that you deserve so that now you get all that He deserves. We often settle for the scent and the peel, when we can actually bite down on the real fruit. Taste and see that the Lord is good.
