Saturday, September 23, 2023

Speaker:

Your Campus Pastor!

Bottom Line:

Prayer is easier than you think and more important than you realize.

Three ways to refocus our attention:

• Have a time - When are you praying?
• Have a place - Where are you praying?
• Have a plan - What are you praying?

Key Verse:

Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV)

"In this manner, therefore, 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 this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

PRAY:

• Praise
• Release
• Ask
• Yield

Other Verses:

Mark 1:35 (NLT) Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.

Luke 5:16 (NLT) But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

Matthew 6:7 (NLT) "When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again."

Romans 8:15 (NLT) "So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’"

1 John 1:9 (NLT) But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Other Resources:

• The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
• Pray First by Chris Hodges

Song Links

Battle Belongs

• YouTube
• Spotify

Overcome

• YouTube
• Spotify

I Speak Jesus

• YouTube
• Spotify

Gratitude

• YouTube
• Spotify

Discussion Questions

• Icebreaker: Share a time when you initially weren’t confident in your skills, but ultimately things were easier than you expected.
• What are some of the reasons people may not go to God in prayer?
• Read Matthew 6:7-13. What do you learn from Jesus about prayer in this passage?
• When life gets busy, do you spend more or less time with God? Why do you think this is?
• Do you have a regular place, time, and plan for prayer? If so, share what has worked for you. If not, what is a specific place and time where you could try using the PRAY acronym for the next week?