Together We PRAY FOR DISCUSSION. If Jesus told us to pray in secret just me and my Father why should we pray together?

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1 Taking Strides Series Together We PRAY Dr. Helen Roseveare, missionary to Zaire, told the following story. "A mother at our mission station died after giving birth to a premature baby. We tried to improvise an incubator to keep the infant alive, but the only hot water bottle we had was beyond repair. So we asked the children to pray for the baby and for her sister. One of the girls responded. 'Dear God, please send a hot water bottle today. Tomorrow will be too late because by then the baby will be dead. And dear Lord, send a doll for the sister so she won't feel so lonely.' That afternoon a large package arrived from England. The children watched eagerly as we opened it. Much to their surprise, under some clothing was a hot water bottle! Immediately the girl who had prayed so earnestly started to dig deeper, exclaiming, 'If God sent that, I'm sure He also sent a doll!' And she was right! The heavenly Father knew in advance of that child's sincere requests, and 5 months earlier He had led a ladies' group to include both of those specific articles." This is just one of thousands of examples multiplied as many times over as there have been people of God since the beginning of time of... The truth of Jesus promise, If you ask, I will give The faithfulness of God to hear and answer prayer The love and care of our Father The unfathomable power and sovereignty of God to move heaven and earth without limitation to time past, present or future in His perfect way to give what is good But have you also considered, the way this changed all the adults and children who heard this prayer and saw God s answer? How could their own individual prayers not be radically changed from this point on?! That s one of the benefits of praying together. FOR DISCUSSION If Jesus told us to pray in secret just me and my Father why should we pray together? Encounter read God s Word so that He can speak to you. Matthew 6:5-15 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. "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

2 bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Explore God s Word asking questions of what you saw. The notes which follow may help you to think through these questions 1) Take each phrase of Jesus model prayer (Matt 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4) and tell what it really means. What are you really saying/asking for? Our Father in heaven Hallowed by 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 sins, as we also have forgiven everyone who sins against us And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one Do you literally ask for each of these things? Why or why not? 2) If our Father is good and sovereign and already knows what we need, why do we need to ask? Why is prayer necessary? 3) Jesus said a lot about persistence in prayer (Luke 11:1-13; 18:1-8). What is the connection between persistent prayer and genuine faith?

3 Explore (cont.) 4) Compare our own individual prayers and corporate prayers when we are together. What is the same? What is different? How is the one leading corporate prayer doing something different than in his/her own private prayers? What is the role of the one leading prayer when we are together? 5) Look at what the church prayer for when they were together. What were their prayers about? How should this guide what we prayer for when we are together? Acts 1:14, Acts 4:23-31 Acts 12:5 Acts 13:1-3 Ephesians 6: Timothy 2:1-8 When we come together to pray for the things that require involvement of all or can affect all, what does that say about the unity of the Church?

4 Explore (cont.) 6) Each of us has different gifts and different experiences. Why are you benefited by hearing other brothers and sisters pray about something? How can this change you? 7) How does praying together break down barriers or change attitudes? Notes On The Passage (Adapted from Dr. Thomas Constable Bible Study Notes) Jesus assumed that His disciples would "pray," as He assumed they would give alms (v. 2) and fast (v. 16). Again He warned against ostentatious worship. The synagogues and streets were public places where people could practice their righteousness with an audience. The emphasis is not on standing, as opposed to some other posture, but on praying in a conspicuous place. The motive is what matters most. Obviously, Jesus was not condemning public prayer per se (cf. 15:36; 18:19-20; 1 Tim. 2:8). Praying out loud was common among the Jews, though one could still pray out loud in a private place Jesus digressed briefly to give a further warning about repetitious prayer (vv. 7-8) and a positive example of proper prayer (vv. 9-15). Jesus' disciples can fall into prayer practices that characterize the pagans. Jesus Himself prayed long prayers (Luke 6:12), and He repeated Himself in prayer (26:44). These practices were not the objects of His criticism. He was attacking the idea that the length of a prayer makes it efficacious. Pagan prayer commonly relies on length and "repetition" for effectiveness, the sheer quantity of "words." Jesus' disciples do not need to inform their omniscient "Father" of their "need" in prayer. He already knows what they are. Why pray then? Jesus did not answer that question here. Essentially we pray for the same reasons children speak to their parents: to share concerns, to have fellowship, to obtain help, and to express gratitude, among other reasons Jesus gave six requests in this model prayer, all connected with the promised Kingdom: 1-3 are petitions for the coming kingdom; 4-6 are personal requests in view of the coming kingdom. Urgency noted by the imperative. *Make Your Name (who you are) honored/ treated as holy by mankind. (Isa 29:23; Ezek 36:23) *Bring in Your promised kingdom. *Let your sovereign rule and will be exercised on earth just as it is in heaven by the removal of evil and rebellion and the establishment of Your kingdom. *Until then, give us today (each day) what is needed to sustain life during each day. *Forgive/remove our spiritual debts which hinder close fellowship with You, in the same way we maintain fellowship with other through forgiveness. (The only request elaborated on in verses 14-15). *Protect us from the Tribulation (the testing/ peirasmos) which will precede the kingdom and deliver us from the Evil One.

5 Notes On The Passage (Adapted from Dr. Thomas Constable Bible Study Notes) Principles on Prayer: 1. Not forbidding public prayer (cf. Acts 4:24ff, etc.). But even this should be between you and your Father, not for people. Your attitude should be as if you were in a closet. 2. Model prayer - not the Lord s prayer. This shows the manner of prayer, not actual words to be repeated. 3. Not a prayer of ritual repetition. Mechanically praying through prayer lists is also vain repetition. Not pious vocabulary or special position of the body. 4. Prayer is a definite act, not just an attitude. It has a beginning and end. 5. Based on filial relationship ( our Father ). He loves us and wants to give the very best. 6. Prayer is essentially petitions; asking God for things. a. Don t be afraid to ask God for things. First 3 directed toward God s purposes (cf. 6:33); last 3 directed toward personal needs. b. One request for physical needs, the rest for spiritual. Cf. Col. 1:9 c. Specific petitions, never vague (cf. Jn 11:41, 42; John 17; Luke 22:32) d. Urgent. Must recognize true urgency and the requirement of asking in order to get. 7. Emphasis on forgiveness (vv ). Dealing with family relationships and fellowship, not salvation. Going Further One thing we can do to train ourselves to remember, is to memorize a part of what our Father has said to us. The Holy Spirit can use this to change our thinking so that our heads are more like Jesus. This week, memorize Matthew 6:9-13.